Corey Nelson

He’s one of just over 30 players who can say he played for the Broncos twice. Corey Nelson grew up in Dallas and was the 5A player of the year in high school as well as a 5-star recruit by Scout.com. He had numerous colleges offering scholarships and chose Oklahoma because of the connection he felt with the linebacker’s coach.  

Corey started playing as a true freshman and gathered accolades as both an athlete and student. His senior season started strong with a pick-6 and a plethora of tackles… until he tore his pec muscle and required surgery. At that point, Corey wasn’t sure if he had a future in the NFL, so he picked up more classes and wrapped up his degree in four years.  

Turns out he did have an NFL future and in 2014, the Broncos drafted him in the 7th round. He worked his way on to the roster through special teams and became a Super Bowl Champion. Then another injury came and the Broncos didn’t sign him back in the offseason.  

Corey then traveled from team to team trying out for any openings. The Broncos brought him back in 2019, but in October that year, another injury put him out for the season and eventually out of the league.   These days he’s a husband, dad and business owner in Texas.  

Listen to Corey’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I tried to continue out through practice and I told
coach that I couldn't. I couldn't use my arm. I
went into the training room and guided ice. I had
to like stop practicing. Guys are still practicing, and you know,
had to go get an MRI and stuff. And Greek
came back and you know, told me the news and
I was like, oh man, not again. You know. I

(00:21):
remember going to my car after practice and I was
just bawling.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Cut, Traded, Fired, Retired a podcast featuring conversations
with professional athletes and coaches who've experienced being cut, traded, fired,
and or they're retired. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. According
to the twenty twenty four all Time Broncos roster, thirty
four players have had two different tenures with the Broncos.

(00:44):
Linebacker Corey Nelson is one of those thirty four. Corey
grew up in Dallas and was a five star recruit
coming out of Skyline High School. He had his choice
of colleges to attend on scholarship and picked the University
of Oklahoma, where he played as a true freshman and
won a number of FLA and academic accolades. Throughout his
four year career. During his senior season, Corey tore a

(01:05):
peck muscle and wasn't sure if the NFL was in
his future, so he loaded up on classes and graduated
from OU in the spring. Turns out the NFL was
in his future, and the Broncos selected him in the
seventh round of the twenty fourteen draft. He made the team,
turned a lot of heads, and was part of the
Super Bowl fifty team. Then in twenty seventeen, another injury

(01:25):
sidelined him and the Broncos let him go at the
end of the season. Corey spent the next two years
traveling to countless teams for workouts and nothing really panned
out until the Broncos called him again in twenty nineteen.
He played several weeks for Vic Fangio, then the injury
bug bit him again and the cycle started over. Now
he's retired with a wife, a growing family, some business ventures,

(01:48):
and an incredible outlook on his NFL journey. Ladies and Gentlemen,
Corey Nelson.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Cut Traded Fired Retired podcast with Susie Wargen.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
How's it going.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
It's going good, real good.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Good to have you in town.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
It's good to be back in you know, the beautiful Colorado,
nice weather.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
You're hanging out these days in Texas, which is your
place of birth. But you had a lot of exciting
times here with the Broncos and then some not so
exciting times with other teams, and we'll get to all that.
But really a long career and I'm excited to chat
about everything that you've gone through. So let's do start
with your upbringing in Dallas and you go to Skyline
High School. What other sports aside from football were you

(02:30):
into and did you think you'd do something else besides football.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
That's a good question. So my dad and my granddad
they created a basketball team right when I was like
eight years old, and so that was initially like the
first sport that I got into. They were the Pleasant
Grove Raptors is what we were called, and we had
a nice run. You know. We played for about ten
to eleven years.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah. So during my time of playing basketball, I converted
over to football and kind of was doing both of those,
so like a dual athlete, did a little bit of
baseball too. I have two brothers, one older, one younger,
and we all played sports with each other, you know,
during that time, and so before football became the main focus,

(03:13):
basketball was the sport.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
What was your position in basketball?

Speaker 1 (03:16):
I played power forward, a little bit of center. I
could jump really high during that time. Yeah, so I
was jumping out the building at the gym and we
won a couple of championships. It was a AAU team,
you know. We would travel to San Antonio and it
was really good during that time. And I remember I
had to make a decision while I was at Skyline

(03:37):
because I was doing basketball with my dad and my
granddad's team and I was playing football for Skyline. And
it got pretty serious my sophomore year when I got
my first scholarship to Texas A and m.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Right, your first scholarship as a sophomore as a sophomore.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, yeah, I was shocked too. I couldn't believe it.
But as a sophomore, I was on varsity. After my
first game on junior varsity, they were like, all right, hey,
we need you to come up. You know, a couple
of guys are hurt, you know. And I moved up
and played defensive end and that season I let the
team in.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Sacks as a sophomore and varsity.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
As a sophomore in varsity. Yeah yeah, let the team
in sacks, and I had let the team in block
field goals and punts, so I was really out there,
you know.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Oh yeah, and then you're playing club basketball on the
side and they said, YEA, make a decision.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Yeah yeah, because it started to get pretty serious, you know.
And I was the only one out of my family
to get a scholarship and to you know, graduate and
get a degree and all of that. So I knew
it was pretty important for me to focus on that
and to make that possible.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
So Texas A and M is your first one. Obviously
you keep getting better. When do you switch to linebacker?
You do that in high school, right, yep.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
So my sophomore year I was defensive end, and then
after that my junior and senior year, I moved to linebacker.
They had some seniors that was already playing, and those
guys they went to Minnesota, so they played Division one
ball in Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
OK.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Yeah, So I ended up feeling the roles that those
linebackers had left, and did A.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
And M keep their scholarship with you?

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Did?

Speaker 2 (05:10):
They would they have taken you as an as an
indoor a linebacker?

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yeah, they loved me. That was so. The crazy thing
is that was the actual team and the university that
I was going to go to. I had committed to
them the end of my junior year. I committed to them. Yeah,
I saw a verbal commitment. And during that time of
me playing linebacker and making plays, you know, I was
getting scholarships from all over. I took about four official visits,

(05:37):
you know. I went to Tennessee, Minnesota, Texas, A and M,
and then Oklahoma.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
Was Oklahoma, the last one you went to.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
They were the second to last. Yeah. Yeah. The last
one I had went to was A Tennessee and then
I was supposed to go to USC. Well that was
gonna be my last fifth official visit, but I was
tired at that point.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
It's a lot. Those visits are tough, and each one
is so dream different, I'm sure, because they all do
different things to try and get you to love them.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
Yeah they do, yeah, yeah, And every every team was different,
you know, and they shower you with gifts and food
and comp your travel, you know, give you flights and stuff.
So it was pretty cool to experience all of that.
And I remember being committed to A and M. Still
my senior year, and the day before signing day I
chose OU. I had to call and tell them.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
What was it about OU that made you change your mind?

Speaker 1 (06:27):
I would say it was Britt Venable's He was the
defensive coordinator at the time, and I just remember him
talking to me and saying that he wanted to help
grow me into the man that he knew I was
to become the be, you know, and whether I was
supposed to get my degree or go to the NFL
or do both, he was going to be there the

(06:48):
whole step of the way and guide me. And he
made sure of that. And not only that when I
was in high school, after I committed to owe you,
once I de committed from Texas A and M, he
called me every week. Every week, Yeah, he called me.
And so that was like a big thing for me too,
to really see him put his words into action, you know,

(07:09):
and me to really see that.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
And so he wasted in you.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
He was so invested in me. Yeah, and I was
grateful for that what made me ultimately choose a decision.
Texas A and M had a linebacker coach that had retired,
so they didn't have a linebacker coach at the time
while I was committed to them. Before signing day, the
linebacker coach retired, and I knew, like, okay, I got
to make a decision because.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
You don't know who's going to be coaching you right right,
right for your position.

Speaker 1 (07:34):
My position. Yeah, and so all of this was going
on in high school.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
How did they take it? That's a tough call for
you to make as a seventeen eighteen year old.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
It was so hard. Yeah. I was so stressed out
and my parents they wanted me to make the best
decision possible. You know. I was talking to my coaches
that skyline. I was even talking to my counselor. I
had one counselor. Come to find out, she was an
OU fan, so going yeah, yeah, so she was pretty
vice and that, but her advice and everything that that

(08:04):
she helped me with change the trajectory of everything, you know,
on top of coach vulnerables, and so ended up choosing OU.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
You started playing as a true freshman.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yep, yep. And then that was you know, coach Venerables,
that was his thing.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
Did you tell you you do that you probably play
as a true freshman?

Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah? He told me, Yeah, he said, if you can
master the playbook. If you can understand the defense, I'm
gonna play you. I don't discriminate on you know, if
a guy is young and he's coming in, if you
got talent and you can play it, and I'm gonna
play you.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Oh that's great. That's what every guy wants to hear.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I played as a
true freshman and did special teams, got in on defense.
You know, may plays on defense and.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
Special teams is the key. Yeah, and you did that
a lot throughout your career, didn't you. It's wherever you
can play. And the guys that feel like they're too
good for special teams, you're shooting yourself in the foot.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah, yeah, you are, you know, and I've seen guys
you know, kind of shoot themselves in the foot with that.
But I learned that, you know, you're here for the team,
and you got to, you know, give your all for
the team. And not only that, you know, you got
to be a student athlete as well.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Oh, you were great with academics too, your sophomore year,
your academic All Big Twelve, your honorable mention athletically in
the Big Twelve your sophomore year. But I noticed that
the academic thing kept coming up throughout your time at
O years.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, yeah, it was important for me, you know. I
remember my mom telling me, you focus more on your
school because football will be there, you know, as long
as you're passing your classes. I stuck to that, you know,
And I did that, and I knew that, Yeah, I
knew that I wanted to have a degree once I
was done playing. The crazy thing is when I was
playing football at oh You, I didn't think I was

(09:38):
going to go into the NFL. Really, yeah, that wasn't
a focus of minds. It really became a focus of
mine my senior year, after I tour my peck, I
kind of realized, Okay, what decisions do I need to make,
you know, to get to where I want to go
in life. And I knew that my degree was something
that I was going to accomplish and get, you know.
And I did that and saw.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
That you didn't four years since you didn't have a
red shirt year, didn't you.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
Yeah I did. Yeah, I did it in four years
in football playing football, Yeah, all on time.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
That's impressive, Corey, it really is. There's not a lot
of guys that play football and get their degree in
four years at a D one school, D one school.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, Yeah, it was pretty difficult, but I told myself,
you know, I really want to make this happen so
that I can become an inspiration for others and become
an inspiration for my family. Sure, you know, so being
the first one to get my degree, thatt, that was
pretty important to me, absolutely when I wanted to do that.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Let's talk about your dep tear with your pack, because
that came in October of your senior year. Before that,
you're killing it in games. I mean, you're tackling, you're
you're past defending, You're doing all kinds of things, and
then in October you tear your pack and you're done
for the season.

Speaker 1 (10:44):
Yeah, that was a tough moment for me. I remember
crying when it all went down, you know, because the
year was going so good and then boom out of
nowhere and I had no idea, you know, during that time,
like I told you, I didn't know if I was
going to be in the NFL, if that was even
something that was even possible. You know, it almost felt
like a like a pipe dream almost, you know, to

(11:05):
be able to make it. Yeah, So during that time,
when I toured, I remember the trainers telling me, you
know how you tore your pictorial muscle, You're going to
be out for the season. In that moment, I had
to make a decision on like what I wanted to
do with my life, and so I went into overdrive academically.
That's how I was able to get it. Yeah, okay,
in four years. I kind of loaded up on my

(11:26):
classes during that time and was able to get my degree.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Because you have to have surgery or does it heal
on its own.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
So they asked me what I wanted to do, and
I wanted to get the surgery because I knew, you know,
I want to get my muscle repaired. If I'm out
for the season, I might as well just yeah, why not? Yeah?
And so I went all the way with it, got
the surgery, and I'm glad I did it. You know,
I'm glad I got the surgery because I was able
to come back a lot stronger going into the NFL

(11:53):
Draft and going into.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
You still able to have a pro daate. Did it
heal up by that time?

Speaker 1 (11:58):
You had to be healed up by that time.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, But no Senior Bowl or Hula Bowl or anything
in West. Okay, you can't do any of that.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
You didn't do any of that.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, Yeah, that's a great time for scouts to see you.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yep. And so, like I said, you know, I kind
of felt defeated in a sense when it came to
the NFL. I didn't even think that that was even possible,
you know, because I'm coming off of an injury. But
I was fortunate enough to find an agent. Shout out
to Kelly Masters who believed in me, and you know,
she still believes in me to this day. It's a
phenomenal woman, a phenomenal agent out in Oklahoma. Yeah, and

(12:30):
took a shot on me. You know, I was hurt
at the time when she decided to sign me. I
had other players and other friends that vouch for me
that Kelly Masters knew, you know, they say, oh, no,
he's a great player, he's a great guy. You should
definitely give him a chance and see where things go
because he has a lot of potential.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
And she's an awesome agent too. She's I mean, she
is a powerhouse. There's very few female agents out there.
She may be I mean one of just a few.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
Yeah, she's one of just a few. Yeah, I would
say a handful. She loves to take a shot guys
that people may overlook from time to time, you know,
And I was grateful for the opportunity. I remember signing
the papers in New Orleans. We were playing Alabama and
the sugar Ball during that time. It was twenty fourteen,

(13:17):
and you know, I was still in rehab and recovery
and stuff, and yeah, signed the papers. Ended up flying
out to Florida to do my training, and I was
all in. I was focused at that at that point
because I kind of realized, Okay, here's hope, you know,
maybe there's a chance, you know, I can get into
the NFL. Trained in Florida, got back to Oklahoma, get

(13:38):
ready for the pro day, crushed my Pro day, did
really good. The scouts wanted to see if I could
bench press because of my peck. I think I did
twenty eight reps or twenty nine reps something like that.
But at that time, that was big. Yeah, that was
that was pretty big for me, you know, to come
back off of my injury. Was grateful and blessed to
be able to get drafted, you know, to the Broncos,

(13:58):
and that was a crazy time.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
I remember how the draft go you're drafted in the
seventh round, so you're not not first day, second day,
and in that last.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
Round, the last round. Yeah. So during that time, I
remember I was supposed to go to the Patriots. I
was gonna, yeah, signed to them as a free agent.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
Oh, because they didn't think you were going to be drafted.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
No, they didn't think I was going to be drafted.
So we was like all.

Speaker 2 (14:19):
Right, well well.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, so you know that, we were talking and she said,
you know, well we'll sign with the Patriots's who we're
going to go with. And then not too long after that,
we get a call from the Broncos. Elway was talking
and Kelly was like, well, he's going to the Patriots,
So you guys are either going to draft him now
or you're going to miss out an opportunity by Kelly. Yeah,

(14:42):
it's such a good move. Yeah. Yeah. And so we're
sitting there in Kelly's house, you know, we have food
and stuff, and I get a call and it was
from the Broncos. And I remember talking to l Way.
Did you have to talk to fox YEP? Yeah, talk
to Foxy? And uh, Coach fox was excited, you know,
they always excited, and they were like, well, we're going
to draft you, so just sit tight, you know, we're

(15:04):
going to make sure that we get this done. And
I remember seeing my name on the screen and my
parents with them. They were all screaming in the background,
you know, I'm on the phone, so I had to
go into the other room. Yeah, that was a crazy time.
I was like, Wow, I can't believe that this actually happened.
It's crazy because in that moment it really hit me
and it was like, I'm in the NFL. I did it,
you know. I was able to do this with an injury,

(15:26):
you know, And it kind of just shows you that
there's always a silver lining in life as long as
you just continue to just stay focused and put your
head down and do what you need to do.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
Hard work and a good attitude can get you a
lot of places.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
Oh man, Yeah, places that you you never thought you
would be in, exactly. Yeah. And so I was grateful
for that, that opportunity, you know, and ended up coming
out here to this amazing city, you know, amazing fans,
and you come.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
Into a pretty good defense when you get here. In
twenty fourteen, yeah, I did.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
That was right around the time. I think before that
they went to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (15:59):
Went to the Super Bowl, lost to Seattle, Yes, in
Super Bowl forty eight.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, yeah, and it was a big thing. You know,
they had high expectations.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Everybody thought they were going to win that Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, they did, and it was.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
Just bad from the get go. Peyton started off bad
and it never got better.

Speaker 1 (16:14):
Never got better. Yeah, you have special teams struggled to
just remember that, and coming into it, I knew that
they had high expectations and you know, high hopes for
what the team can do because we were stacked with talent.
I mean we had all the guys, you know, offensively
and defensively with the Marys and Emanuel C. J Anderson,
Ronnie Hillman you know, rest in peace to great man,

(16:36):
you know, and even defensively with Danny Trevathan, Brendan Marshall.
So many guys on that team. Yeah, and shout out
to David Bruden, you know, he was one of the
guys that I looked up to special teams wise. Oh yeah, yeah,
because on special teams and as a rookie coming in,
I remember the coaches telling us that if you want

(16:58):
to make this team, especially of teams, is the way
to go because we already have the guys on offense
and defense. We got our team, got our team. Yeah,
we got our team. So you got to land a
spot on special teams. And I was grateful that. I
was like, okay, well I got I got some experience
in special teams. You know. I remember doing punt and ohu,
and I remember running down on kickoff at oh you

(17:19):
and you know, punk return. So I was all in
with it, you know. And I was grateful because that
actually kept me on the team. You know. It wasn't
me playing defense. I actually wasn't that good coming in
as a rookie. Really, yeah, I think so. Yeah, just
based off of.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
You played in all sixteen games, Yeah I did.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
I did.

Speaker 2 (17:38):
Was that just special teams your first year you spent
you played.

Speaker 1 (17:41):
More than just special let's play defense as well. Yeah.
I got out there and played. Ok yeah, okay, okay,
I'm just too hard on myself. Yeah, but yeah, so
stuck with it, you know, and man, it was just
an amazing journey played six years.

Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, after your rookie season, John Fox gets let go. Yeah,
Gary Kubiak, come, Yeah, what's that like going through a
coaching change at the NFL level?

Speaker 1 (18:04):
I was like, oh wow, all the coaches left, you.

Speaker 2 (18:06):
Knowlcome to the business, right, yeah, you know, it hit me, hit.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
Me like this is this is a real business and
they're not playing no games, you know, And so I
kicked it in the overdrive. My second year, you know,
things started to click and I knew he was going
to be a special team that year because we had
so many guys competing for spots linebacker wise. I know,
we had Steve Johnson, Lemine Borrow, so many guys on

(18:31):
our team and our roster at that time, and they
were trying to figure out, you know, who all was
going to be the guys for this team because Gary
Kubiak brought in a whole new staff, you know, and
he said, I want god to compete and we want
to see who gonna who's gonna make the team. During
that moment, you know, I bought into what the coaches wanted.
And even after that, after Gary Kubiak left and Vance

(18:52):
Joseph came in, I kind of got the hang of
the business. You know, I kind of knew like, okay,
this is how it is. I just roll with the punches.
You know. Each coach had their own different philosophies, and
if you're able to adapt and adjust to what they
want and what they want the team to become, you know,
you'll be a great athlete and a great person.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah, and you're fortunate to have player coaches. I think
between John Fox, Koob's and VJ those guys, I think,
are you know your prototypical player coaches where they're not
the rough, gruff Bill Parcells kind of a coach, which
is good. I think some players need the rough and
tough guy.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
Right right, Some players do. Yeah, And I was one
of the guys. I enjoy the players coach. That was
a coach that I prefer to have. Coach Vunerables was
a players coach at oh you you know, he was
there for the players. And Bob Stoops was as well.
And those are the type of coaches that I gravitated
to the most, you know. So I was grateful to
be in that good space, you know.

Speaker 2 (19:51):
Mister Josh McDaniels. Years, Yeah, fortunate.

Speaker 1 (19:56):
I was so fortunate.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah. So let's go through your your years. So your
second year, you go to the Super Bowl and win
Super Bowl fifty Yeah, big time, I mean crazy right.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah yeah, Yeah, And you.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
Get a tackle you've played and you had to tackle
in Super Bowl fifty Yeah, I had.

Speaker 1 (20:11):
Like four tackles.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
Oh yeah, four.

Speaker 1 (20:13):
Yeah, I had one on.

Speaker 2 (20:14):
Defense and that used to update your stats.

Speaker 1 (20:16):
Yeah, three on special teams. Yeah, it's a special team.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
So one defensive town Yeah, got it.

Speaker 1 (20:20):
Okay, so that's where that came from. I don't think
they count special team tackles.

Speaker 2 (20:24):
I don't, you know, what they should, And sometimes they
get left off and I'm like, wait, where'd all these
other tackles come in? Oh, they're from special teams. It's
like it's a huge part of the game that doesn't
get statistically recorded very well. Sometimes.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
No, I agree, Yeah, I agree. Yeah, And I feel like,
you know, sometimes the cameraman may miss it, you know
when they're recording it.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
You know, they it's not as fun as what happens
during the game apparently, but it can be huge and
so key to ball placement and where you start a drive.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
Oh absolutely, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
But what was it like when in the Super Bowl.
I was there that day and it was as a
Broncos fan and someone who's covered the team forever. It
was unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
Yeah, unbelievable. It's one of those situations where like I
would compare it to hitting the lottery. You know, somebody
were to win the lottery. It's like one of those things,
you know, once in a lifetime opportunity. Because there are
so many great football players in the NFL, you know,
guys that are Hall of famers that haven't even won
a Super Bowl, you know, so it's to be able
to be a part of something that's so rare and

(21:23):
so special. That was something that I couldn't have never imagine.
I've won a couple of Big twelve championships, no championships
in high school. So this was like the biggest accomplishment
and accolade I could ever win, you know.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
And it's complete with confetti too, oh so.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
Much confetti everywhere everywhere, you know. I just remember winning it.
I had told one of the trainers to go keep
my phone, go get my phone, you know, and I
was just yelling on my phone, screaming of joy. I
couldn't believe it, you know. It was one of those
things like, Wow, this really happened. And I can also
compare it to if you were to have a kid
and the kids born. It's that kind of dead, that

(22:02):
kind of debt Yeah, it's that kind of special moment.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
Absolutely, that is great. So your twenty fifteen season, you
have ten tackles, probably have more than that. That was probably
just defense, but not the sixty seven you get the
next year, Like the next year you really step up
with this team and become a big presence.

Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah. So I kind of had to, you know, during
that time, Brandon Marshall and Danny they were kind of
facing a couple of injuries. They were dinged up, you know,
they were still playing, but they were hurt a little bit,
you know, and so they needed some help. And I
was the guy.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
You know, John Fox would say, yeah.

Speaker 1 (22:36):
And I just learned, you know, all the positions at
linebacker because I was like, all right, let's do it,
you know. And in me learning all those positions, I
was able to play every position that they needed me
to feel on top of special teams, you know, And
that's that's a tough thing. How hard.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
I was just gonna say, that's gotta be hard because
there's so much to learn, and every coach is different.
And VJ, I mean he's a defensive guy, so we
probably has even more defensive schemes in there than normal. Maybe.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, he did, you know, a lot of a lot
of pressures on rushes that we that we was working on,
which was really good, you know, and a lot of
man coverage. You know. He wanted guys that can play
man because he wanted to rush and be able to
get to the quarterback. You know, with the Marcus where
and Shane ray Von Miller. Did you have s Yep?
We had Shack, yep, kill Barrett. You know, we had

(23:26):
a whole nice squad of rushers. And so I remember
Vance wanting us to learn how to play man, and
that was one of the biggest things that I was
good at playing man and man on running backs and
tight ends and sometimes even wide receivers. You know, I'll
get out there and cover them. And being a part
of that and buying in helped me a lot, and
it catapulted me to be able to you know, rev

(23:46):
up my game and to be good. I was grateful
for the opportunity, you know, during those times I was,
I was a captain most of those games. You know,
guys looked up to me in that aspect because I
handled business. Yeah, I did what I needed.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
Did you call the place? Did you the green dots? Oh?

Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, I had the green die. Yeah, had the green died.
I caught plays for about two years.

Speaker 2 (24:05):
That's a cool position to be in, and underrated people
don't understand how important that is, I think sometimes. Yeah,
you know, it's not like anybody really sees unless you're
standing there. You don't see who has the green dot
and you can tell who's talking in the huddle. But
that's a very coveted position, I think.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yep. I would compare it to being a quarterback.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, on the quarterback of the defense.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
Yeah. Literally, you know, guys are looking to you for
the call, looking for you to like change up, you know,
if we need to change the defense based off of
motions or shifts or whatever the offense is doing. I
was the guy to vocalize that, you know, and get
everybody lined up right. So that was a huge, huge
role to fill.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
How did they tell you you were going to be that?

Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, we were sitting in the in the meeting in
the defensive meeting room, and I remember Vance, Joseph and
Reggie Hearing the linebacker coach was telling me, all right,
we're gonna need you to call the plays. So today
you're going to have the mic in practice and I
was like, oh, like you just started when you just

(25:03):
told me. Yeah, it was like you gotta you gotta
call they say, you got to get this down, you know.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
And was that hard to get used to to having
somebody in your helmet and then reiterating that to everybody.

Speaker 1 (25:13):
Yeah, it was hard, especially when like you're playing and
you know, you're trying to catch your breath. Yeah, things
get crazy, you know, especially if teams are doing no huddle.
It can get pretty difficult. It can't, it can't. But
I was able to manage well with it.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
How long can they talk to you for?

Speaker 1 (25:32):
I would say when the play clock reaches probably like
five seconds.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
Oh okay, all the way up to that.

Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah. Yeah. I remember a few times way Phillips would
scream in my ear, you know, right before the ball
is gonna snap, you know, stop talking. Yeah, yeah, you know,
and you kind of you kind of learned to tune
it out, but at the same time pay attention to
like what he's saying, you know. So I was able

(25:59):
to do it pretty well though, which is crazy, you know.
And I've learned from the older guys. From Nate. I
would look up to him and because he was doing
the cause when I was a rookie, okay, yeah, and
then b Marsh started to do it and Danny was
doing the cause and I would literally just observe, you know,
and watch, and so that really helped ease me into

(26:20):
the situation.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Is it just in one ear? Does the voice just
come in one ear? Do they have it in both ears?

Speaker 1 (26:25):
It's in both ears? And yeah. Yeah, Now, if you
hit it hard enough or you know, if you fall
hard enough on your helmet or whatever.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
One goes out, one goes out.

Speaker 1 (26:33):
Yeah, it will go out. Yeah, it'll go out.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
That's funny.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yeah. And Flip, the equipment manager, I would tell him, yeah,
he's the best. Yeah, shout out to Flip. And he
would tell me, oh, it's okay. As long as you
can hear them, you're good. All right. I can only
hear in my right ear. We'll just row with it,
you know, we'll just row with it.

Speaker 2 (26:50):
Oh my gosh, that's funny. I can't imagine in both ears,
because you know, on the sideline, I always wear ANIFB,
but just in one ear, so that way I can
still hear what's going on on the other side. So
I would think of having it in both ears trying
then to communicate and hear maybe what other guys are saying.
That's hard.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
It is hard because guys are asking you what the
call is getting You're getting the call in and they're
yelling what's the call, and you know, the coach is
telling you the call and he's telling tell Vaughan to
widen out or you know, tell Shaq to move in,
you know, and I'm getting all of this information, so
I'm as the coach is talking, I'm talking too. At

(27:26):
the same time, I started to realize, Okay, I gotta
get it out quick. I got to talk when the
coach is talking immediately, and it just kind of flowed
that way, and I realized it's kind of like controlled
chaos in a way.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
In the matter of twenty five to thirty seconds.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
Yeah, yeah, control chaos. Yeah, because sometimes you reach a
situation where you're just sitting there and the coaches are
trying to decide what call to call based off of,
you know.

Speaker 2 (27:49):
Feel position or what they're seeing up in the.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
Boot and that time it does. It does.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
But you guys way behind the ag Yeah yeah it does.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
Yeah yeah, and you'll you'll see it sometimes, you know,
if you watch game close enough. You know, some some
coverages may get blown because the call has gotten laid
or people didn't get the call. You know, so it happens,
but but you continue to push through and enroll with.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
There's so many intricacies on the inside that's so beyond
what the armchair quarterback seats. Oh, I like, you have
no idea everything else that's going on, and those you know,
while the play clocks.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
Going, while the playcock's going yep, yep. It's so many
parts moving and so many things going on, you know,
when you're trying to get the call out and to
let guys know, you know where they need to be
and where they need to align because the linebackers are
the quarterbacks. You know, you got to get guys lined up,
and a lot of guys, I would say a lot
of guys, but some guys have a hard time kind
of knowing where they need to line up based on

(28:46):
the call. You know, some of those calls they may
draw a blank because it's so many you know, there's
so many different defenses to.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
Run, and then you've got to kind of help them
get in their spots, especially if you know every position,
you know, every play kind of moving around all the pieces, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
For sure. Yeah. And I remember Reggie Hearing talking, and
you know, he was saying, if guys aren't lined up,
it's our fault, you know. If they aren't in position,
it's our fault. Move them over if they aren't in position,
you know, And we would have to physically do that sometimes.

Speaker 2 (29:16):
Yeah, and you see that happen. You see guy you
go get you know, scoot him over or something like that,
or come in, come in, come in, and yeah, yeah, yeah,
it's crazy.

Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (29:24):
Wow, all right, so side we got totally sidetracked on
the green dots. Sorry, we'll go back to your career.
Let's go to twenty seventeen. And that was a tough
year as you tear a bicep and go on injured reserve.

Speaker 1 (29:35):
Yep, that was tough place to be. That was so tough.
I remember that too. That was right before we played
the Chargers. I think it was game four or five.
It was right around October. And it's wild because the
second time I told my pick was around the same time.
So October is like it was not a good month
for me.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
Well no, and October is also isn't that when you
did it in college? Too.

Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah. I did it in college too, Yeah, in October. Yeah, yeah,
so I started to see a a cycle here. You know,
it was kind of weird, you know for me. So
during that time, I remember when I did it. We
were in practice. The offense ran the power towards my
side and I filled the hole, ran into the full back,
and I remember I seeing the running back and I
tried to get over to tackle them in my arm

(30:18):
grab them, and in my arm being reached out, it
got caught between everyone else trying to grab them, and
it like hyper extended and I feel it. Oh yeah, yeah,
I felt it right away. Yeah, I moved it out
and I was trying to shake it off. I even
tried to continue to practice and I couldn't use my arm.
Oh yeah, yeah, it was pretty tough. I tried to

(30:39):
continue out through practice, and I think towards that time
I told coach that I couldn't. I couldn't use my
arm for whatever reason. Then it started to like change
colors and get like differentised. Yeah. Yeah, I went into
the training room and got it iceed. I had to
like stop practicing. Guys were still practicing, and you know,
had to go get a MRAI and stuff and Greek

(31:02):
came back and you know, told me the news and
I was like, oh man, not again. You know. I
remember going to my car after practice and I was
just bawling, you know, because I was like, no, ways,
just happening, you know, in my pivotal part of my career.
That was also my contract year too. That was my
fourth year year on my contract.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
Oh so real pivotal.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
Oh yeah, yeah, it was so pivotal. You're playing good, yep, yep,
and then it happens, and so I was crushed. You know,
I was hurt. But I've learned about perseverance, you know,
in those times and staying strong mentally even if you
feel like you can't, you know, and you feel like
you're alone. Just got to just continue to push through.

(31:44):
That's how life is, you know, just overall. And so
I had surgery.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
And Broncos do not resign you in twenty eighteen.

Speaker 1 (31:53):
No, they didn't resign me. I remember we was going
through negotiations and I felt like Philadelphia would have probably
been a better fit, uh during that time, so I
decided to try a different route and that didn't pan out.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Right because they cut you. Then in August, right, yep.
You get all through many camps and training camps and
they cut you.

Speaker 1 (32:13):
They cut me, yeah, and so that was the first
time ever got cut. So that was a whole nother thing,
like whoa what you can't cut me? You know. I
was like, I can do it all. You know that
can cut me. I can learn all the defenses and
special teams.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
And so a couple weeks later, you go to Atlanta
for about twelve days.

Speaker 1 (32:31):
Yeah, went to Atlanta about twelve days. And crazy thing is,
I don't think this is in my records, but I
tore my calf. It was like a grade two tear. Yeah.
In practice, it was so weird. I was like, where
is all this coming from? And so they ended up
putting me on Yeah, yep, I was on the pub
and then they ended up releasing me a little bit

(32:53):
after that and I got paid like, yeah, I did
little settlement yeah, and so oh that was a whole
other thing, and I was like, dang, Okay. So during
that time I focused on recovering and I was working
out for teams. I mean I worked out for the Raiders,
Kansas City, Jacksonville, the New York Giants. I was having

(33:16):
all of these different workouts, and I was flying out
to all these different places.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
How wild is that?

Speaker 1 (33:21):
That was crazy? I don't think that's talked about a lot.
You know, that's one of the most craziest things to
talk about, and especially having a family with kids and stuff,
having to just leave at the drop of a dime.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
Usually on a Tuesday. Right, You're going out there when
they're not practicing, so you can be out there and
everybody can look at you.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
Yeah, So I was working off. I'm in the Patriots.
There was so many different teams Arizona. I kind of
went all.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Over it, and you get your hopes up every time, probably.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
Right, Yeah, I did every time, you know, and each
time I didn't sign with the team, it was a
little shot at you know, my ego and who I
was as a player kind of got depressed into a
little depression, you know, in those moments because you have
to work out and stay ready, you know, because those
calls were coming at random times. I mean they were

(34:08):
I'll get a call Sunday, you know, if somebody.

Speaker 2 (34:11):
Got hurt in the game, and so then they're calling yep, and.

Speaker 1 (34:13):
Then I'll have to fly out either that night or
the following morning. So it was a lot of a
lot of going on, a lot of moving parts, and
all of this was happening in twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen
Tampa Bay. I even worked out for Tampa Bay, did
a good job with them. They wanted to sign me
for the twenty nineteen season.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
So you were with them for that whole off season,
the off season January and then final cut day, yep.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
And then final cut day. And I remember, I can't
remember the linebacker's coach name at the time, but when
he was there, he told me that they already had
their guys, so, you know, I don't At that time,
the Arizona staff had came to Tampa Bay. Who is the.

Speaker 2 (34:51):
Coach twenty nineteen.

Speaker 1 (34:53):
I can't think of his name right now.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
It wasn't Arians, was it, Yes, it was Bruce.

Speaker 1 (34:58):
It was Bruce Arians and his staff. So Bruce Aris.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
Yeah, I'm like, let me think Arizona Tampa I think
maybe Bruce yep.

Speaker 1 (35:06):
So it was Bruce and his staff came, and I
remember they brought their guys. They brought, you know, a
few linebackers, a few wide receivers, running backs, a lot
of people that used to play with them in Arizona, right,
and kind of in that moment, I realized, oh, this
is like a business move, like for everybody. And they
told me it was like we already have our guys

(35:27):
that we trust and depend on because they played with
them in Arizona, you know for so many years and
they didn't have room for me. They told me to
keep my hopes up. You know, I'll land somewhere because
I played really well with them.

Speaker 2 (35:37):
You know, I was healthy that year after Okay, I
missed it, and so during that time after they released me,
in that same day, I get a call from the
Broncos and they want to sign me, and so I
had to fly out the next day.

Speaker 1 (35:57):
I drove my car to Tampa or I actually I
had to ship to Tampa. Then I decided to just
drive it back because I was in Houston at the time.
So I drove from Tampa back to Houston to get
all my stuff ready to fly out to Denver. Yeah,
you know, it's crazy. It's crazy, how you know, teams
call you and you've got to go at the drop
of a dime, you know, whether it's a workout or

(36:18):
whether they're trying to sign you, and.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
You can't just transport yourself. There's so many logistics that
go on, and especially, like you said, you have a
wife and family that you're trying to figure out too.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Yep, yep, And it's a lot of moving parts. You know.
I remember when I had got cut from Philly going
back a little bit. Sorry, I just wanted to kind
of get it out that I had a place in
Philly and a place in Houston. So after I got cut,
you know, I was like, well, I gotta I gotta
deal with this place in Philly. Yeah, and you know,
and I did that, and then I was in Atlanta
and had to try to get a place in Atlanta.

(36:49):
Then that didn't work out. And then in Tampa it
was a whole other thing. They was like, oh, you
got to pay for your own living to wherever you are. Yeah,
so I had to get an airbnb and I stayed
in like a little hut. Yeah. It was literally a hut. Yeah, kids,
you not I kitchen. It was a one room. It
was a garage that they converted. It was two stories,

(37:10):
but it was a room up top for other people
to stay in in a room below and I was
in the room below.

Speaker 2 (37:16):
See people above you too above me.

Speaker 1 (37:18):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it was it was a lot
going on for me, you know during that.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
Time, nice contract in a great place.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
And now and now you know, I was in this situation.
But it was all good though, because I Chara absolutely absolutely,
and so I was able to handle all those moving
parts and get ready to go to Denver with.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
Vig Fangio, with fourth head coach.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
Yeah yeah, and this is it was totally different, you know.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
Now.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
Granted Reggie Hearing, the linebackers coach, was still there, so
that was pretty good. You know, it wasn't as bad.
But the biggest thing that I've had to accomplish and
to learn was the def It was a different defense
from all those other years. Oh yeah, and they expected
me to learn it and I had to, you know,

(38:08):
in order to play because I started I think the
first three games with the Broncos. We played the Oakland
Raiders the first game and I remember I had that
whole week to learn the whole defense.

Speaker 2 (38:19):
Oh my god.

Speaker 1 (38:20):
Yeah. So it was like a crash course and I
was I was up there from sun up to sundown
and learning the defense, and I was tired. I mean,
I was, you know, putting in ten plus hours, you know,
after practice, staying up there and trying to make sure
I knew everything.

Speaker 2 (38:35):
And we lost that game, I believe, Yeah we did.

Speaker 1 (38:38):
That was a tough That was a tough one. Yeah,
we lost that game, and it was it was pretty hard.
I think Vic Fangio, he he had a lot riding
on you know, that season, because you know, before that,
Broncos fans, we were having a hard time trying to
keep a winning record.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
Oh yeah, yeah, so a lot of expectations.

Speaker 1 (38:55):
Yeah, yeah when he came in.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
But then the week eight of that year, you tear
your other.

Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, yeah, I did. And that was that was a
freak accident. We were playing the Colts and it was
at the end. It was like two or three minutes
left in the fourth quarter and we were putting the ball.
It was crazy how it happened. It was a lineman
in front of me tried to do a swim move
on me, and I just reached out to like hold
them other arm, mother arm, yeah, the other arm. Yeah,
and it popped and I was like, oh no, I

(39:22):
already knew I knew what it was. Yeah, I knew
it immediately and went to the sideline. I had literally
tossed my helmet. I threw it because I knew you know,
that was.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
My first year doing sidelines. I remember that, Okay, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:35):
Yeah, I was so so hurt about that. We were
in Inddieapolis when it happened, and Greek knew, you know,
everybody kind of knew that that there was the same injury,
but just on a different orm. That crushed me too.
I was. I was depleted after that, So the season
continued on.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
Yes, surgery on that one, surgery.

Speaker 1 (39:53):
On that one. They didn't sign me back. During that time,
I was still working out because I still had workouts
for different teams.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
You continue to go to other teams after that?

Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, after that I did. I continue to work out
for other teams for like two years until like twenty
twenty one, twenty twenty two. And you know, that's that's
kind of not talked about with players because players will
still try actively, you know, and they still have workouts
and stuff, but things don't work out. COVID year happened
during that time, and that was different.

Speaker 2 (40:22):
Yeah, you got to try it with the Panthers during
that time. I think there's one of the ones you
went to.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yeah, the Panthers too, Yes, so see so many teams,
so many teams, but.

Speaker 2 (40:30):
COVID had to be hard trying to be that guy.
There were so many crazy things in place.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
Yeah, yeah it was. And Buffalo. I remember I went
to Buffalo to have a workout and during this time,
you had to be at that place a whole week,
so you were there in the hotel for quarantine. Quarantine,
yeah yeah, and you have to get you know, your
nose swab. And so during this time, I was like, well,
I gotta work out. I can't just not work out

(40:55):
for a whole week and then go try to do
a you know, full workout and be out of shape.
So I improvised. I would find a field anywhere where
I was, you know. I remember I was in Buffalo,
I found a park. When I was in Carolina, you know,
I found a street that just had a bunch of
grass and you know, you just trying to find landing. Yeah,

(41:16):
and I just go through my.

Speaker 2 (41:17):
Workout, just do a self workout, self.

Speaker 1 (41:19):
Workout, yep, yep. I did that for like, I think
I had four different workouts just spread out, you know,
during that time of being you know, all those teams
for a whole week and trying to work out and
stay in shape until the workout actually came for that team,
and you'd get another no, Get another no, Yeah, get
another no. That is so hard yep, and get another
you know, we'll see, we'll keep you on my working out. Yeah.

(41:41):
San Francisco was another one. I remember working out at
soccer field. It was just crazy stuff. I mean, this
is stuff that you know, players don't really get to
talk about or you know, let people know. But yeah,
I didn't give up, even coming back from the injury.
I still persevered and kept trying. And it got to
a point where I was like, all right, I need

(42:02):
to focus on like my family and in real life
and get back to like taking care of home. Because
football was I had my fun, I had my time,
you know, and and I even had all these workouts.
You know. It was like twenty plus teams that I
worked out for.

Speaker 2 (42:17):
So you were making great connections, right yeah, oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:20):
Yeah, so many great connections, so many, you know, And
I knew that it was just kind of time to transition.
You know. I could have kept working out. I remember
I had an opportunity to play CFL and then the XFL.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
XFLXXFL was in there, and then there's usfl like.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Now yep, yep. So all of those started to come out,
and I had to make a decision because I could
have continued absolutely, you know, I was like, nah, I
think I'm gonna just focus on home.

Speaker 2 (42:51):
And did you decide that or did Jenny decide that?
Who's sitting here with us today?

Speaker 1 (42:54):
Yeah? I think yeah, I think I think it was
a mutual decision. We had talked about it a few times.
It was kind of beautiful to, you know, just focus
on home and kind of pivot in a different direction
as far as my career is concerned. And you know
where everything was going for us and headed for us.

Speaker 2 (43:12):
And you've done very well with that. I mean, your
degrees in communications right from OU and I read in
your OU bio that you like poetry as well, you
like writing. Ye yeah, still right, communications, I mean, so
that's bode well into what you're doing now. Absolutely. So.

Speaker 1 (43:27):
I do a lot of speaking engagements back home, a
lot of high schools, my high school skyline, you know,
I spoke in middle schools. I have great connections with
coaches from all over the metroplex. So I've been having
my hand and everything kind of speaking to kids and
being mentors to them even help training them, you know,
getting them ready for their season. And so that's kind

(43:49):
of been the main focus, on top of having a
couple of businesses that I that I run with my wife,
and yeah, we've we just kind of just transitioned in
a positive direction, you know. It kind of happened pretty
fast and in a great way. Ended up getting the
key to the city in Malakoff, Texas, going out there, Yes,
speaking to the kids and so you.

Speaker 2 (44:08):
Got a key to the city, key to the city's yes.

Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yes. So a lot a lot of great positive things
have been happening. Yeah, once I decided to shift my
focus from football and into you know, different things.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
One of your businesses, you you own a salon.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
Yeah, we own a salon, yep, me and my wife,
her and her staff. They work on that. So that's
one of the things. And then outside of that, we
have a JVTLC Enterprise, So it's jvtl C Salon and
then JVTLC Enterprise is a whole nother compartment where we
actually teach people how to either open up their own
salon or open up their own business whether they want

(44:47):
to do you know, education, or they want to open
up a barbershop or restaurant.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Any kind of small business.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
Yeah, we're there to kind of help them and guide
them and give them the steps that they need and
the knowledge that they need to be able to open
up a business or you know, well, where do I start?
You know, how do I get going in the right direction? Right?

Speaker 2 (45:08):
Get the loan?

Speaker 1 (45:08):
Get the loan. Yeah, making sure your credit score is good,
you know, making sure you have business credit building on
top of your personal credit. So yeah, that's what we do.
We kind of just help people. It's cool and incorporate that.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Yeah, I love that. And it just pretty much in
Dallas and Houston or all over. I mean, could somebody
from here contact you to help start a small business?

Speaker 1 (45:27):
Yeah, they could if they if they wanted to, they're
more than welcome to. Yeah, but we're mostly stationed in
Dallas and Houston. That's where we go. But definitely want
to expand our network because I know I have a
big hand in Oklahoma too, because we go there from
time to time. And now we're trying to like establish
more roots out here in Denver. You yeah, yeah, yep,
And so that's that's been the focus and the move.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
I love it. And then for kiddo's yep, ranging an
age from a little little yep.

Speaker 1 (45:54):
So the littlest one is five years old, and then
we have a sun. Sorry, I'm all over the place.
Our son is ten months. Our son, that's the one. Yeah,
he's ten months, and then our daughter sees five. Our
son is eight, and then our daughter is eight and
we're respecting another one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (46:15):
Yeah, Oh my gosh, that's amazing total album, busy house. Yeah,
it's good kidding, Yeah, that's fun. Well, I'm glad that
everything's going well for you. I know that transition is hard,
but you've really turned it into a positive. Which leads
into my last question of what do you tell people,
especially with all the speaking that you do, how to
get past all of those down moments. You've had, your injuries,

(46:38):
you've had the cuts you've had trying to do this,
but like you said, you just kept working hard and
moving forward. So what's your advice to them on how
to do it?

Speaker 1 (46:45):
Stay positive no matter what life throws at you and
kind of just ride that wave. You know, whether you're
going through a hard time, embrace that hard time and
know that good times are coming. Better days are coming,
and during those hard times, learn, you know, learn why
this has happened, or or just learned that things happen

(47:07):
the way they're supposed to, because you need to obtain
a certain skill or a certain attitude mentality from your
experiences within the life that you're living, because you never know,
you know, how life plays out. So I always say,
just ride the wave and look for those silver linings
within those waves, because they are there. You know, as

(47:28):
long as you stay positive and know that better is
coming and that you deserve better, stuff will always work out,
you know. Coincidentally, you know, it's all in your mind.
That's what that's the most important thing. So if your
mind can stay positive, and if your mind can overcome
those hard negative experiences or moments, and I wouldn't call
them negative experience or moments. I would say that they

(47:50):
are lessons. You know, me getting heard, me going through
all those teams and stuff, those are all lessons and
stuff that I had to learn for myself. You know,
I was learning myself and learning how to be a
better me so that I can help other people, you know,
whenever they come to hard times or lessons that they
need to learn.

Speaker 2 (48:10):
And understand great lessons to teach all your upcoming five children.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
Oh yeah, yeah, so many, Yeah, which I'm excited about.
You know, I love it. I love being a full
time dad and kind of being there, you know, every
step of the way and getting into a little bit
of coaching, you know, with my sons and daughters. So
that's been fun too.

Speaker 2 (48:28):
That's good. And you know what I said last question,
but just real quick, you came back for the alumni
weekend and you also came back during the preseason to
be the honorary coin Toss captain. What's it been like
coming back and being involved.

Speaker 1 (48:41):
Oh? Man, it's been amazing. You know, it's been a
beautiful experience. And I remember me and my wife was
talking and we told ourselves, you know, at the beginning
of this year that we wanted to be more involved
in everything that you know, we were a part of.
Now that we got everything kind of situated with our
businesses and we got a nice flow in life, you know,

(49:02):
with our kids and stuff, and now it's time to
incorporate going back to the places that I've played at
or places that we've been and places that I know,
and to be able to experience those connections, you know,
and establish those connections with people because you know, you
never know what I may be able to provide for them,
and vice versa, you know, and even giving our kids

(49:23):
the experiences that that I have from the places that
I've been and traveled to.

Speaker 2 (49:27):
Yeah, I mean they were all down on the sideline
with you guys ye that day, which is really cool.

Speaker 1 (49:31):
Yeah, and that's you know, that's stuff that you that
you can't take for granted. You know, it's priceless. You know,
those are memories that are they'll cherish forever. And so yeah,
that's been our focus, and so I'm glad to be
back out here. You know, this won't be the last time.
You know, We're always going to come back out to
Denver and eventually establish some roots out here and get
a place. And so it's a wonderful thing to be

(49:51):
able to do that.

Speaker 2 (49:52):
Absolutely. Now, when you were down there that day, Peyton
was also down right by us, and I saw you
tap and like almost reintroduce your So were you afraid
that he wouldn't remember who you were?

Speaker 1 (50:02):
Yeah, I'm the Super Bowl fifty.

Speaker 2 (50:05):
I was like, why is he in producing himself to Peyton?

Speaker 1 (50:07):
Yeah, it's crazy. And you know I did that with
the Marcus were too at the alumni party. Yeah. I
only did that because I grew my hair out. Back
when I played, I had the nice fade. I didn't
have the dreads dreads, that's right. So I figured I
may look different, people may not recognize me.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
And Tom Davis does that sometimes he goes to all
shaved dreads and I'm like, wait, yeah, oh it's Todd.

Speaker 1 (50:28):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. So I try to help people
remember who I am, because you know, back then, I
didn't look the way that I look now with my treads.

Speaker 2 (50:36):
Yeah all right, I'm like Peyton remembers everybody. I'm sure
he remembers you.

Speaker 1 (50:40):
Remember me, Yeah he did, you know, the Marcus remember me.
It was all good. But I just did that just
to say face.

Speaker 2 (50:46):
Yeah, to where they don't have the puzzled look and
have to look down at your name tag and break
up again.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
Right right right right?

Speaker 2 (50:52):
Yeah, you know I do Yeah, No, I do that
all the time because I'm like, just in case, I
know I've talked to you, well, I did the same
with you. I'm like, hey, a while, but here we
are and our memories and we aren't weren't getting any younger.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
Nah, no, we are yet.

Speaker 2 (51:05):
We took either you took a few hits or you
made a few hits, and they all kind of add
up some time.

Speaker 1 (51:09):
Yeah, yeah, they do. They all just come together. They
really do.

Speaker 2 (51:13):
Well. Hey, thanks for taking the time. This was awesome.
I appreciate it. I know you're in for just a
little amount of time, and so I really appreciate you
giving me some of it.

Speaker 1 (51:20):
Oh yes, ma'am. Yeah, thank you for having me. Yeah,
it's such a blessing to be on here and talking
to you.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
Thanks Corey, Yeah, thank you, Thanks Corey. New episodes have, Cut, Traded, Fired,
Retired are released on Tuesdays. Please like and auto download
this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and keep up
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ctfur podcast and also the website ctfurpodcast dot com. I'm
your host, Susie Warton. Thanks for taking the time to

(51:46):
listen and share this podcast. Until the next episode, Please
be careful, be safe, and be kind. Take care