November 19, 2025 • 51 mins
Forget highlight reels—this conversation lives where the work actually happens. We sit down with coach and former arena pro AJ Saunders for a grounded ride through high school football, family balance, and a hospital IT career that runs on urgency and trust. AJ opens up about a 5–5 season with Plum High School, a wild blocked field goal turned touchdown, and a playoff exit that still taught the right lessons. He maps out the 5A grind—smarter schemes, bigger bodies, recruiting pressures—and the coaching habits that matter: early scouting, honest communication, and respecting the games you “should” win.
The story widens beyond the field. By day, AJ keeps doctors and devices moving inside Highmark/AHN, turning outages into solutions and tech into patient care. He draws straight lines from IT to football: fast teamwork, crisp escalation, systems that hold up under pressure. Then we go personal. Married 11 years, a dad and youth coach, he breaks down how he schedules film around family, uses PTO with intent, and treats “little wins” as the glue that holds everything together. It’s practical, real, and repeatable.
We rewind to Slippery Rock: the surprise switch from defensive back to running back, a humbling hit in camp, the return to DB under a top-tier coach, and how belief changes players. AJ also pulls back the curtain on arena football—tight walls, high motion, constant evaluations—and candidly shares CFL workouts and NFL looks that didn’t stick. The takeaway isn’t a near-miss; it’s a roadmap: adapt, serve, and invest in the next generation. If you care about coaching, culture, and doing hard things the right way, this one’s for you.
If the episode hit home, follow the show, share it with a friend, and drop a review with your favorite takeaway. Your support helps more listeners find real stories that actually help them win the week.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (04:32):
Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home
Rance Podcast.
This is as always your host,Mike Bono.
I got a great guest for ustoday.
Uh, but first and foremost, wedid just land a new sponsor for
the show that I have not hadtime to pre-record, so we're
gonna get them shouted out realquick, and that is Web Western.
(04:53):
I am wearing one of the hatshere today.
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Those who like to go outhunting, fishing, and working
the land, it is built for you.
I am wearing the arrow hattoday, which reminds everyone to
be a straight shooter and don'tbe afraid of hard work.
(05:17):
Uh, go to webwestern.com, usethe promo code MikeBono and save
yourself 10% off of yourpurchase.
Once again, Webwestern for thosewho are not afraid of hard work
and no BS with this companyeither.
As well, I'm a huge supporter ofthis.
Again, webwestern.com, promocode Mike Bono.
(05:39):
That being said, my guest today,uh, he is a coach and he is
coming to us, I believe, up nearthe Cleveland area, and that is
AJ Saunders joins the show.
AJ, thank you for joining,brother.
SPEAKER_01 (05:52):
Hey man, I'm uh I'm happy to join you.
I'm actually not in a Clevelandarea.
SPEAKER_00 (05:57):
You're not in Pittsburgh area, even better
than Pittsburgh area.
I grew up around the Pittsburgharea, so that's absolutely great
for that for sure.
Um, yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01 (06:07):
It's all good.
No yeah, I'm at I'm at wrestlingpractice right now.
Um, you know, my son wrestlesfor Valley Youth Wrestling out
here in New Kensington, not toofar up 28 from Pittsburgh, but
um yeah, yeah, I help coachyouth, you know what I mean.
I also help coach uh plum highschool football.
SPEAKER_00 (06:25):
So okay always busy, man, sports man.
I hear that.
I uh you're you're preaching tothe choir as someone who works a
day job trying to make it as astand-up comedian and running a
podcast too as well.
So I definitely understand abusy schedule for sure.
Yeah.
All right, so you can it'scringy, right?
You're you're busy, you're busyall the time, all the time.
(06:46):
There, there's no days off fromme.
Um, I'm either on the road uhwith comedy gigs, recording a
show here, uh working my dayjob.
Um, and um I'm I'm a husband anda father too, as well.
So, you know, no rest for thewicked.
Uh, I wouldn't have it any otherway, though.
(07:07):
You mentioned you mentioned itthere a little bit.
I believe you just finished upuh your football season.
Uh, where do you coach again?
And how was the season?
SPEAKER_01 (07:17):
Yes, uh I coached at uh Plum High School.
It's a it's in Pittsburgh, PlumPA, um not too far from where I
live.
Um, yeah, man, we had a latepush in the season, played
against Penn Hills, man.
If you if you want to GoogleMustang uh victory, um it was
(07:37):
like it was a crazy, crazy game.
Uh one of the things thathappened, and you'll probably if
you if you uh Google it, you'llsee that one of our kickers, um,
he had a blocked field goal andhe picked it up and they
tush-pushed him all the way tothe end zone.
Nice.
So it was it was it was on theit was on the news, man.
It was on USA Today for highschool sports.
(08:00):
It was it was uh it was a sightto see, man, be a part of that.
But you know, we finished theseason with five and five.
We went to the playoffs, um,lost to Upper St.
Clair.
A lot of people in thePittsburgh area know they are
they're pretty good.
Pretty good.
Man, I I I felt like the gameplan, man.
We had a great game plan to goin and win.
And you know, things didn't goour way, but it is what it is,
(08:23):
man.
It's football.
Up and downs.
Absolutely.
Up and downs, man.
Every every season, every everygame, every minute.
Just gotta battle through it,you know.
SPEAKER_00 (08:33):
Yeah, I you know, I played high school ball myself,
so I definitely understand uhthe grind that a high school
football season can be for boththe players and the coaches and
everything like that.
Uh five and five, not anythingto shake a stick at anymore.
These, I mean, these these boysnowadays, they're they're built
different, I would say.
Um, especially down here uhwhere I'm at in Ohio, uh near
(08:55):
the Columbus area, um, littletown called Philo, Ohio.
There's some corn fed boys downhere, uh my son being one of
them.
Um I can't I can't say much.
Uh 16-year-old, six foot one,250 pounds.
I mean, he's he's a tank forsure.
Uh but does he play high schoolor uh he did.
(09:17):
Uh he uh he did.
He did he forewent his uh hisjunior season this year.
Um couldn't fault him.
Uh said he just wanted to getinto the workforce and and and
start working and and earningsome money.
So as a father, you know, Ican't I can't fault him for that
and having that work ethic asthe 16-year-old, you know.
(09:39):
Um was bummed not to go andwatch him play on Friday nights.
Uh obviously, uh as somebodywho's played football and loves
the the game of football, lovedgoing out on Friday nights and
watching him play.
Uh, but you know, he he's gotthat work ethic in him like me.
Like I said, I there's no daysoff for me.
And he's kind of taking afterthe old man and and wanting to
(10:00):
get to work.
So um got to watch my nephewplay.
Uh who uh they played on thesame team.
They're literally six weeksapart in age.
So uh still got to go to acouple games here, here and
there when the the scheduleallowed.
So uh, but yeah, that you knowthe the grind of a high school
season is just insane.
(10:20):
Um I remember even my senioryear.
SPEAKER_01 (10:25):
It it's almost like um can you hear me?
SPEAKER_00 (10:29):
Yeah, I got you.
What's up?
SPEAKER_01 (10:30):
Okay, it it's almost like a mini college.
Um we're in 5A, so like 5A, youknow, almost like D1, D2 in uh
in Ohio.
Um it requires it requires a lotof attention.
Attention to detail, man.
Um, you gotta pay attention to,you know, they because they run
(10:52):
the offenses in 5A a little bitmore strategic than I would say,
you know, 1A, 2A.
Uh a lot more talented teams, alot more bigger teams, right?
Then you got a lot more kidsgetting recruited at that level,
too.
So it's kind of crazy, man, whenyou gotta you gotta, you know,
(11:14):
big huge fights that you gottaclimb out of almost every week.
And then there's teams that youshould beat.
Sometimes you lose against thoseteams that you should beat
because you know you never knowwhat you're gonna get, you know.
So like you said, man, coaching,man, it's a grind.
Um, having did it at the collegelevel, I've definitely been
asked, but high school's whereI'm at right now.
I'm a D coordinator at Plum, bythe way.
(11:35):
I didn't get a chance to mentionthat, but um, it's pretty it's
been fun the past two yearsdoing it.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (11:42):
I've always I've always said um wasn't uh a
standout receiver when I played.
Um, I've always said I'd make abetter coach than I would uh or
did as a player.
Uh, but you know, I I just asteward of the game.
I love the game of football.
Uh always have.
(12:02):
Um but besides coaching, um, Iknow you mentioned that you, you
know, you're helping outcoaching with uh uh wrestling
there and the youth andeverything like that.
Uh, do you have anything else uhfor like a day job that you do?
Um, and if so, how long have youbeen doing that?
SPEAKER_01 (12:17):
Yeah, man.
So um I went to school to be ITcomputer technology.
So I got my degree in that afterI was done playing uh arena
football.
Um, you know, I said, you knowwhat, might as well use my
degree, man.
Use that paper, you know, usethat knowledge somewhere.
So I got a I got a job in IT ina different place.
(12:39):
I I'm I'm currently working at ahospital.
Um companies called HighMark,AHN, you probably heard of them.
Yeah, yeah.
Um they're they're they'rethey're they're it's blue cross
blue shield is the insurance.
Um, you probably heard of allthat stuff.
But um over in Western PA,there's about maybe six to
seven, maybe eight hospitals.
(12:59):
Um and what I do is I kind ofhelp out the doctors with their
phones and stuff like that.
Just a bunch of IT stuff in thehospital, man.
We're counted on to fix a lot ofthings and be the be the
cohesiveness of in the middleand you know, client engagement
with the patients and all thatstuff, making sure everything's
(13:19):
good.
So that's that's what I doduring the day, man.
Um, you know, I've been doing itfor the past, you know, eight
years, maybe while I wascoaching, you know what I mean.
So it's kind of uh somethingthat it's definitely the
moneymaker.
Uh IT's pretty decent.
If you like the AI stuff and thevideo production, all that
(13:41):
stuff's IT, all that's ITentity.
So, you know, that's that'sthat's up my alley.
You know what I'm saying?
So I like doing it.
It's not bad, you know.
Plus, on top of that, man,there's a satisfaction to it
where you're helping patients,right?
Right.
Doctors need computers, right?
They need that stuff to help fixand look at different things on
patients, and then we're thereto glue in the middle, make sure
(14:03):
it's working, and then makingsure the doctors are happy, you
know what I mean?
So that's that's what I do.
SPEAKER_00 (14:09):
That's awesome.
I've worked, you know, acustomer service job, um,
basically uh right out ofcollege.
And you know, there's just thethe reward of being able to help
somebody, and no, no matter whatit is, I consider IT a customer
service uh job because you knowyou're working on computers, but
those computers help people,like you said, you're working
(14:30):
for doctors and that, and that'shelping them help patients.
SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
And not only that, man, sometimes you got to do
phones, iPads, yeah, all thatstuff, man.
They use all different types ofstuff just to get their patients
back on track, man.
And we handle with a lot ofstuff like that.
And then there's in in thehospital, there's a lot of
different IT teams that we workwith.
So it's not just us, man.
(14:55):
There's other teams we deal withthat help us fix issues.
So I, you know, we're not alwaysthe go-to, but we're always the
cohesiveness with other teams toglue this thing together.
How do we how do we get it backto normal to make sure people
are you know back on track withthemselves and then you know,
(15:16):
with the doctors, man, we'reright there helping them, you
know, and we even give out ournumbers sometimes just so they
can call us when they're oncall.
You never know.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
My hell, my mom was a nurse for 46 years, so um, I
definitely understand that.
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
I hope I make it, man.
I hope I hope I make it thatlong, man.
That's crazy, man.
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
You know, it is nuts.
It it blows my mind to you knowto even think about that.
My mom started uh basically innursing school and you know,
being an aide at 18 years old,you know, and so for her to make
it uh 46 years in one industry,I mean it it's it's a sight to
see, and then to be able toretire from it, uh and now get
(16:00):
to enjoy the rest of her lifeand everything like that.
And uh it's great to see forsure.
SPEAKER_01 (16:06):
Um so yeah, but yeah, you know, I know she I
know she worked long nights,man.
SPEAKER_00 (16:12):
Uh you know those long nights, those nerds, yeah.
Yeah, and just the on-call.
I still remember, you know,Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas
dinners, everything like that.
And sometimes that you know,that pager, that beeper goes
off, and you know, she's makinga call and then she's having to
run to the hospital.
You know, it there's throughit's kind of like you know, with
what I do, there's there wasreally no days off.
(16:34):
Um yeah, I get it with thatgrind.
You got you gotta be ready to gowith it at a moment's notice.
Um, that being said, you know,you are a proud dad and
husbands.
You know, walk us through yourbalance of you know the family
life, work, and coaching andeverything like that, because
it's a very busy schedule.
How do you balance all thattogether?
SPEAKER_01 (16:53):
Well, you know, I wouldn't be able to do it
without my wife, man.
I've been married for about 11years.
Um, I've been coaching for thatlong, too.
So I know.
Uh, you know, my wife's beenbeen there ever since I started
coaching.
Um, she's actually one of theones that is like, yo, you
should go get into coachingafter you're done playing.
Kind of like on a teeter of it,but you know, the balance of it,
(17:16):
man, I just trying to find thathappy medium of spending that
time with my family.
Um, you know, hold on, I justgot out of this.
Okay, here we go.
Um what was I saying?
Okay, yeah.
So balancing the, you know,spending time with my kids in
the offseason, I that's what Inet normally do.
(17:36):
Um, I try to put my phone down,man.
Once football's done with, I tryto like ease my brain into
something else.
Right.
My son likes to wrestle, helikes to play baseball.
I take my mind there.
I don't really get involved withbaseball much.
Um, my daughter did gymnastics.
I just sat on the side andcheered her on.
Right.
So trying to be an involved dad,man, as much as I can.
(17:57):
And then uh spending time withmy wife, man, as much as I can,
man.
Those little dates matter.
Little wins.
We call them little wins.
Um, you know, you know, becauseyou gotta make her happy.
SPEAKER_00 (18:08):
Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (18:09):
You gotta make her happy, man, especially at home
when she's dealing with thelittle ones, man.
Um, so I try to like check inand make sure she's alright.
Anything she needs, man, I tryto be there because without her,
man, it'd be tough to balancefamily and coaching with nobody
at the crib, man.
It's tough.
Yeah, you know.
So I balance that, man.
(18:29):
I I try to divide my time up.
Um and even during the season, Ijust want to say this with me,
and um, I'm a family first typeof guy, but during the season,
even though when we watch film,um, I still make time and in
practice, I still make time formy family too.
Like if I have to take a PTOday, you know, just so I'm with
(18:52):
them throughout the day and goto practice, that's what I'll
do.
You know, um, I my job, I'mfortunate enough where my job
allows me to be flexible.
Um, working in IT sometimes.
I I I I'm normally at thehospitals, but sometimes I'm
done at where I can go homebefore I go to practice.
So they see me.
(19:13):
They hear me, they see me beforeI go.
You know what I mean?
That's a special thing.
Um, sometimes there's long days,man.
Sometimes there's long dayswhere I'm up at six, five in the
morning and they don't see metill the that evening, which is
seven o'clock, you know, whenyou're coming home from those
late meetings with the guys, thefellas up there, the kids that
need extra work, or you're lookwatching film of the next
(19:35):
opponent.
Um but those I usually planthose days out ahead of time.
Um, you know, I have a greathead coach, Matt Morgan, um, who
sets the schedule.
So we're allowed to send thatschedule to our families.
Hey, I'm gonna be late onWednesday.
That's my late day, right?
We're there until 6:37 watchingfilm any other day.
I'm home at 5, 5.15, you know,and that's a decent amount of
(19:59):
time to spend time with myfamily, right?
Because I usually try to seethem in the morning before they
get on the bus.
But, you know, that's just howit is, man.
Even in the summertime, too,when we do 707s, man, um, you
know, we don't try to take uptoo much of our family time in
the summer.
And I always dedicate time forthem out that way.
(20:19):
So, you know, it's tough.
It's definitely tough, butthat's how I balance it, man.
I I I pick my days, um, Ischedule it as close as I can,
man, to spend time with myfamily, you know.
And, you know, I know Saturdaymornings, Saturday mornings, we
usually meet with the guys andthey lift.
(20:40):
But there's a certain timeswhere I'm done, man.
I go with my family and I'm uh Iput my phone down, man.
Let them have my ears and myears and my mind.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, that that's me.
Sundays are typically a daywhere you know I don't have
anything going on.
Uh that's that's typically thethe family day for sure for me.
Uh you know, just busy schedule.
Uh typically, even if I have auh you know a show over the
weekend, I'm typically home onyou know on Sundays.
(21:12):
So we try to try to make thatthat family day and everything
like that.
So I definitely understand thatbecause like I said, I'm always
I'm always on the go.
Um there's times when you knowyou're you're traveling as a
comedian.
And I I mean I still rememberone time, you know, I was
driving from at the time livingin West Virginia, had a show in
(21:35):
Illinois, um, had a work a dayjob in the morning, uh got off
uh put in a PTO day for the halfthe day so I can make the drive
there, and then turn around anddrive and back.
And by the time I got back, itwas time for me to already head
to work.
You know, so you know, therethere's days like that that you
have, and you know, Sundays whenwe can actually all just sit
(21:55):
down, relax, and you know, justbe together.
Um, in the the summer times, thethe son and I, we haven't got to
do it in a little while, but wetry to have you know just a
father sundae.
We'll go out fishing, uh doingsomething just together, just to
get out of the house with eachother.
So you gotta make those timesand those little moments, like
you said, little wins.
You you gotta have those.
(22:15):
Uh uh, you mentioned making yougot you mentioned making making
the wife happy.
I you know, I live by the happywife, happy life uh mindset for
sure.
Um when we get to have a datenight, it's it's always just a
special night, even with herwork schedule too.
So it's um it's tough,especially around the holidays.
(22:36):
It's it's busy season for ourday, both of our day jobs too,
as well.
Uh, so we we don't get a lot oftime, but when we find those
little moments, even if it'sDoorDash and something, and you
know, just to be uh with eachother in the house and
everything like that, thatthat's a little win for us.
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Um yeah, because you got you and it all comes down to
the respect factor of your job,her job, like even with my
wife's job, because she worksfrom home and um I know she has
she deals with the blunt ofeverything before I get home.
Um, but she understands I workin a hospital field where it's
it's constant.
Sometimes I'm I come home fromfootball and then I get called
(23:16):
in to go back into work at 1a.m.
You know what I mean?
And then I gotta, you know, Igot a game that week that I'm
trying to prepare for, and thenI gotta work another shift where
you know IT is needed overnight.
So she knows like sometimes Idon't get much rest, but um, you
know, those are the days whereyou you make it work, you find
(23:38):
that happy medium.
Yeah.
Um and it comes down torespecting each other, man, and
knowing that there's there'salways light at the end of the
tunnel, you know.
Yeah, always always something tohold on to, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (23:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
You gotta find find that forsure.
Uh, do want to get back to toyour playing days here.
You know, you were a standoutcollege football player at
Slippery Rock University, uh,where you played both running
back and defensive back.
Uh, walk us through your time atSRU uh as a player and you know,
some of the highlights in thatexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (24:12):
Yeah, man.
So um I started off atYoungstown, man.
I that's where I met Johnny.
Um we were staying in the samedorm.
I was oh man, my car.
Here we go.
You're good.
Um we were staying in the samedorm.
I I actually red shirted up atYoungstown, but I transferred,
(24:32):
um, I transferred that spring 06to Slippery Rock, and that's
whenever they changed me from DBto running back.
Um my head coach at the time wasuh Coach George Mahalik, and he
sat me down in a room and hesaid, Hey man, um I know you
want to play DB, but we need arunning back.
(24:53):
As one of our running backs, hewas an all-star guy, all
conference guy, all P sack guy.
He is injured.
And I'm like, Whoa, I'm not arunning back.
I didn't even train or run allsummer to be a running back.
You know what I mean?
So I ended up, you know, hetalked to me, told me, hey man,
(25:14):
this is what I want you to do.
I actually did it, man.
I said, you know what, I'll doit for the team.
And he says, That's the bestthing you could do, man.
That's uh I'm happy for youdoing that.
You'll make a great runningback.
And that's it was all downhillfrom there, man.
I um even my mom was like, Oh,you get the ball more, and I get
to see you run.
(25:35):
She was like so happy for me tobe a running back.
I'm like, I'd rather playdefensive back.
Like, I'd rather tacklesomebody, hit somebody, because
that's that's what I wanted todo.
But yeah, man, that that's thestory.
That's how it came about.
And um, you know, I was a retrofreshman playing running back.
I was starting, I might havestarted like six or seven games.
I was sharing time with anotherfreshman, and then it was a
(25:57):
sophomore, uh, another runningback that was there, and he was
kind of a guy that I can leanon.
His name was Travis Sarver, he'sfrom uh Slippery Rock, actually.
And we and I I really didn'tknow much, man.
I haven't played running backsince freaking high school,
maybe my freshman year.
So I'm like, I know how to run,I know how to juke, I know the
(26:21):
holes, like I know plays andconcepts, but like how a college
is and how they prepare, it wasdifferent, definitely different.
Like, I'm like, oh my gosh, thisis kind of crazy.
And I remember, I remember myfirst run in camp.
(26:41):
I ran against a guy, his namewas Corey Lac.
He was an all-conference, all Psack, DN, and he hit me so
freaking hard, literally.
And I got up and I'm looking athim, and I looked at all my
linemen, and they were huge.
Um, the one left tackle, hisname is Mike Butterworth.
He went to the Falcons, and Ilooked at all of them.
(27:02):
I was like, hey man, uh y'all donot let that guy in no more.
Um and I told my head coach atthe time, I'm like, I'm juking
everybody, I'm not runningnobody over.
I'm probably 190 pounds.
These dudes is 215, 220.
I was like, I'm a scat back, I'mgonna just juke them like Barry
Sanders.
That's what I told him, and I'mlike, that's what I'm gonna do.
(27:27):
And I told my mom the samething.
I'm a freshman at the time.
I'm not getting ran over, I'mnot, I'm not doing none of that.
Nope.
I'm gonna juke him.
I'm just gonna try to score asmany points as I can.
You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
You gotta know your strikes, man.
SPEAKER_01 (27:40):
I'm telling you, you know, man, but that's that's
just how that's how it happened,man.
And then, you know, it went andthe rest was history, man.
I um I led the led the team inuh average, Russian average.
I gotta look up my stats, but Iforget.
But it's just a blur now, man.
But I remember those keymoments.
Yeah, those key moments, man.
(28:01):
Like first day at camp gettinghit.
We had to go through bag drills,man, and they wanted me to run
my 40.
Man, we had freshman initiation.
It was crazy.
SPEAKER_00 (28:11):
Now, see, I I get it.
Like I said, I I I played alittle bit of high school ball,
but I was mainly a swimmer.
Um, I I swam through highschool, uh, earned a scholarship
at Bethany College to swimthere.
Um, yeah, if it wasn't for anunfortunate injury, um, my
senior year of high school in uhplaying football, didn't even
realize it.
(28:31):
Uh, we put the pads on the firstday.
I hit a sled and you know, felta burning sensation down my arm
and into my pinky.
And at the time, you know, I waslike, oh, it's a stinger.
First time putting pads on,first time hitting, you get
those.
Didn't realize I separated myshoulder and I played the whole
season on it.
Uh yeah, caused me my senioryear of swimming.
Uh, once I realized that it wasit was injured, and it wasn't
(28:54):
until I got the swim practiceafter the season and couldn't do
my stroke because they had me atfreestyle and butterfly.
I mean, I'm 6'5, I was 155pounds because I was a swimmer
uh too as well.
So the long lanky butterflystroke, kind of like a Michael
Phelps type thing.
So that's what they wantedbefore, and I couldn't do it.
SPEAKER_01 (29:13):
You probably had records, man.
You probably had records, man,with that frame.
Oh dude, touching the wall andcoming back was easy.
SPEAKER_00 (29:20):
I uh uh at high school, I I missed the school's
uh hundred butterfly record bylike 0.01 seconds.
It was just a matter of I didn'tstretch at the right time to
touch the wall, uh, like I knewI could have.
Uh otherwise I would have beenholding a record there.
Uh but turnaround going tocollege and you know, swimming
(29:42):
at a D3 school, um, you don'tyou think you know D3 is is
gonna be easier than D1, D2,anything like that.
It's not.
I'm telling, I'm tellingeverybody here, like I was not
prepared for the type ofpractices and you know my coach
asked me, he was just like, sobutterfly's probably out because
we see your medical records andwe see you have a bad, you have
(30:03):
a bummed shoulder.
I was like, I can't do thestroke like like I used to.
So that's I don't know what youwhat we want to do here.
Um he goes, how aboutbackstroke?
And I was like, I have neverdone backstroke a day in my
life.
I was like, I've been swimmingsince I was eight years old.
I I I've never done thebackstroke.
Um he goes, he goes, how do youhe goes, I was like, I don't
(30:27):
know if I can do it.
I'm a sprinter as it is, I don'tknow if I can do the backstroke.
I was kind of like you withrunning back.
I I haven't trained doing youknow backstroke.
It was always uh butterfly anduh and freestyle.
He goes, you might be the bestbackstroker in the PAC and you
have no idea.
And I was just like, let's doit, coach.
Whatever, whatever gets me inthe water and gets me swimming
(30:49):
more events, you know.
I mean, just to to get that uhexperience was it was great in
sophomore year.
Um turned out uh you know,re-injured the shoulder in the
middle of a hunter backstroke,and had I not injured the
shoulder again, uh, I would havebroken the school's backstroke
record by a full second.
(31:10):
Um and it was it was that, youknow what I mean?
That that key moment.
The rest of the season is prettymuch a blur, rehabbed it, still
was able to go to the conferencechampionships, but the times
just weren't there anymorebecause of the because of the
shoulder injury and andultimately ended the career of
of swimming.
You know, a shoulder injury iskind of a kiss of death for for
(31:30):
a swimmer, uh, for sure.
But you know, moving kind oflike I I equate that to moving
positions, like you moving fromdefensive back to running back,
you know, going from being doingthe butterfly to where I can
look ahead at where the wall is,then now I'm looking at the
ceiling doing the backstroke,you know, it it's it was a whole
different game.
And you know, it it's it's it'sa challenge, but you know, you
(31:54):
don't know how good you can beat something if you don't try,
is what I took from thatexperience.
Is yeah, coach talked me intothe to turning me into a
backstroker instead of justbeing a freestyler and only
swimming a couple of vents a ameat, and you know, turned out I
was really good at it, you knowwhat I mean?
SPEAKER_01 (32:12):
And you know what?
Um, you know, after I myfreshman year playing running
back, I went back to DB.
We got a new DB coach from WestVirginia.
Um he's at Ohio State right now,he's a special teams
coordinator, but or a specialteams quality guy, but he was a
head coach at the University ofFinlay.
SPEAKER_00 (32:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (32:32):
Uh yeah, coach, coach Keys, Coach Rob Keyes,
yeah.
Head coach at Finley, man.
He one of my best DB coachesever.
Um, I went back over to play DB,man, and it was it was up from
there, man.
He showed me a lot.
So Coach Mahalik, head coach atthe time, talked me into playing
running back, and it was it wasgreat.
(32:52):
And then I went back over toplay DB, and it was even better.
Um without without having that,though, like people having that
confidence in you, man, thatplays a big deal, too.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
Because they see the hard workyou're putting in, and then
they'll go, like, man, he's kindof agile, or he's kind of this,
(33:14):
or he's kind of that.
Let's put him here because Iknow he's gonna make plays
there, or I know he's gonna getthe job done.
You know what I'm saying?
So it kind of was like one ofthose guys, man.
And I loved it, man.
College football, I like collegefootball better than high
school.
Some people were different, somepeople like high school because
it's different, like you'reyou're you're playing for your
(33:34):
high school, you're playing foryour town, playing for your
team.
You know what I mean?
But to me, college was like man,man.
I mean, it was it it it to me,it felt different.
It's it felt like home, you knowwhat I'm saying?
Right, like people believe inyour ability, you know.
So it could be it could bedifferent for a lot of other
(33:54):
people.
They probably had differentexperiences, but for me, I
wouldn't take nothing forgranted, man.
College, man, set it straight.
They said it straight.
SPEAKER_00 (34:03):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I mean, I've only everexperienced high school ball,
um, wasn't ever gonna be goodenough to to go to college uh
and play there.
So uh, but you know, did have aa position switch, uh, because
you know, in high school, youknew you you have to play
offense and defense in WestVirginia.
Yeah, we had to have uh positionon both.
(34:23):
And you know, I started out as aas a free safety, like I said,
6'5, it's like 155 pounds.
You know, it wasn't really much,you know.
So I played defensive back, andthen they realized that hey, um,
we're gonna move you from freesafety.
And I was at first, I was like,why?
Why where where where you moveme to?
(34:44):
We want a corner, like, wherewhere am I still gonna be a
defensive back?
They go, No, we're gonna moveyou to defensive end.
I said, I'm sorry, I'm I'mthere's no way I'm gonna be able
to make it on the on thedefensive line.
They go, We're not playing youthere the entire time.
We're gonna make you a speedrusher on third downs, but we
know it's a passing situation,and we need somebody to come off
the line quick and and put somepressure on the quarterback,
(35:06):
that's gonna be you.
You know, they they saw thatthat I had that quick twitch off
the line to be able to beatthese 350-pound uh offensive
linemen and these uh guards andtackles and being able to get
around them and put pressure onthe quarterback in passing
situations, and I would havenever have guessed that would
have been the case for me.
(35:26):
Yeah, you know, at 155 pounds,and then you put me on the
defensive line.
I that that you'd sound crazy,coach.
I don't know what you're talkingabout.
So I get that.
SPEAKER_01 (35:40):
6'5, man.
It's it's it's it's it's itmight have been worth it, man.
You never know, man.
SPEAKER_00 (35:44):
Yeah, it I mean it worked out.
I mean, I ended the I I I don'tknow how I still remember.
I remember so silly things, andmy wife just can't believe it.
But I remember I finished theseason with five and a half
sacks and like 15 tackles forlosses, and you know, and that
it's just like I would havenever have guessed that would
have been you know the casemoving there.
(36:07):
But you know, as we're recordingthe show, we are in the middle
of the college football season.
You said you uh uh you're a bigcollege football fan and
everything like that.
Uh, who are some of the teamsthat you know kind of surprising
you, you know, as we look intothe to the rest of the season
and getting near the bowl seasonin the playoffs for the uh for
the college football playoffs?
You know, you got any surprisepicks for us?
SPEAKER_01 (36:33):
You know what?
I hate to say this, um, but youknow, what uh Indiana surprised
me the most.
Yeah, like like like and umSignetti, he coached against me
at IUP.
But he's a PA guy uh uh throughand through, man.
(36:55):
Western PA guy.
I mean, he already he alwaysrecruited over over here,
Western PA.
But um Indiana, man, they'rewinning.
And it it's it's different, man.
He changed the culture.
Absolutely.
He changed the culture up there,man.
It's and I'm I'm rooting forthem, but at the same time, man,
I got guys that coached me.
(37:17):
Like I got a Al Washington, he'sat Notre Dame.
They're going against Pitt thisweek.
I don't know who to root for.
Then I got Ohio State, which myDB coach coaches for Ohio State,
and then you got Indiana, whichI know Kurt Signetti, man.
(37:38):
I he he uh recruited a weekrecruited, but he also coached
against me at IUP.
So I'm like, man, this is thisis crazy.
That that is tough when you getit.
Indiana, Indiana, Indiana mightwin, man.
SPEAKER_00 (37:53):
Dude, Indiana's tough this year.
I didn't I did not expect thatat all.
That was definitely like I keeplooking at him, I was like, How
did they come from?
But like you said, that theychanged the culture there, and
you can see what that does to aprogram.
SPEAKER_01 (38:08):
Yeah, man, gives them confidence, man.
He he builds up his players,man, inside and all probably
good coordinators, right?
You can't win without goodcoordinators, then you gotta
have a strength coach, right?
Make sure guys are healthy,good, man, strong, man, and then
like this NIO.
This you get in the top players,man, and I guess that
(38:29):
cohesiveness there, man, thoseguys are gelling, right?
Guys that work together, right?
You got about 80 guys, man.
They might different differentguys, different teams that they
probably were before coming overthere working together, man.
It's crazy.
Indiana, ohio state third,they're just a high state, you
know.
Yeah, I don't think they'relosing.
Uh me personally, I don't thinkthey're gonna lose a game, but
(38:51):
Indiana might they might do it.
SPEAKER_00 (38:54):
Yeah, I'm I'm hoping they do.
I'd like to see them, you know,make a big run in the playoffs.
Uh, I'm not a big Indiana fan,but you know, I I like seeing
teams like this that you know,once you change the culture and
you see them start winning, I Iwant to root for those teams,
you know what I mean?
Uh that's just yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:11):
It's almost like the underdog, they're the underdog
right now.
SPEAKER_00 (39:14):
I mean, I love rooting for the underdogs.
That that's just my that'sthat's my favorite thing, is
rooting for somebody.
Uh that people are like, there'sno way they're gonna do it, and
then they do it and just shockeverybody.
That's my favorite stories ofall time in sports for sure, is
rooting for the underdog.
SPEAKER_01 (39:30):
Now, pit in Notre Dame, we have you know, college
football, we have you knowcollege game day coming to
Pittsburgh for the Pitt NotreDame game, yeah, and pitch the
underdog because Notre Dame, Imean they're they've been up and
down, but I think both teams aresix and two, or Notre Dame might
be seven and two.
I'm not sure, but it's supposedto be a good game, it's at noon,
(39:52):
and you know, you know, my myhead coach Matt Morgan went to
Pitt, so if he hears this, hemight get mad at me, but I don't
know.
They you know, I'm I'm I'm tornbetween two thumbs right now.
It's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00 (40:06):
Absolutely, especially being around the
Pittsburgh area for sure.
You you kind of have to root forpit.
I don't, I grew up in WestVirginia, I'm a Mountaineer fan
through and through, so I can'tI I can't just root for pit.
SPEAKER_01 (40:17):
So oh man, yeah, Mountaineers.
Oh man, yeah, yeah.
You guys beat Pitt this year, soyou guys got the one up on them
this year.
SPEAKER_00 (40:25):
Yeah, well, yeah, that that that's a win for the
season for us.
You know, we're we're strugglingthrough throughout the rest of
the season, but you know what?
We always have that pit win uhto fall back on, you know.
That's that's always when youbeat your rival uh in the
backyard brawl, that's alwaysbragging rights for a year at
least.
SPEAKER_01 (40:41):
So it is it is man.
We probably gonna be talkingabout it for a whole year until
they meet again.
SPEAKER_00 (40:46):
Absolutely.
I I absolutely will, knowing meand my personality, I absolutely
will.
I got a lot of a lot of buddiesin that area and that that were
diehard pit fans that you knowwe we were talking crap, being
text throughout the game andeverything like that.
And uh it was funny once thatovertime finally found uh
finished and Mountaineers gotthe W, the responses kind of
(41:08):
slowed down on the on the pitside.
So, you know, it was a goodgame, but all in good uh in good
fun and good spirits andeverything like that, too, as
well.
Um you mentioned it a little bitthere, and I I wanted to touch
on this.
I kind of wanted this to be oneof the last topics that we
talked about here.
Uh, but you played a little bitof professional indoor football
uh after you finished at uhSlippery Rock.
(41:30):
Uh, how was that experiencegetting to play professional
football and how long did youplay for?
SPEAKER_01 (41:36):
So uh before I jump off, yeah, we'll we'll end this
here, but um, I um so I had longstory short, I had a pro day um
at Duquesne University May 2010.
Actually, it might have been inMarch.
Um, I went out to eastern sideof PA.
I train I uh trained out there,um, and then you know the NFL
(42:00):
thing didn't, you know, itdidn't it fell through and it
didn't work out.
I signed a two-day waiver,whatever, two-day workout with
um a CFL team, bounced around,and then my first sign was with
uh Reading Express out inReading PA.
They were um IFL at that time.
(42:22):
Um it was a good experience, andit was a wake-up call because
like a lot of guys hadexperience of playing arena, and
I'm new to Arena, so I had toadjust.
And it's almost a business, it'sa business of a sub-business.
Like it's like if you're notgood, you're done.
(42:42):
Like, yeah, if you're if youcan't guard this guy and he's
running full speed at you in amotion, you're never gonna be
able to do it.
You know what I'm saying?
And I'm like, I had to do I hadto work on that in the
offseason.
Like, how am I gonna guard this?
So like when I was I wasbouncing around from CFL uh
(43:03):
workouts, and I had a multipleof them.
Um, even I was with um EdmontonEskimos uh for uh minicamp
before I got released from them,but that's where I learned the
high motion from.
And then once I caught on withit a little bit, you know, it
kind of made it easier wheneverI went to Redding, because I'm
(43:24):
like, okay, now I can Iunderstand it a little bit.
Right.
But the experience, theexperience of it was great
because I used to watch Arenagrowing up.
I'm like, well, what the heck?
Like, I'm maybe I might beplaying in this, but at that
time, arena football was theywere, you know, Kurt Warner and
you know, all those other peoplethat were playing Arena at the
(43:45):
time.
I'm watching and I'm like, Ican't believe I'm doing this
right now.
Like I would rather rather be ina CFL or playing outside than
playing arena.
And it's crazy.
You're playing in a freakinghockey arena, fans are on top of
you, you you're close, there'sno glass.
Like hockey, you have a glass,you don't have nothing.
(44:05):
You get hit into the boards, youcan fly over the boards, man.
It was it was nuts, man.
I played for uh three differentteams, man.
I played for um Reading Express,then I went up to Erie, PA Erie,
Erie Express, or Erie, not ErieExpress, but um, I forget what
(44:25):
the name is now.
I can't even think.
But I was up in Erie, I playedup in Erie, and then I I signed
a contract to play in Cleveland,played for the Cleveland
Gladiators, and I got let goafter camp, and then I signed on
with the Pittsburgh Power.
You probably remember hearingthe Pittsburgh Powers.
Yes, I played with them.
I was then I was with them umfor a season, and then that 2013
(44:52):
season, I was done playingfootball after that.
Um you know, I had a coupleworkouts here and there with
other CFL, and I had a workoutwith the Colts NFL team.
I actually had a workout withthe Bills too, but it's just you
know, it wasn't my time, man.
I guess God had other plans forme.
You know, they um I'm a trueprofessional Joe.
There's pros and there's Joes.
(45:13):
I was a true Joe, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (45:15):
Hey, every team needs that guy, though.
You know what I mean?
That that guy that's gonna comein and work, uh, no matter what.
Uh I I love those stories too,as well.
Uh, you know, and you know, goodfor you.
I mean, not a lot of peoplewould take their shot, you know,
after the workouts and the prodays didn't go their way.
Um, they would have been like,all right, well, football isn't
(45:36):
for me.
You know, you found otheravenues, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02 (45:38):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:39):
So that that's I I applaud that uh a thousand
percent here.
Uh AJ, we are running down herenear the end of the episode.
I have one quick segment here.
We do have to get in here, andthat is the fast fitty five.
It is five random questions fromthe wonderful manager of the
podcast, Johnny Fitty Falcone.
(46:00):
Uh, these are kind of rapid firefor the new listeners out there,
uh, but you can elaborate if youneed to.
Uh, if you are ready, AJ, we'llget started with the fast 55.
All right, let's do it.
All right.
First question.
Uh, if you are flipping a cointo choose something, are you
picking heads or tails?
And why?
SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
Tails never fails, man.
That's the motto.
SPEAKER_00 (46:22):
Absolutely.
That's that's an easy one.
Toss up for the first one.
I feel like he gave you thehair.
But question number two uh,what's the worst number between
one and ten?
Oh, six.
I'll never wear six.
Ever.
Never wear six.
All right.
Uh, question number three arestanding desks overrated or
underrated?
SPEAKER_01 (46:43):
They are overrated, but in other news they're
underrated because you can haveyou can stand up and do and move
around.
You don't want to sit in onearea.
You know what I mean?
I like standing desk.
I have I have one at my job, soI got you.
SPEAKER_00 (47:01):
Okay.
Uh, question number four What'sthe better flavor of milkshake?
Banana or strawberry?
I'm a strawberry guy.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (47:12):
I'm a strawberry guy.
Bananas, man, are good in inlike fruit bowls, but when you
go with a milkshake or shake,you gotta go strawberry.
SPEAKER_00 (47:22):
Absolutely.
Out of those two for sure.
Strawberry.
Uh, last question here.
Are log burning fireplaces in ahouse overrated or underrated?
SPEAKER_01 (47:35):
That's a good question.
I'm gonna have to talk to Tonyabout that.
That's a good question.
I'm gonna go overrated.
If you have a big enough houseand you can put logs on a fire,
like in a cabin house, somethinglike that, then yeah, but in a
regular house, I probablywouldn't uh just go buy a
heater.
SPEAKER_00 (47:56):
Yeah, I'm I'm a big fireplace guy, though.
Uh, you know, I mean, I I love agood fireplace, you can't go
wrong with it.
Uh but um that was the fast fit.
You know, I feel like he took iteasy.
Like he's been taking it easy onpeople that he knows, like with
these questions.
Typically, I get weird ones withthis segment here.
SPEAKER_01 (48:14):
Uh now the the fire one, like if I'm in a log cabin,
like and I'm out, like you know,woods or wooded areas, stuff
like that.
It it it it has its place, butlike a normal house, man.
I don't know, there's too muchsmoke.
You gotta have the fireplace fora lot of houses.
Don't have the fireplace forright, they just have the the
(48:35):
the fake ones, the electric.
SPEAKER_00 (48:38):
Yeah, I can't I can't say much.
I I have an electric firefireplace, you know what I mean?
Like I have the the electric onehere, if so in my in my house.
So I get it uh with that.
But uh AJ, like I said, we arerunning down near the end of the
episode.
I do give every guest thisopportunity at the end of every
show.
Uh, if there's anything you wantto get out there, anything you
(48:59):
want to uh promote, anythinglike that, whether it's for your
coaching, anything like that,um, or even if it's just a good
message, I'm gonna give youabout a minute and the floor is
yours.
SPEAKER_01 (49:10):
Yeah, man, just uh, you know, I appreciate you guys
having me on, man.
This is probably like my secondtime doing a podcast, but um
just want to say, man, if you'reif you're being a coach, man,
stay positive, man.
These kids need it nowadays morethan ever.
Um, a lot of this world is a lotof negativity.
Um, but we want to stay positivefor our youth, man.
(49:32):
That's why I'm a big part of theyouth program and wrestling
program, man.
Uh and my son plays youthfootball, and I'm always for the
youth, man, pushing themforward.
So uh that's that that's that'sabout me, man.
You know, we got to push thatpositivity to everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (49:47):
So absolutely, man.
I I I love the attitude, I lovethe energy that you give off and
everything like that.
It's great to talk to you here,but that is going to do it for
this week's episode of the RideHome Rants podcast.
I want to thank my guest, AJSaunders, for joining the show
here.
A lot of fun to get to talk toyou here.
I really appreciate you comingon.
(50:09):
And as always, if you enjoyedthe show, be a friend, tell a
friend.
If you didn't, tell themanyways, they might like it just
because you didn't.
That's gonna do it for me, and Iwill see y'all next week.
Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home
Rance Podcast.
This is as always your host,Mike Bono.
I got a great guest for ustoday.
Uh, but first and foremost, wedid just land a new sponsor for
the show that I have not hadtime to pre-record, so we're
gonna get them shouted out realquick, and that is Web Western.
(04:53):
I am wearing one of the hatshere today.
Web Western is apparel made forsomebody who is not afraid of
hard work.
Those who like to go outhunting, fishing, and working
the land, it is built for you.
I am wearing the arrow hattoday, which reminds everyone to
be a straight shooter and don'tbe afraid of hard work.
(05:17):
Uh, go to webwestern.com, usethe promo code MikeBono and save
yourself 10% off of yourpurchase.
Once again, Webwestern for thosewho are not afraid of hard work
and no BS with this companyeither.
As well, I'm a huge supporter ofthis.
Again, webwestern.com, promocode Mike Bono.
(05:39):
That being said, my guest today,uh, he is a coach and he is
coming to us, I believe, up nearthe Cleveland area, and that is
AJ Saunders joins the show.
AJ, thank you for joining,brother.
SPEAKER_01 (05:52):
Hey man, I'm uh I'm happy to join you.
I'm actually not in a Clevelandarea.
SPEAKER_00 (05:57):
You're not in Pittsburgh area, even better
than Pittsburgh area.
I grew up around the Pittsburgharea, so that's absolutely great
for that for sure.
Um, yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01 (06:07):
It's all good.
No yeah, I'm at I'm at wrestlingpractice right now.
Um, you know, my son wrestlesfor Valley Youth Wrestling out
here in New Kensington, not toofar up 28 from Pittsburgh, but
um yeah, yeah, I help coachyouth, you know what I mean.
I also help coach uh plum highschool football.
SPEAKER_00 (06:25):
So okay always busy, man, sports man.
I hear that.
I uh you're you're preaching tothe choir as someone who works a
day job trying to make it as astand-up comedian and running a
podcast too as well.
So I definitely understand abusy schedule for sure.
Yeah.
All right, so you can it'scringy, right?
You're you're busy, you're busyall the time, all the time.
(06:46):
There, there's no days off fromme.
Um, I'm either on the road uhwith comedy gigs, recording a
show here, uh working my dayjob.
Um, and um I'm I'm a husband anda father too, as well.
So, you know, no rest for thewicked.
Uh, I wouldn't have it any otherway, though.
(07:07):
You mentioned you mentioned itthere a little bit.
I believe you just finished upuh your football season.
Uh, where do you coach again?
And how was the season?
SPEAKER_01 (07:17):
Yes, uh I coached at uh Plum High School.
It's a it's in Pittsburgh, PlumPA, um not too far from where I
live.
Um, yeah, man, we had a latepush in the season, played
against Penn Hills, man.
If you if you want to GoogleMustang uh victory, um it was
(07:37):
like it was a crazy, crazy game.
Uh one of the things thathappened, and you'll probably if
you if you uh Google it, you'llsee that one of our kickers, um,
he had a blocked field goal andhe picked it up and they
tush-pushed him all the way tothe end zone.
Nice.
So it was it was it was on theit was on the news, man.
It was on USA Today for highschool sports.
(08:00):
It was it was uh it was a sightto see, man, be a part of that.
But you know, we finished theseason with five and five.
We went to the playoffs, um,lost to Upper St.
Clair.
A lot of people in thePittsburgh area know they are
they're pretty good.
Pretty good.
Man, I I I felt like the gameplan, man.
We had a great game plan to goin and win.
And you know, things didn't goour way, but it is what it is,
(08:23):
man.
It's football.
Up and downs.
Absolutely.
Up and downs, man.
Every every season, every everygame, every minute.
Just gotta battle through it,you know.
SPEAKER_00 (08:33):
Yeah, I you know, I played high school ball myself,
so I definitely understand uhthe grind that a high school
football season can be for boththe players and the coaches and
everything like that.
Uh five and five, not anythingto shake a stick at anymore.
These, I mean, these these boysnowadays, they're they're built
different, I would say.
Um, especially down here uhwhere I'm at in Ohio, uh near
(08:55):
the Columbus area, um, littletown called Philo, Ohio.
There's some corn fed boys downhere, uh my son being one of
them.
Um I can't I can't say much.
Uh 16-year-old, six foot one,250 pounds.
I mean, he's he's a tank forsure.
Uh but does he play high schoolor uh he did.
(09:17):
Uh he uh he did.
He did he forewent his uh hisjunior season this year.
Um couldn't fault him.
Uh said he just wanted to getinto the workforce and and and
start working and and earningsome money.
So as a father, you know, Ican't I can't fault him for that
and having that work ethic asthe 16-year-old, you know.
(09:39):
Um was bummed not to go andwatch him play on Friday nights.
Uh obviously, uh as somebodywho's played football and loves
the the game of football, lovedgoing out on Friday nights and
watching him play.
Uh, but you know, he he's gotthat work ethic in him like me.
Like I said, I there's no daysoff for me.
And he's kind of taking afterthe old man and and wanting to
(10:00):
get to work.
So um got to watch my nephewplay.
Uh who uh they played on thesame team.
They're literally six weeksapart in age.
So uh still got to go to acouple games here, here and
there when the the scheduleallowed.
So uh, but yeah, that you knowthe the grind of a high school
season is just insane.
(10:20):
Um I remember even my senioryear.
SPEAKER_01 (10:25):
It it's almost like um can you hear me?
SPEAKER_00 (10:29):
Yeah, I got you.
What's up?
SPEAKER_01 (10:30):
Okay, it it's almost like a mini college.
Um we're in 5A, so like 5A, youknow, almost like D1, D2 in uh
in Ohio.
Um it requires it requires a lotof attention.
Attention to detail, man.
Um, you gotta pay attention to,you know, they because they run
(10:52):
the offenses in 5A a little bitmore strategic than I would say,
you know, 1A, 2A.
Uh a lot more talented teams, alot more bigger teams, right?
Then you got a lot more kidsgetting recruited at that level,
too.
So it's kind of crazy, man, whenyou gotta you gotta, you know,
(11:14):
big huge fights that you gottaclimb out of almost every week.
And then there's teams that youshould beat.
Sometimes you lose against thoseteams that you should beat
because you know you never knowwhat you're gonna get, you know.
So like you said, man, coaching,man, it's a grind.
Um, having did it at the collegelevel, I've definitely been
asked, but high school's whereI'm at right now.
I'm a D coordinator at Plum, bythe way.
(11:35):
I didn't get a chance to mentionthat, but um, it's pretty it's
been fun the past two yearsdoing it.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (11:42):
I've always I've always said um wasn't uh a
standout receiver when I played.
Um, I've always said I'd make abetter coach than I would uh or
did as a player.
Uh, but you know, I I just asteward of the game.
I love the game of football.
Uh always have.
(12:02):
Um but besides coaching, um, Iknow you mentioned that you, you
know, you're helping outcoaching with uh uh wrestling
there and the youth andeverything like that.
Uh, do you have anything else uhfor like a day job that you do?
Um, and if so, how long have youbeen doing that?
SPEAKER_01 (12:17):
Yeah, man.
So um I went to school to be ITcomputer technology.
So I got my degree in that afterI was done playing uh arena
football.
Um, you know, I said, you knowwhat, might as well use my
degree, man.
Use that paper, you know, usethat knowledge somewhere.
So I got a I got a job in IT ina different place.
(12:39):
I I'm I'm currently working at ahospital.
Um companies called HighMark,AHN, you probably heard of them.
Yeah, yeah.
Um they're they're they'rethey're they're it's blue cross
blue shield is the insurance.
Um, you probably heard of allthat stuff.
But um over in Western PA,there's about maybe six to
seven, maybe eight hospitals.
(12:59):
Um and what I do is I kind ofhelp out the doctors with their
phones and stuff like that.
Just a bunch of IT stuff in thehospital, man.
We're counted on to fix a lot ofthings and be the be the
cohesiveness of in the middleand you know, client engagement
with the patients and all thatstuff, making sure everything's
(13:19):
good.
So that's that's what I doduring the day, man.
Um, you know, I've been doing itfor the past, you know, eight
years, maybe while I wascoaching, you know what I mean.
So it's kind of uh somethingthat it's definitely the
moneymaker.
Uh IT's pretty decent.
If you like the AI stuff and thevideo production, all that
(13:41):
stuff's IT, all that's ITentity.
So, you know, that's that'sthat's up my alley.
You know what I'm saying?
So I like doing it.
It's not bad, you know.
Plus, on top of that, man,there's a satisfaction to it
where you're helping patients,right?
Right.
Doctors need computers, right?
They need that stuff to help fixand look at different things on
patients, and then we're thereto glue in the middle, make sure
(14:03):
it's working, and then makingsure the doctors are happy, you
know what I mean?
So that's that's what I do.
SPEAKER_00 (14:09):
That's awesome.
I've worked, you know, acustomer service job, um,
basically uh right out ofcollege.
And you know, there's just thethe reward of being able to help
somebody, and no, no matter whatit is, I consider IT a customer
service uh job because you knowyou're working on computers, but
those computers help people,like you said, you're working
(14:30):
for doctors and that, and that'shelping them help patients.
SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
And not only that, man, sometimes you got to do
phones, iPads, yeah, all thatstuff, man.
They use all different types ofstuff just to get their patients
back on track, man.
And we handle with a lot ofstuff like that.
And then there's in in thehospital, there's a lot of
different IT teams that we workwith.
So it's not just us, man.
(14:55):
There's other teams we deal withthat help us fix issues.
So I, you know, we're not alwaysthe go-to, but we're always the
cohesiveness with other teams toglue this thing together.
How do we how do we get it backto normal to make sure people
are you know back on track withthemselves and then you know,
(15:16):
with the doctors, man, we'reright there helping them, you
know, and we even give out ournumbers sometimes just so they
can call us when they're oncall.
You never know.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
My hell, my mom was a nurse for 46 years, so um, I
definitely understand that.
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
I hope I make it, man.
I hope I hope I make it thatlong, man.
That's crazy, man.
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
You know, it is nuts.
It it blows my mind to you knowto even think about that.
My mom started uh basically innursing school and you know,
being an aide at 18 years old,you know, and so for her to make
it uh 46 years in one industry,I mean it it's it's a sight to
see, and then to be able toretire from it, uh and now get
(16:00):
to enjoy the rest of her lifeand everything like that.
And uh it's great to see forsure.
SPEAKER_01 (16:06):
Um so yeah, but yeah, you know, I know she I
know she worked long nights,man.
SPEAKER_00 (16:12):
Uh you know those long nights, those nerds, yeah.
Yeah, and just the on-call.
I still remember, you know,Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas
dinners, everything like that.
And sometimes that you know,that pager, that beeper goes
off, and you know, she's makinga call and then she's having to
run to the hospital.
You know, it there's throughit's kind of like you know, with
what I do, there's there wasreally no days off.
(16:34):
Um yeah, I get it with thatgrind.
You got you gotta be ready to gowith it at a moment's notice.
Um, that being said, you know,you are a proud dad and
husbands.
You know, walk us through yourbalance of you know the family
life, work, and coaching andeverything like that, because
it's a very busy schedule.
How do you balance all thattogether?
SPEAKER_01 (16:53):
Well, you know, I wouldn't be able to do it
without my wife, man.
I've been married for about 11years.
Um, I've been coaching for thatlong, too.
So I know.
Uh, you know, my wife's beenbeen there ever since I started
coaching.
Um, she's actually one of theones that is like, yo, you
should go get into coachingafter you're done playing.
Kind of like on a teeter of it,but you know, the balance of it,
(17:16):
man, I just trying to find thathappy medium of spending that
time with my family.
Um, you know, hold on, I justgot out of this.
Okay, here we go.
Um what was I saying?
Okay, yeah.
So balancing the, you know,spending time with my kids in
the offseason, I that's what Inet normally do.
(17:36):
Um, I try to put my phone down,man.
Once football's done with, I tryto like ease my brain into
something else.
Right.
My son likes to wrestle, helikes to play baseball.
I take my mind there.
I don't really get involved withbaseball much.
Um, my daughter did gymnastics.
I just sat on the side andcheered her on.
Right.
So trying to be an involved dad,man, as much as I can.
(17:57):
And then uh spending time withmy wife, man, as much as I can,
man.
Those little dates matter.
Little wins.
We call them little wins.
Um, you know, you know, becauseyou gotta make her happy.
SPEAKER_00 (18:08):
Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (18:09):
You gotta make her happy, man, especially at home
when she's dealing with thelittle ones, man.
Um, so I try to like check inand make sure she's alright.
Anything she needs, man, I tryto be there because without her,
man, it'd be tough to balancefamily and coaching with nobody
at the crib, man.
It's tough.
Yeah, you know.
So I balance that, man.
(18:29):
I I try to divide my time up.
Um and even during the season, Ijust want to say this with me,
and um, I'm a family first typeof guy, but during the season,
even though when we watch film,um, I still make time and in
practice, I still make time formy family too.
Like if I have to take a PTOday, you know, just so I'm with
(18:52):
them throughout the day and goto practice, that's what I'll
do.
You know, um, I my job, I'mfortunate enough where my job
allows me to be flexible.
Um, working in IT sometimes.
I I I I'm normally at thehospitals, but sometimes I'm
done at where I can go homebefore I go to practice.
So they see me.
(19:13):
They hear me, they see me beforeI go.
You know what I mean?
That's a special thing.
Um, sometimes there's long days,man.
Sometimes there's long dayswhere I'm up at six, five in the
morning and they don't see metill the that evening, which is
seven o'clock, you know, whenyou're coming home from those
late meetings with the guys, thefellas up there, the kids that
need extra work, or you're lookwatching film of the next
(19:35):
opponent.
Um but those I usually planthose days out ahead of time.
Um, you know, I have a greathead coach, Matt Morgan, um, who
sets the schedule.
So we're allowed to send thatschedule to our families.
Hey, I'm gonna be late onWednesday.
That's my late day, right?
We're there until 6:37 watchingfilm any other day.
I'm home at 5, 5.15, you know,and that's a decent amount of
(19:59):
time to spend time with myfamily, right?
Because I usually try to seethem in the morning before they
get on the bus.
But, you know, that's just howit is, man.
Even in the summertime, too,when we do 707s, man, um, you
know, we don't try to take uptoo much of our family time in
the summer.
And I always dedicate time forthem out that way.
(20:19):
So, you know, it's tough.
It's definitely tough, butthat's how I balance it, man.
I I I pick my days, um, Ischedule it as close as I can,
man, to spend time with myfamily, you know.
And, you know, I know Saturdaymornings, Saturday mornings, we
usually meet with the guys andthey lift.
(20:40):
But there's a certain timeswhere I'm done, man.
I go with my family and I'm uh Iput my phone down, man.
Let them have my ears and myears and my mind.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, that that's me.
Sundays are typically a daywhere you know I don't have
anything going on.
Uh that's that's typically thethe family day for sure for me.
Uh you know, just busy schedule.
Uh typically, even if I have auh you know a show over the
weekend, I'm typically home onyou know on Sundays.
(21:12):
So we try to try to make thatthat family day and everything
like that.
So I definitely understand thatbecause like I said, I'm always
I'm always on the go.
Um there's times when you knowyou're you're traveling as a
comedian.
And I I mean I still rememberone time, you know, I was
driving from at the time livingin West Virginia, had a show in
(21:35):
Illinois, um, had a work a dayjob in the morning, uh got off
uh put in a PTO day for the halfthe day so I can make the drive
there, and then turn around anddrive and back.
And by the time I got back, itwas time for me to already head
to work.
You know, so you know, therethere's days like that that you
have, and you know, Sundays whenwe can actually all just sit
(21:55):
down, relax, and you know, justbe together.
Um, in the the summer times, thethe son and I, we haven't got to
do it in a little while, but wetry to have you know just a
father sundae.
We'll go out fishing, uh doingsomething just together, just to
get out of the house with eachother.
So you gotta make those timesand those little moments, like
you said, little wins.
You you gotta have those.
(22:15):
Uh uh, you mentioned making yougot you mentioned making making
the wife happy.
I you know, I live by the happywife, happy life uh mindset for
sure.
Um when we get to have a datenight, it's it's always just a
special night, even with herwork schedule too.
So it's um it's tough,especially around the holidays.
(22:36):
It's it's busy season for ourday, both of our day jobs too,
as well.
Uh, so we we don't get a lot oftime, but when we find those
little moments, even if it'sDoorDash and something, and you
know, just to be uh with eachother in the house and
everything like that, thatthat's a little win for us.
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Um yeah, because you got you and it all comes down to
the respect factor of your job,her job, like even with my
wife's job, because she worksfrom home and um I know she has
she deals with the blunt ofeverything before I get home.
Um, but she understands I workin a hospital field where it's
it's constant.
Sometimes I'm I come home fromfootball and then I get called
(23:16):
in to go back into work at 1a.m.
You know what I mean?
And then I gotta, you know, Igot a game that week that I'm
trying to prepare for, and thenI gotta work another shift where
you know IT is needed overnight.
So she knows like sometimes Idon't get much rest, but um, you
know, those are the days whereyou you make it work, you find
(23:38):
that happy medium.
Yeah.
Um and it comes down torespecting each other, man, and
knowing that there's there'salways light at the end of the
tunnel, you know.
Yeah, always always something tohold on to, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (23:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
You gotta find find that forsure.
Uh, do want to get back to toyour playing days here.
You know, you were a standoutcollege football player at
Slippery Rock University, uh,where you played both running
back and defensive back.
Uh, walk us through your time atSRU uh as a player and you know,
some of the highlights in thatexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (24:12):
Yeah, man.
So um I started off atYoungstown, man.
I that's where I met Johnny.
Um we were staying in the samedorm.
I was oh man, my car.
Here we go.
You're good.
Um we were staying in the samedorm.
I I actually red shirted up atYoungstown, but I transferred,
(24:32):
um, I transferred that spring 06to Slippery Rock, and that's
whenever they changed me from DBto running back.
Um my head coach at the time wasuh Coach George Mahalik, and he
sat me down in a room and hesaid, Hey man, um I know you
want to play DB, but we need arunning back.
(24:53):
As one of our running backs, hewas an all-star guy, all
conference guy, all P sack guy.
He is injured.
And I'm like, Whoa, I'm not arunning back.
I didn't even train or run allsummer to be a running back.
You know what I mean?
So I ended up, you know, hetalked to me, told me, hey man,
(25:14):
this is what I want you to do.
I actually did it, man.
I said, you know what, I'll doit for the team.
And he says, That's the bestthing you could do, man.
That's uh I'm happy for youdoing that.
You'll make a great runningback.
And that's it was all downhillfrom there, man.
I um even my mom was like, Oh,you get the ball more, and I get
to see you run.
(25:35):
She was like so happy for me tobe a running back.
I'm like, I'd rather playdefensive back.
Like, I'd rather tacklesomebody, hit somebody, because
that's that's what I wanted todo.
But yeah, man, that that's thestory.
That's how it came about.
And um, you know, I was a retrofreshman playing running back.
I was starting, I might havestarted like six or seven games.
I was sharing time with anotherfreshman, and then it was a
(25:57):
sophomore, uh, another runningback that was there, and he was
kind of a guy that I can leanon.
His name was Travis Sarver, he'sfrom uh Slippery Rock, actually.
And we and I I really didn'tknow much, man.
I haven't played running backsince freaking high school,
maybe my freshman year.
So I'm like, I know how to run,I know how to juke, I know the
(26:21):
holes, like I know plays andconcepts, but like how a college
is and how they prepare, it wasdifferent, definitely different.
Like, I'm like, oh my gosh, thisis kind of crazy.
And I remember, I remember myfirst run in camp.
(26:41):
I ran against a guy, his namewas Corey Lac.
He was an all-conference, all Psack, DN, and he hit me so
freaking hard, literally.
And I got up and I'm looking athim, and I looked at all my
linemen, and they were huge.
Um, the one left tackle, hisname is Mike Butterworth.
He went to the Falcons, and Ilooked at all of them.
(27:02):
I was like, hey man, uh y'all donot let that guy in no more.
Um and I told my head coach atthe time, I'm like, I'm juking
everybody, I'm not runningnobody over.
I'm probably 190 pounds.
These dudes is 215, 220.
I was like, I'm a scat back, I'mgonna just juke them like Barry
Sanders.
That's what I told him, and I'mlike, that's what I'm gonna do.
(27:27):
And I told my mom the samething.
I'm a freshman at the time.
I'm not getting ran over, I'mnot, I'm not doing none of that.
Nope.
I'm gonna juke him.
I'm just gonna try to score asmany points as I can.
You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
You gotta know your strikes, man.
SPEAKER_01 (27:40):
I'm telling you, you know, man, but that's that's
just how that's how it happened,man.
And then, you know, it went andthe rest was history, man.
I um I led the led the team inuh average, Russian average.
I gotta look up my stats, but Iforget.
But it's just a blur now, man.
But I remember those keymoments.
Yeah, those key moments, man.
(28:01):
Like first day at camp gettinghit.
We had to go through bag drills,man, and they wanted me to run
my 40.
Man, we had freshman initiation.
It was crazy.
SPEAKER_00 (28:11):
Now, see, I I get it.
Like I said, I I I played alittle bit of high school ball,
but I was mainly a swimmer.
Um, I I swam through highschool, uh, earned a scholarship
at Bethany College to swimthere.
Um, yeah, if it wasn't for anunfortunate injury, um, my
senior year of high school in uhplaying football, didn't even
realize it.
(28:31):
Uh, we put the pads on the firstday.
I hit a sled and you know, felta burning sensation down my arm
and into my pinky.
And at the time, you know, I waslike, oh, it's a stinger.
First time putting pads on,first time hitting, you get
those.
Didn't realize I separated myshoulder and I played the whole
season on it.
Uh yeah, caused me my senioryear of swimming.
Uh, once I realized that it wasit was injured, and it wasn't
(28:54):
until I got the swim practiceafter the season and couldn't do
my stroke because they had me atfreestyle and butterfly.
I mean, I'm 6'5, I was 155pounds because I was a swimmer
uh too as well.
So the long lanky butterflystroke, kind of like a Michael
Phelps type thing.
So that's what they wantedbefore, and I couldn't do it.
SPEAKER_01 (29:13):
You probably had records, man.
You probably had records, man,with that frame.
Oh dude, touching the wall andcoming back was easy.
SPEAKER_00 (29:20):
I uh uh at high school, I I missed the school's
uh hundred butterfly record bylike 0.01 seconds.
It was just a matter of I didn'tstretch at the right time to
touch the wall, uh, like I knewI could have.
Uh otherwise I would have beenholding a record there.
Uh but turnaround going tocollege and you know, swimming
(29:42):
at a D3 school, um, you don'tyou think you know D3 is is
gonna be easier than D1, D2,anything like that.
It's not.
I'm telling, I'm tellingeverybody here, like I was not
prepared for the type ofpractices and you know my coach
asked me, he was just like, sobutterfly's probably out because
we see your medical records andwe see you have a bad, you have
(30:03):
a bummed shoulder.
I was like, I can't do thestroke like like I used to.
So that's I don't know what youwhat we want to do here.
Um he goes, how aboutbackstroke?
And I was like, I have neverdone backstroke a day in my
life.
I was like, I've been swimmingsince I was eight years old.
I I I've never done thebackstroke.
Um he goes, he goes, how do youhe goes, I was like, I don't
(30:27):
know if I can do it.
I'm a sprinter as it is, I don'tknow if I can do the backstroke.
I was kind of like you withrunning back.
I I haven't trained doing youknow backstroke.
It was always uh butterfly anduh and freestyle.
He goes, you might be the bestbackstroker in the PAC and you
have no idea.
And I was just like, let's doit, coach.
Whatever, whatever gets me inthe water and gets me swimming
(30:49):
more events, you know.
I mean, just to to get that uhexperience was it was great in
sophomore year.
Um turned out uh you know,re-injured the shoulder in the
middle of a hunter backstroke,and had I not injured the
shoulder again, uh, I would havebroken the school's backstroke
record by a full second.
(31:10):
Um and it was it was that, youknow what I mean?
That that key moment.
The rest of the season is prettymuch a blur, rehabbed it, still
was able to go to the conferencechampionships, but the times
just weren't there anymorebecause of the because of the
shoulder injury and andultimately ended the career of
of swimming.
You know, a shoulder injury iskind of a kiss of death for for
(31:30):
a swimmer, uh, for sure.
But you know, moving kind oflike I I equate that to moving
positions, like you moving fromdefensive back to running back,
you know, going from being doingthe butterfly to where I can
look ahead at where the wall is,then now I'm looking at the
ceiling doing the backstroke,you know, it it's it was a whole
different game.
And you know, it it's it's it'sa challenge, but you know, you
(31:54):
don't know how good you can beat something if you don't try,
is what I took from thatexperience.
Is yeah, coach talked me intothe to turning me into a
backstroker instead of justbeing a freestyler and only
swimming a couple of vents a ameat, and you know, turned out I
was really good at it, you knowwhat I mean?
SPEAKER_01 (32:12):
And you know what?
Um, you know, after I myfreshman year playing running
back, I went back to DB.
We got a new DB coach from WestVirginia.
Um he's at Ohio State right now,he's a special teams
coordinator, but or a specialteams quality guy, but he was a
head coach at the University ofFinlay.
SPEAKER_00 (32:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (32:32):
Uh yeah, coach, coach Keys, Coach Rob Keyes,
yeah.
Head coach at Finley, man.
He one of my best DB coachesever.
Um, I went back over to play DB,man, and it was it was up from
there, man.
He showed me a lot.
So Coach Mahalik, head coach atthe time, talked me into playing
running back, and it was it wasgreat.
(32:52):
And then I went back over toplay DB, and it was even better.
Um without without having that,though, like people having that
confidence in you, man, thatplays a big deal, too.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
Because they see the hard workyou're putting in, and then
they'll go, like, man, he's kindof agile, or he's kind of this,
(33:14):
or he's kind of that.
Let's put him here because Iknow he's gonna make plays
there, or I know he's gonna getthe job done.
You know what I'm saying?
So it kind of was like one ofthose guys, man.
And I loved it, man.
College football, I like collegefootball better than high
school.
Some people were different, somepeople like high school because
it's different, like you'reyou're you're playing for your
(33:34):
high school, you're playing foryour town, playing for your
team.
You know what I mean?
But to me, college was like man,man.
I mean, it was it it it to me,it felt different.
It's it felt like home, you knowwhat I'm saying?
Right, like people believe inyour ability, you know.
So it could be it could bedifferent for a lot of other
(33:54):
people.
They probably had differentexperiences, but for me, I
wouldn't take nothing forgranted, man.
College, man, set it straight.
They said it straight.
SPEAKER_00 (34:03):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I mean, I've only everexperienced high school ball,
um, wasn't ever gonna be goodenough to to go to college uh
and play there.
So uh, but you know, did have aa position switch, uh, because
you know, in high school, youknew you you have to play
offense and defense in WestVirginia.
Yeah, we had to have uh positionon both.
(34:23):
And you know, I started out as aas a free safety, like I said,
6'5, it's like 155 pounds.
You know, it wasn't really much,you know.
So I played defensive back, andthen they realized that hey, um,
we're gonna move you from freesafety.
And I was at first, I was like,why?
Why where where where you moveme to?
(34:44):
We want a corner, like, wherewhere am I still gonna be a
defensive back?
They go, No, we're gonna moveyou to defensive end.
I said, I'm sorry, I'm I'mthere's no way I'm gonna be able
to make it on the on thedefensive line.
They go, We're not playing youthere the entire time.
We're gonna make you a speedrusher on third downs, but we
know it's a passing situation,and we need somebody to come off
the line quick and and put somepressure on the quarterback,
(35:06):
that's gonna be you.
You know, they they saw thatthat I had that quick twitch off
the line to be able to beatthese 350-pound uh offensive
linemen and these uh guards andtackles and being able to get
around them and put pressure onthe quarterback in passing
situations, and I would havenever have guessed that would
have been the case for me.
(35:26):
Yeah, you know, at 155 pounds,and then you put me on the
defensive line.
I that that you'd sound crazy,coach.
I don't know what you're talkingabout.
So I get that.
SPEAKER_01 (35:40):
6'5, man.
It's it's it's it's it's itmight have been worth it, man.
You never know, man.
SPEAKER_00 (35:44):
Yeah, it I mean it worked out.
I mean, I ended the I I I don'tknow how I still remember.
I remember so silly things, andmy wife just can't believe it.
But I remember I finished theseason with five and a half
sacks and like 15 tackles forlosses, and you know, and that
it's just like I would havenever have guessed that would
have been you know the casemoving there.
(36:07):
But you know, as we're recordingthe show, we are in the middle
of the college football season.
You said you uh uh you're a bigcollege football fan and
everything like that.
Uh, who are some of the teamsthat you know kind of surprising
you, you know, as we look intothe to the rest of the season
and getting near the bowl seasonin the playoffs for the uh for
the college football playoffs?
You know, you got any surprisepicks for us?
SPEAKER_01 (36:33):
You know what?
I hate to say this, um, but youknow, what uh Indiana surprised
me the most.
Yeah, like like like and umSignetti, he coached against me
at IUP.
But he's a PA guy uh uh throughand through, man.
(36:55):
Western PA guy.
I mean, he already he alwaysrecruited over over here,
Western PA.
But um Indiana, man, they'rewinning.
And it it's it's different, man.
He changed the culture.
Absolutely.
He changed the culture up there,man.
It's and I'm I'm rooting forthem, but at the same time, man,
I got guys that coached me.
(37:17):
Like I got a Al Washington, he'sat Notre Dame.
They're going against Pitt thisweek.
I don't know who to root for.
Then I got Ohio State, which myDB coach coaches for Ohio State,
and then you got Indiana, whichI know Kurt Signetti, man.
(37:38):
I he he uh recruited a weekrecruited, but he also coached
against me at IUP.
So I'm like, man, this is thisis crazy.
That that is tough when you getit.
Indiana, Indiana, Indiana mightwin, man.
SPEAKER_00 (37:53):
Dude, Indiana's tough this year.
I didn't I did not expect thatat all.
That was definitely like I keeplooking at him, I was like, How
did they come from?
But like you said, that theychanged the culture there, and
you can see what that does to aprogram.
SPEAKER_01 (38:08):
Yeah, man, gives them confidence, man.
He he builds up his players,man, inside and all probably
good coordinators, right?
You can't win without goodcoordinators, then you gotta
have a strength coach, right?
Make sure guys are healthy,good, man, strong, man, and then
like this NIO.
This you get in the top players,man, and I guess that
(38:29):
cohesiveness there, man, thoseguys are gelling, right?
Guys that work together, right?
You got about 80 guys, man.
They might different differentguys, different teams that they
probably were before coming overthere working together, man.
It's crazy.
Indiana, ohio state third,they're just a high state, you
know.
Yeah, I don't think they'relosing.
Uh me personally, I don't thinkthey're gonna lose a game, but
(38:51):
Indiana might they might do it.
SPEAKER_00 (38:54):
Yeah, I'm I'm hoping they do.
I'd like to see them, you know,make a big run in the playoffs.
Uh, I'm not a big Indiana fan,but you know, I I like seeing
teams like this that you know,once you change the culture and
you see them start winning, I Iwant to root for those teams,
you know what I mean?
Uh that's just yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:11):
It's almost like the underdog, they're the underdog
right now.
SPEAKER_00 (39:14):
I mean, I love rooting for the underdogs.
That that's just my that'sthat's my favorite thing, is
rooting for somebody.
Uh that people are like, there'sno way they're gonna do it, and
then they do it and just shockeverybody.
That's my favorite stories ofall time in sports for sure, is
rooting for the underdog.
SPEAKER_01 (39:30):
Now, pit in Notre Dame, we have you know, college
football, we have you knowcollege game day coming to
Pittsburgh for the Pitt NotreDame game, yeah, and pitch the
underdog because Notre Dame, Imean they're they've been up and
down, but I think both teams aresix and two, or Notre Dame might
be seven and two.
I'm not sure, but it's supposedto be a good game, it's at noon,
(39:52):
and you know, you know, my myhead coach Matt Morgan went to
Pitt, so if he hears this, hemight get mad at me, but I don't
know.
They you know, I'm I'm I'm tornbetween two thumbs right now.
It's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00 (40:06):
Absolutely, especially being around the
Pittsburgh area for sure.
You you kind of have to root forpit.
I don't, I grew up in WestVirginia, I'm a Mountaineer fan
through and through, so I can'tI I can't just root for pit.
SPEAKER_01 (40:17):
So oh man, yeah, Mountaineers.
Oh man, yeah, yeah.
You guys beat Pitt this year, soyou guys got the one up on them
this year.
SPEAKER_00 (40:25):
Yeah, well, yeah, that that that's a win for the
season for us.
You know, we're we're strugglingthrough throughout the rest of
the season, but you know what?
We always have that pit win uhto fall back on, you know.
That's that's always when youbeat your rival uh in the
backyard brawl, that's alwaysbragging rights for a year at
least.
SPEAKER_01 (40:41):
So it is it is man.
We probably gonna be talkingabout it for a whole year until
they meet again.
SPEAKER_00 (40:46):
Absolutely.
I I absolutely will, knowing meand my personality, I absolutely
will.
I got a lot of a lot of buddiesin that area and that that were
diehard pit fans that you knowwe we were talking crap, being
text throughout the game andeverything like that.
And uh it was funny once thatovertime finally found uh
finished and Mountaineers gotthe W, the responses kind of
(41:08):
slowed down on the on the pitside.
So, you know, it was a goodgame, but all in good uh in good
fun and good spirits andeverything like that, too, as
well.
Um you mentioned it a little bitthere, and I I wanted to touch
on this.
I kind of wanted this to be oneof the last topics that we
talked about here.
Uh, but you played a little bitof professional indoor football
uh after you finished at uhSlippery Rock.
(41:30):
Uh, how was that experiencegetting to play professional
football and how long did youplay for?
SPEAKER_01 (41:36):
So uh before I jump off, yeah, we'll we'll end this
here, but um, I um so I had longstory short, I had a pro day um
at Duquesne University May 2010.
Actually, it might have been inMarch.
Um, I went out to eastern sideof PA.
I train I uh trained out there,um, and then you know the NFL
(42:00):
thing didn't, you know, itdidn't it fell through and it
didn't work out.
I signed a two-day waiver,whatever, two-day workout with
um a CFL team, bounced around,and then my first sign was with
uh Reading Express out inReading PA.
They were um IFL at that time.
(42:22):
Um it was a good experience, andit was a wake-up call because
like a lot of guys hadexperience of playing arena, and
I'm new to Arena, so I had toadjust.
And it's almost a business, it'sa business of a sub-business.
Like it's like if you're notgood, you're done.
(42:42):
Like, yeah, if you're if youcan't guard this guy and he's
running full speed at you in amotion, you're never gonna be
able to do it.
You know what I'm saying?
And I'm like, I had to do I hadto work on that in the
offseason.
Like, how am I gonna guard this?
So like when I was I wasbouncing around from CFL uh
(43:03):
workouts, and I had a multipleof them.
Um, even I was with um EdmontonEskimos uh for uh minicamp
before I got released from them,but that's where I learned the
high motion from.
And then once I caught on withit a little bit, you know, it
kind of made it easier wheneverI went to Redding, because I'm
(43:24):
like, okay, now I can Iunderstand it a little bit.
Right.
But the experience, theexperience of it was great
because I used to watch Arenagrowing up.
I'm like, well, what the heck?
Like, I'm maybe I might beplaying in this, but at that
time, arena football was theywere, you know, Kurt Warner and
you know, all those other peoplethat were playing Arena at the
(43:45):
time.
I'm watching and I'm like, Ican't believe I'm doing this
right now.
Like I would rather rather be ina CFL or playing outside than
playing arena.
And it's crazy.
You're playing in a freakinghockey arena, fans are on top of
you, you you're close, there'sno glass.
Like hockey, you have a glass,you don't have nothing.
(44:05):
You get hit into the boards, youcan fly over the boards, man.
It was it was nuts, man.
I played for uh three differentteams, man.
I played for um Reading Express,then I went up to Erie, PA Erie,
Erie Express, or Erie, not ErieExpress, but um, I forget what
(44:25):
the name is now.
I can't even think.
But I was up in Erie, I playedup in Erie, and then I I signed
a contract to play in Cleveland,played for the Cleveland
Gladiators, and I got let goafter camp, and then I signed on
with the Pittsburgh Power.
You probably remember hearingthe Pittsburgh Powers.
Yes, I played with them.
I was then I was with them umfor a season, and then that 2013
(44:52):
season, I was done playingfootball after that.
Um you know, I had a coupleworkouts here and there with
other CFL, and I had a workoutwith the Colts NFL team.
I actually had a workout withthe Bills too, but it's just you
know, it wasn't my time, man.
I guess God had other plans forme.
You know, they um I'm a trueprofessional Joe.
There's pros and there's Joes.
(45:13):
I was a true Joe, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (45:15):
Hey, every team needs that guy, though.
You know what I mean?
That that guy that's gonna comein and work, uh, no matter what.
Uh I I love those stories too,as well.
Uh, you know, and you know, goodfor you.
I mean, not a lot of peoplewould take their shot, you know,
after the workouts and the prodays didn't go their way.
Um, they would have been like,all right, well, football isn't
(45:36):
for me.
You know, you found otheravenues, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02 (45:38):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:39):
So that that's I I applaud that uh a thousand
percent here.
Uh AJ, we are running down herenear the end of the episode.
I have one quick segment here.
We do have to get in here, andthat is the fast fitty five.
It is five random questions fromthe wonderful manager of the
podcast, Johnny Fitty Falcone.
(46:00):
Uh, these are kind of rapid firefor the new listeners out there,
uh, but you can elaborate if youneed to.
Uh, if you are ready, AJ, we'llget started with the fast 55.
All right, let's do it.
All right.
First question.
Uh, if you are flipping a cointo choose something, are you
picking heads or tails?
And why?
SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
Tails never fails, man.
That's the motto.
SPEAKER_00 (46:22):
Absolutely.
That's that's an easy one.
Toss up for the first one.
I feel like he gave you thehair.
But question number two uh,what's the worst number between
one and ten?
Oh, six.
I'll never wear six.
Ever.
Never wear six.
All right.
Uh, question number three arestanding desks overrated or
underrated?
SPEAKER_01 (46:43):
They are overrated, but in other news they're
underrated because you can haveyou can stand up and do and move
around.
You don't want to sit in onearea.
You know what I mean?
I like standing desk.
I have I have one at my job, soI got you.
SPEAKER_00 (47:01):
Okay.
Uh, question number four What'sthe better flavor of milkshake?
Banana or strawberry?
I'm a strawberry guy.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (47:12):
I'm a strawberry guy.
Bananas, man, are good in inlike fruit bowls, but when you
go with a milkshake or shake,you gotta go strawberry.
SPEAKER_00 (47:22):
Absolutely.
Out of those two for sure.
Strawberry.
Uh, last question here.
Are log burning fireplaces in ahouse overrated or underrated?
SPEAKER_01 (47:35):
That's a good question.
I'm gonna have to talk to Tonyabout that.
That's a good question.
I'm gonna go overrated.
If you have a big enough houseand you can put logs on a fire,
like in a cabin house, somethinglike that, then yeah, but in a
regular house, I probablywouldn't uh just go buy a
heater.
SPEAKER_00 (47:56):
Yeah, I'm I'm a big fireplace guy, though.
Uh, you know, I mean, I I love agood fireplace, you can't go
wrong with it.
Uh but um that was the fast fit.
You know, I feel like he took iteasy.
Like he's been taking it easy onpeople that he knows, like with
these questions.
Typically, I get weird ones withthis segment here.
SPEAKER_01 (48:14):
Uh now the the fire one, like if I'm in a log cabin,
like and I'm out, like you know,woods or wooded areas, stuff
like that.
It it it it has its place, butlike a normal house, man.
I don't know, there's too muchsmoke.
You gotta have the fireplace fora lot of houses.
Don't have the fireplace forright, they just have the the
(48:35):
the fake ones, the electric.
SPEAKER_00 (48:38):
Yeah, I can't I can't say much.
I I have an electric firefireplace, you know what I mean?
Like I have the the electric onehere, if so in my in my house.
So I get it uh with that.
But uh AJ, like I said, we arerunning down near the end of the
episode.
I do give every guest thisopportunity at the end of every
show.
Uh, if there's anything you wantto get out there, anything you
(48:59):
want to uh promote, anythinglike that, whether it's for your
coaching, anything like that,um, or even if it's just a good
message, I'm gonna give youabout a minute and the floor is
yours.
SPEAKER_01 (49:10):
Yeah, man, just uh, you know, I appreciate you guys
having me on, man.
This is probably like my secondtime doing a podcast, but um
just want to say, man, if you'reif you're being a coach, man,
stay positive, man.
These kids need it nowadays morethan ever.
Um, a lot of this world is a lotof negativity.
Um, but we want to stay positivefor our youth, man.
(49:32):
That's why I'm a big part of theyouth program and wrestling
program, man.
Uh and my son plays youthfootball, and I'm always for the
youth, man, pushing themforward.
So uh that's that that's that'sabout me, man.
You know, we got to push thatpositivity to everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (49:47):
So absolutely, man.
I I I love the attitude, I lovethe energy that you give off and
everything like that.
It's great to talk to you here,but that is going to do it for
this week's episode of the RideHome Rants podcast.
I want to thank my guest, AJSaunders, for joining the show
here.
A lot of fun to get to talk toyou here.
I really appreciate you comingon.
(50:09):
And as always, if you enjoyedthe show, be a friend, tell a
friend.
If you didn't, tell themanyways, they might like it just
because you didn't.
That's gonna do it for me, and Iwill see y'all next week.
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