October 10, 2025 • 55 mins
🎙 Luke Falk: Mind Strength, Mental Health, and the Quarterback’s Journey 🏈
From walk-on to record-breaking quarterback at Washington State, to playing in the NFL, and now author of The Mind Strength Playbook—Luke Falk’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and purpose. In this powerful episode of the Significant Coaching Podcast, Luke joins Matt Rogers to discuss the mental side of performance, the lessons he’s carried from his time with Coach Mike Leach, and how his own battles have shaped the way he now coaches and leads.
Luke also opens up about the tragic loss of his teammate and friend Tyler Hilinski, and how it forever changed the way he views mental health and wellness. He shares why returning to Washington State this October to honor Tyler’s life is such a meaningful step in raising awareness for athletes everywhere.
Finally, we dive into Luke’s new book, The Mind Strength Playbook—a guide for athletes, parents, and leaders to master the mindset that drives performance in sports, business, and life.
To connect with Luke Falk, learn more about his coaching, or pre-order The Mind Strength Playbook, head to CoachLukeFalk.com
For more resources on recruiting, leadership, and building significance in your journey, visit CoachMattRogers.com
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
who cares what they think?
I surely do every move I'vemade, I've thought of the
review.
How will I look and what willthey say?
Will I win their love andapproval for just one more day?
Why do I do this?
How can it be?
Does it all stem from a deeproot of a lack of love for me?
And if this is, so how then do Igrow?
The answer becomes clear.
(00:21):
Start love in the man who isstanding in the mirror.
Welcome back to the SignificantCoaching Podcast.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
You just heard Luke Faulk readfrom his brand new book, the
Mind Strength Playbook,releasing October 24th.
(00:43):
If the name Luke Falk soundsvery familiar, it's because it
should.
If you were a college footballfan, Luke is one of the most
decorated NCAA division onecollege quarterbacks in the
history of the game.
After four years of leading MikeLeach's daunted air raid offense
at Washington State Universitywhere they terrorize PAC 12
opponents with theiraggressiveness and dominance.
(01:05):
After his senior year, Lukewould get drafted in the sixth
round of the 2017 NFL draft.
But due to injuries, a lack ofconfidence, and as he states,
not having a strong enough mindfor that level.
His NFL career was short-lived.
He would soon move on tocoaching, trying to chase the
next big thing that was expectedof someone with his resume.
(01:26):
He would soon realize that hewas chasing the wrong things and
had lost his true identity.
Luke's poem is one he wroteafter his playing career ended
and he moved into the world ofcoaching.
It isn't just words on a page.
It's a mirror into the journey.
So many athletes, coaches andleaders wrestle with that
constant chase for approval.
The pressure of outside voicesand the realization of purpose
(01:48):
and values and self-worth, theseare things I can definitely
relate to when I was an athleteand coaching my own program.
Before we dive deeper into ourconversation, I wanna pause and
offer a word of caution.
Luke and I talk about his closefriend and teammate, Tyler
Holinski, who tragically tookhis own life during Luke's
senior year at Washington State.
(02:08):
This was a heartbreaking momentthat impacted Luke in profound
ways, and it continues to shapehow he thinks about life,
relationships, and mentalwellness.
Luke shares openly about whatTyler meant to him and about
returning to Pullman thisOctober to celebrate Tyler's
life with Tyler's parents whileraising awareness for mental
health.
(02:28):
I know this may be a difficulttopic for some listeners, but
it's also an important,conversations like this remind
us that behind the stats, thewinds, the highlight reels.
Athletes are human beings whocarry very real struggles, and
mental health is something weall need to take seriously for
ourselves, our teammates, andour loved ones.
(02:51):
Today we'll dive into Luke'splaying career.
The lessons from the coaches whoshaped him, his transition into
coaching, and why he believesmind strength is the ultimate
separator for athletes, parents,and leaders.
And of course we'll talk aboutthe heart behind the Mind
Strength playbook, a resource Ibelieve every competitor and
coach will want in their hands.
(03:12):
After getting to meet this youngman and listening to his heart
and his purpose, this is gonnabe a powerful conversation about
performance, pressure, andpurpose.
So let's get started.
Here's my conversation with LukeFalk.
Luke so great to see you, man.
I'm so excited about thisjourney you're on, and thanks
for being on the show today.
I appreciate you having me.
(03:33):
Looking forward to it, man.
I have followed your career andI went back and watched a bunch
of your games this week and yourhighlights.
And I and it brought me back tothat time'cause I was always a
Mike Leach fan.
As a basketball coach, I was arun and gun.
We ran the system as a coach andI wanted to run everybody off
the floor.
(03:54):
So when Mike started doing whathe was doing on the football
field, I was like, okay, this ismy kindred spirit on the
football field.
Did you feel that right awaywhen you got to Mike?
Certainly, yeah.
In high school, I came from asystem where we threw the piss
outta the ball.
We set records for completionsattempts and games and.
(04:14):
Advice that we got from somebodythat was helping us in the
recruiting process was pick fiveschools that you really want to
go to.
And at the top of the list wasWashington State, because for
that exact reason, coach Leachwas gonna throw it.
And when I got there, I reallygotta see his mentality even
more in depth.
Because, we're on the road,we're playing at Oregon and
we're up 21 points in the fourthquarter, and I'm checking quick
(04:38):
game, I'm checking runs to tryto bleed the clock out.
And I get to the sideline, wejust kick a field goal.
So we go up 24, I think, and hegoes.
You're a career bunter, aren'tyou?
I'm like, what do you mean?
He is you just love bunting.
And he's let's attack.
He is just getting on my caseabout not being aggressive
enough and here I am trying tobleed the clock out.
But he wanted to score, score,throw it all over the field and
(05:01):
really.
When I was in college coaching,that offense, I just love it
because really the identity ofit is to attack them where
they're weak.
If they have a light box, we'regonna run it.
If they load the block box,we're gonna be able to go throw
it all over.
I just love the way that heapproached the game from that
standpoint, although frustratingat certain times.
Yeah, absolutely.
(05:21):
I can only imagine.
He was a piece of work, wasn'the?
Yeah.
Yeah, he certainly was.
And do you have a pirateinfatuation and other worldly
things as well that are outsideof basketball?
Like he did?
He didn't wanna talk footballever.
No, I'm a junkie man.
I'm a basketball, a footballjunkie.
It's sports.
I'm there.
There, there's no pirates.
(05:42):
I'm a Cubs fan, so I stay awayfrom everything.
Pirates.
That's good stuff.
Unless we're talking aboutRoberto Clemente, then I can do
that.
I'm so curious and I wanna savesome of this for, we're gonna
have a great recruiting talkhere in a little bit, but I'm so
curious, again, watching youplay again, you made every throw
(06:03):
Luke, and I'm not trying tobuild you up, I'm not trying to
make you feel good aboutyourself, but that offense you
run, you look at the routes yourreceivers were running and the
deceptiveness and the space.
Could you even think aboutplaying you guys man to man?
Oh I loved when teams did.
The kryptonite for us was theChris Peterson.
(06:26):
Defensive, Boise State Treewhere they rush three, play some
cloud coverage three.
Anyways they had P coverage orthey'd do supplemental pressure.
And so that was challenging.
But yeah, when teams played usman coverage we had recruited,
they had recruited at such ahigh level too, along with our
system.
It was awesome.
Like we played Oregon State in2015 and they played cover zero
(06:48):
and we had six touchdowns at thefirst half.
Yes.
A lot of teams really.
Kind of went away from that.
Arizona State would do somestuff.
You're always guaranteed to gethit by them.
But just a really fun systemand, I think Coach Leach, a lot
of coaches could learn from him.
Have an identity, have a system,don't just have plays.
When I got into college coachingwas fortunate enough to be able
(07:09):
to have my buddy Trey Tinsley asa receiver coach, and he would
always use this so many offensesare just Applebee's.
They've got everything, butnothing's great.
When we were with the air raid,sure we had a limited menu.
We might've been the in and out,but we were excellent at
executing that in and out menu.
And we could tweak, we could docertain things.
And maybe what people would sayCoach Leach's fault is that, we
(07:30):
didn't adapt enough.
But the guy won everywhere.
He went at places you're notsupposed to win.
That's right.
Nine wins.
10 wins.
11 win seasons in Starkville.
Lubbock and Pullman, those aretough places.
How many coaches were pullingyou aside after a game?
After you just beat the heck outof them?
You beat Oregon four times forcrying out loud.
(07:52):
How many coaches were pullingyou aside and saying something
like, I don't know how we missedyou.
I don't know how we didn't getyou on our radar.
After the fact.
I had a lot, a number of'em,especially in state, right?
Utah state's five minutes up theroad, right?
And Coach Anderson was there andit was fun for me.
'cause we gotta play him when hewas at Oregon State.
(08:14):
So it was kinda like, Hey, threetimes in my career, I gotta give
him a reminder that you missedon me.
And I'm, his two twins, his twotwin sons were my friends.
We played on the same team.
I read that's why I was just I'mbaffled.
No one outta your staterecruited you.
Just baffled.
I know.
Yeah.
Weber State, nothing.
Yeah.
Dixie State, which is now UtahTech, nothing Southern Utah.
(08:35):
Nothing.
BYU Utah, nothing.
No, not even walkon opportunity.
So for me it was very fulfillingcoming back to Utah and being
able to break the PAC 12,passing touchdown record at Rice
Cycles.
In my home state in front of aKyle Whittingham, who, obviously
passed me up and, I, I get it.
Had I gone anywhere else though,I don't know if I would've had
(08:56):
the success that I had.
In fact, I know I wouldn't havebecause I came, I went to the
perfect situation, to theperfect coach, to the perfect
team, and anyway the starsreally did align for me there.
Looking back on it now it's justso cool to watch because the,
your footwork and yourconfidence.
I, kids grow.
I'm sure they coached the heckout of you to get you where you
(09:18):
were.
You didn't get the starting jobright away.
There had to be an injury.
You had to earn that spot.
It was late sophomore year whenyou finally got on the field,
right?
So I got super lucky.
My red shirt freshman year I gotput on scholarship.
So one year after being there,'cause guys transferred out and
and literally, so in myrecruiting class we had a four
(09:40):
star quarterback.
And so him and I, the, our firstspring together after the fall
season we're playing and we'recompeting for the backup role.
And I had beat him and then hetransferred out that summer.
So I got put on scholarship.
I think week nine we played USCand our starter broke his leg.
And then I started, I playedthat game, and then I started
(10:01):
the next week.
And ever since then, I was astarter.
So I was a three plus yearstarter as a walk-on, which
just, I'm still, my mind'sboggled, with that whole
situation and scenario.
I'm going back and watchingthose first couple of games when
you're on the field.
And I see so much confidence inyou.
(10:22):
Where does that come from?
Where does that, being a walk-onearning that, right?
All of a sudden you're, I'm sureyou're always thinking, I gotta
be ready to go on the game, butnobody's ever ready for that
first one being in a stadium,being on that field with that
many people watching you.
What was that like, that firsttime on the field, knowing you
were about to take a snap in aDivision one game?
(10:44):
It was incredible.
It really was.
And I didn't have a lot ofconfidence in high school.
I didn't have a lot ofconfidence.
In youth sports or any of that.
And really the difference makerfor me is I started working on
my mind.
My parents invested in a sportspsychologist for me going into
my senior year of my seniorseason, maybe a month
(11:04):
beforehand.
And so you compound that withthat year, my red shirt year,
and now I'm in my red shirtfreshman year.
So that's three years of workingon my mind as diligently as I
had in my body.
With a guy who was, incredibleas a mentor and a coach for me.
His name's Dr.
Craig Manning.
I owe him a lot.
And so when my moment came, Ihad, I really, truly was
(11:28):
prepared for it.
Each week I prepared, like I wasthe starter.
Okay.
I didn't get the starting reps,but after practice I walked
through'em.
I threw the routes with them.
Film preparation.
I'm making comments to thecoaching staff about, Hey, this
is what I'm seeing this week.
I think these plays would begood.
I did that as a backup and oneof my most fulfilling things in
college we're playing Cal andthey're playing this shell
(11:50):
coverage, Middlefield open typeof deal.
I'm like, Hey, if we ran acorner post here off of our
concept, it would be open.
We did that, we threw a 90 yardtouchdown pass.
And I had called it in duringthat game to our our quality
control guy at the time, EricMely.
And I was like, coach Mely, hewas the one that found me.
So shout out to him, without himnothing happens.
(12:11):
So I called it up.
He said, Hey, it's time to runthat, within a few series they
called it.
And for me.
That was as fulfilling asanything.
And I took that confidence of,Hey, I'm seeing the picture I'm
understanding this offense.
And I had a lot of coaches thatworked with me.
I had our running backs coachJim Mastro mentor me in the run
game and our offensive linecoach mentor me in the run game.
(12:33):
That helped me create a masteryaround this offense.
Yes, it's simple, but as long asthe quarterback knows the
intricacies of it, it can becomplex for teams because the
quarterback can get you in andout.
He's the magic eraser.
And so I think that's what CoachLeach does and a great job of,
and his staff did a great job ofpreparing me.
So when my moment did come,yeah, I absolutely had nerve.
(12:56):
We were playing USC, I justwatched Connor, our starter,
break his leg by LeonardWilliams.
It's we're getting our buttskicked.
But there was also a component,and I've talked about this in my
mind, strength training.
I was playing with house money.
What did I have to lose?
I was a walk-on.
I'm not a four star.
I'm not a five star.
Nobody expected me to be on thefield, so it allowed me to play
like I was playing with somebodyelse's money.
(13:17):
I played free, shoot, I cut itloose that year.
That was probably the most freeI've ever played in my entire
life.
That red shirt freshman year,and sure did I make mistakes.
Absolutely.
I threw four interceptionsagainst them.
Arizona State and also through600 and something yards that
game as well.
What a great learning for me.
I also called my own number anda quarterback sneak on a fourth
(13:39):
down when we're on the one yardline and they're playing double
threes up front, that we hadworked on.
So I was just like, I.
I felt and probably leached likeme that year better than any
year besides maybe my sophomoreyear because there was just your
kind of maverick mentality.
I just, like I just said, f itmentality is a Falcon mentality
and it was had so much fun and Ihad put all the preparation to
(14:00):
allow me to have that type ofconfidence.
What I get excited about as acoach is hearing you talk about
the ownership.
Of what you were doing, and theyand your coaches were accepting
you, taking that ownershipsaying, Hey, I see this.
We need to run this.
It's gonna work.
And they were going, all right,let's do it.
Yeah, totally.
(14:21):
And that doesn't happen.
Yeah.
Hats off to them.
No, and that's the thing aboutLeach yeah, we all have an ego,
but he also, he let you haveautonomy of the offense.
It's if it worked, great.
If it didn't work, yeah, you'regonna get your butt chewed.
But it's it really, what didthat allow me as a player to do?
Golly, I invested, I studied.
It's like I wanted thatopportunity, and so I knew I
(14:43):
could say I have a PhD in theair raid because it's like they
allowed me to, rather than justtelling me what to do all the
time.
Let's talk about.
The transition from college tothe NFL.
Okay.
I'm gonna lead you here a littlebit.
I wanna talk about a couplethings before I wanna lead into
your book here.
I'm a Bears fan, so there's somuch talk about Caleb Williams
(15:06):
right now, never being undercenter at USC.
Okay.
You were you ever under center?
Quarterback snakes, and then wehad a couple plays, green, fake
Z quick 85 double under.
That would've been a play thatwe were under center and then,
but we're talking what, 5%?
No, no less.
Maybe 2%.
2%, yeah.
(15:26):
How much do you see that as anegative trying to go to the
NFL?
Not having that experience undercenter?
I think that, it's just adifferent style, right?
It's like they're working ondifferent footwork and I'm, and
quite frankly, leach nevercoached me on footwork.
He didn't care.
It's as long as you got the ballout on time, right?
(15:47):
So that I came from a systemthat had very little structure
with that type of stuff.
Then I go play and I get draftedin the West Coast system with
Coach Matt LaFleur.
And it's if you're the ball'snot out on this timing.
You're getting reprimanded or,so it just went from no
structure to ultra structure,which was different.
But really what I, what was thebiggest thing for me is my head
(16:09):
space, my mindset.
Had I been in a different headspace, had I been in that
walk-on mentality, I have nodoubt I'd still be playing
today.
In what capacity?
I don't know whether I'm astarter, whether I'm a backup,
because I would've taken to itjust like I did at the air raid,
and I would've.
Met extra, done all the things,but I allowed a victim mentality
where I felt entitled that Ifell so far in the draft because
(16:33):
I had this mindset, agentstelling me after my junior year,
you're be a second round pick,third round pick if you go right
now.
I didn't, and I wanted to goback to Washington State to go
win a championship and quitefrankly, I didn't feel good
enough to go at the next level.
At that time I had impostersyndrome and I, and part of that
really.
I think came out, I call it inmy chapter three, like the inner
(16:53):
critic, right?
The inner critic.
And my, my, my internal successthermostat.
Oh, man, I surpassed it.
So what did I do?
I brought myself right back downto where I felt more
comfortable, and I played bad mysenior year.
I didn't do what it wasnecessary, so I needed to have
an internal shift, and I didn'tquite do that.
So yes, there are differencesbetween the air raid and the NFL
and when I watch NFL games now,though.
(17:15):
Shoot, a lot of them are in thegun.
A lot of them are transitioningto what the college game is.
Yep.
So I just think, you got adifferent era of football, but
had I been in a differentmentality, I think I would've
been just fine.
I also had a, I, I had a wristinjury, so my.
Not to say that this contributedto anything, but, so I broke my
SCA Floyd against Boise in weektwo on Play three, I think
(17:38):
Leighton Van Dresh, the,remember that linebacker for the
Cowboys.
So he was with the Broncos orwith Boise.
I think he got me from behindand then, broke my wrist.
So play all year with it andthen they do a scan.
So your scaphoid, it's one ofthose bones, apparently it
doesn't heal on your own, I'msure you know it well.
Yep.
I'm sure basketball people havehad it.
Yep.
So then they did a scan on itand my doctor or team doctor
(18:00):
called me up, said.
Your bone's not healingproperly, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah.
If you don't get the surgeryright now, you could lose it.
In terms of, it never heals.
So I got the surgery, don't playthe bowl game, and that injury
has still bothers me to thisday.
So taking under center snaps, Iwas taking under center snaps
with a guy who was at USC whohad never.
(18:22):
Himself snapped the ball undercenter there in the gun.
He's snapping to me, hitting mybottom hand, which is my
surgically repaired wrist atthis time.
And it felt like a lightningbolt hitting my wrist every
time.
So I'm like.
I hate going under center, letalone, so had I not had those
things, different mentality Idon't think it would've been
that big of a deal being undercenter versus not.
And here's the thing too.
(18:42):
The more athletic you are beingunder center, I think you have
a, you have a greater chance.
Yeah.
And the gun, it's I didn't haveto do anything and under center,
I had to go meet Dion Lewis on astretch play and beat him to the
Point, or Derrick Henry on astretch play and beat him to
point.
I'm by far the slowest guy,probably on the field, maybe
behind one of our guards, andthey might've been, they
(19:03):
might've been up there with me.
So it's yeah, there was a littlebit of anxiety like, oh my gosh,
I'm not gonna be able to getthis handoff, or am I gonna get
the.
Am I gonna get the exchangehere?
So my mind, rather than going,okay, what's the rotation doing?
Who's got what I'm thinking, oh,I gotta get the snap, I gotta
get to the running back.
Yeah.
So it's tough to ever play anygame when that's how your
thought process is, when you'rethinking about every little
(19:25):
thing instead of flowing and betotally in a moment.
And reading.
Let me switch roles with you.
Let's say you're thequarterback's coach that drafts
you for the Titans, tennessee.
Yep.
How would you have coached youdifferently?
Not to be critical of theseguys.
Oftentimes the GM's making thefinal decision, especially in
(19:48):
the sixth round.
You're taking the best playeryou can and we need a
quarterback, and you're the guythat's there highest on our
board.
How would you have handled youdifferently in that first year
if you were in that position?
What's a good point?
And nobody's asked me that.
And the guy that I had, he was agreat human being.
I'm a phenomenal human being.
The, I think the point that Iprobably would've done is he's
(20:09):
learning the offense just like Iam.
So he's learning LA floor'soffense, just like every coach
is.
The questions I have, he mightnot know the answer to.
And it's almost like we had abuddy system where it's I'm not
gonna throw him under the busand he's not gonna throw me
under the bus.
So one, I'd say, know my stuffbetter than, as good as the
coordinator so I can help thiskid know what's going on.
(20:30):
And then, trying to take meunder my, if I'm his coach, I'm
trying to take me under the wingin terms of, Hey, let's go work
on the fundamentals and themechanics that you really
probably haven't done as acollege athlete that we're gonna
do now.
And you know what, to hiscredit, he did a lot of that at
practice.
He did.
And it's the earnest is, Ithink, on the player to go seek
the help and to consistently dothat.
(20:51):
And I didn't.
But I think the biggest thingis, go ahead.
I was just thinking, I think thebiggest thing is just you gotta
know what you're coaching on.
Too often.
I've seen it.
We had a receiver coach come inwhen I was in college and he
didn't know the system.
So here he is trying to coachand you don't know the system.
How are you supposed to coachthese guys effectively?
(21:11):
Same thing when I got intocoaching.
The guys that didn't know andhave a comprehension of what
we're doing on offense, youcan't coach effectively.
And then it's like the kiddoesn't do the job and then the
coach is I told them and it'sHey, sorry guys, sorry I didn't
get, because a lot of thesecoaches, you probably know it,
it's CYA.
Cover your own.
Yeah.
A SS, right?
(21:32):
Yep.
Yep.
Rather than, what I think wouldserve them well is take
ownership coach.
I didn't get'em on that.
I didn't, we didn't go over thathere.
But a lot of these guys it'sit's their livelihood, it's what
they need.
So what are they gonna do?
You're going to survival mode.
And what does survival mode, CYAlemme tell you what you want to
hear.
That's right.
Let me, do this, that and theother.
So I think just in coaching ingeneral.
You gotta know your material.
(21:53):
You gotta know your stuff.
Take ownership.
And you know what I loved withCoach Leach, his son, one of the
favorite things that Coach Leachsaid, you are either coaching it
or you're allowing it to happen.
That's right.
You're either coach didn'tallowing it to happen.
It's like that makes you put amicroscope on everything that
you do.
I even have that he even hadthat mentality with
quarterbacks.
Can I share something realquick, please?
(22:14):
Yeah.
I think it's great for anybodylistening to it, whatever sport,
coach, parent, whatever.
Business.
So he would say, all sacks areon the quarterback and we all
know that's bs.
That's a lie.
There's sometimes it's not.
But with that mentality, whatdoes it force you to do?
I could have got the ball to myrunning back.
Could I have made a protectionchange?
Could I have got us into abetter play call?
(22:36):
Could I have gone somewhere elsewith the football?
It's putting the ownership andthe control in you, which then
you can improve.
Now, obviously I didn't do agreat job of that when I was in
college.
I averaged like 30 plus sacks ayear.
But had I had that mentality, itwould've helped me.
Same thing.
How about when a receiver dropsthe ball?
You can't control that.
But what if you took theownership that it was all on
(22:57):
you?
Could, was my pace good?
Did I make the right read?
Did I put the ball where itneeded to be?
How about if the receiver missesthe signal or a play call or
somebody didn't get it?
Did I go over a signal meetingwith them?
Did I communicate clearly?
Did I work with this guy extra?
Did I, so it's putting theresponsibility and the earnest
on you.
You can use that in any phase ofyour life.
(23:18):
Sure, there are things you can'tcontrol.
I get that, but what can youtake?
Extreme ownership.
It's like that Jocko Willickbook of, extreme ownership,
which I think if we all didthat, not only in athletics, but
in our everyday life, oh my goshwe're thriving as a society.
But a lot of people see YA, Hey,lemme blame.
It's not me.
They deflect and it's, theydon't, it's like they don't have
(23:40):
the security in themselves toadmit that.
Hey, I was wrong there.
That's an insecurity that itwon't allow you to take in
ownership, in my opinion andmoments in my life when I felt
insecure, those are the momentsthat I haven't taken ownership.
It's such great teachingperspective.
Luke, what you're talking aboutand you talk about society.
(24:03):
We're in a society right nowthat doesn't start with a
mirror.
We start by pointing andcriticizing and vitriol, and
that's, it's gotta be theirproblem.
The, my left tackle didn't pickup the, the blitz that my
running back didn't, wasn'twhere he was supposed to be.
Instead of looking in the mirrorand saying, what could I have
done better?
What could I done better tocoach these guys?
(24:24):
What could I have done better toprepare?
Yeah.
Bears Story.
Your Bears fan.
So I'm at the Senior Bowl and myagent was good friends with a
guy that was in the front officewith the Bears, and they were
doing us a favor.
They're gonna do a mockinterview for me with the
entire.
Organization at that time toprep me for what was coming, the
NFL draft.
(24:44):
And so I go in there and I thinkI kill it, right?
They put me that Ryan Pace putringer.
It was, I think it was Ryan Ican't remember who it was.
It might have been Ryan Pace.
Okay.
I'm sure it was, we could goback and look at who the GM was,
I'm telling you, there were 20people in that room, wow.
That's intimidating, man.
Maggie was in that room, right?
Yeah.
So you walk in and they put youthrough the ringer and all that,
(25:06):
and I'm telling you, I think Icrushed this thing.
In fact, I'm like, I might go tothe Bears, even though they
don't need a guy.
They drafted Trubisky the yearbefore.
I'm like, I might go there.
We get the feedback and myagents, I'm like how?
What'd they think?
They're like.
They hated it.
They didn't think you did a goodjob.
They thought you threw CoachLeach under the bus too much.
I'm like, what?
And in my victim mentality atthat point guess what?
(25:27):
I pointed the finger to Leach.
Oh, if Leach didn't bench me, ifLeach didn't do this, if Leach
didn't do that, if Leach didn'tdo this.
How does that look as me?
This guy didn't take ownershipof anything.
This guy has no clue about whoneeds to improve me, right?
So obviously the bears didn'tdraft me, and that mentality
stuck with me my entire NFLcareer.
(25:49):
It stunk.
I victim my way outta the NFLbecause of that right there.
I blamed, I made excuses.
I was entitled, I was the samedraft pick as Tom Brady.
Brady felt.
Gratitude for the opportunity.
I felt slighted Brady took themost of his opportunities like I
had as a walk-on me.
Oh, they'll never give me achance.
(26:09):
They've already spent too muchmoney on these other guys.
Meanwhile, I'm getting more repsthan I ever did in my entire
life on my freshman year.
It's just the perspective thatyou have of it, the gratitude,
it's I butchered this storybeforehand, but it's the talent
story in the Bible.
It's what are you gonna do withwhat you have?
And if you do great with whatyou have, you're gonna get more.
And as a walk-on, sure.
(26:29):
I had one talent and I got more.
And in the NFL, it's like I hadmore talents, yet I did less
with them.
So guess what?
It got taken away from me.
I wasn't a good steward of thegifts.
I was guilty of it just as muchas you were when I was that age.
And it's a pandemic.
It's, I have all these kids thatI work with, all my recruits
(26:50):
that I work with.
90% of'em, it is their biggestobstacle, and it's the tip of
their nose.
They can't get past it.
How do we teach it?
Luke, and I know you've writtenthis great book, the Mind
Strength Playbook and Feel, andI know you've been dropping some
things from it already.
How do we get kids?
(27:11):
How do we get that 16, 17,8-year-old.
To start understanding these,this value system that you're
talking about, where it startswith me and it has to end with
me as well.
You gotta coach it.
What are they surrounded byright now?
Society media, it's fault.
It's that party's fault.
It's this, it's that.
Yeah.
And everybody's focus is onthings they can't control, so
(27:35):
you have to coach'em properly.
And that's why I love mindstrength because there's really
a mind strength movement goingon right now because it's so
needed.
And it's a system that can trainsomebody sequentially how they
can develop it.
What does it do?
It helps you in sports.
Sure.
I want it to, I want you to getthe quote unquote external
scoreboard, but what I'm reallyafter is how can it help you in
(27:56):
your life?
How can you have that innermastery so that no matter what
happens in the external world,you can have a process and a way
of being able to deal with it.
Right now, everybody's focus istoo much on what they can't, the
external, and guess what?
As my sports psychologist toldme, when you focus on things you
can't control.
Your anxiety increases.
(28:16):
Think about a backseat driver.
Oh, this their anxiety isthrough the roof.
They don't enjoy the ride versusthe driver on the other hand,
they're calm in most casesunless they have road rage.
Yeah.
And then in that case, they'refocused on somebody else.
But as athletes.
What do you do?
Are you focused on what peopleare thinking of you?
Are you worried about whethercoach is gonna play or not?
You're recruiting this, that,and the other things.
(28:37):
You can't control the outcome ofa game.
You're not gonna enjoy the Drthe ride.
Your anxiety's gonna be high'cause it's focused on the
things that you can't control.
And we could take the same exactprinciples that we learn in
sports, in the mind strengthrealm, and you can apply'em in
anything in life.
Yeah.
I'm with you.
It's the same thing with me.
My, my word is significance.
(28:57):
It's, I use it for everythingbecause it's, I was taught many
years ago to replace the wordsuccess with significance.
Don't just go for the win, don'tjust go for the score.
I gotta understand.
What that means, what's theprocess to get there?
How do I wanna do it?
What's right for me?
Instead of just saying, I'mgonna throw the ball 50 yards at
this point and have him catchit.
(29:18):
We gotta put some practice intoit.
We have to understand why we'rerunning that route.
So I love that mentality.
I wanna talk about mentalhealth.
'cause we you've used the wordanxiety a couple times and
things like that.
You had a great tragedy that youand your teammates dealt with
your senior year and I'm, andI'm talking about Tyler Holinski
(29:40):
and his death.
What did that do to you and yoursoul at that point of your young
life?
And I know you've got a coupleother guys that got drafted
around the same time you didthat.
That had some mental healthissues and didn't get to finish
their career.
Some of your alignment, and Ithink if we're honest, must have
(30:02):
affected all of you.
I would say it infected or itimpacted all of us.
How could it not, you go fromthis guy who seems to have it
all together, who is the mostbubbly individual I've ever been
around?
Just happy Bambi in a sense.
It's just like he, that he had apep in his step.
It's I wish I was that positivewhen I was going through it.
(30:26):
And then obviously.
The tragic passing of it.
So two things happened for mebig time.
One, it humanized sport for me.
I had gone from a walk on and Iviewed everybody that's in that
quarterback room as like theenemy competition.
I'm not giving you a lick, I'mnot doing anything.
I wasn't that quarterback guythat was inviting the
(30:46):
quarterbacks over.
In fact, I would tell them.
I wouldn't tell them opposite.
I wouldn't tell'em what we'redoing though in terms of what I
was doing and inviting peopleover.
I was very limited in mythinking.
Very not abundant thinking inthat regard, their competition.
And so his passing, it's oh myGod, could I have.
Been a much better human toTyler.
(31:07):
Could I have, how did I not seethis?
So it just, it really humanizedit for me.
And I took that same approachwhen I went to the NFL.
Then it's like I quit viewing.
The guys in that quarterbackroom as competition and saw
people for, we're all humanbeings.
We're all going throughstruggle.
We're all got some things goingon and it just, it, it really
(31:27):
humanized sport for me.
I, that's the only way I can sumit up.
So it's and I have, I had guiltover it.
I've had guilt over it for solong about that.
I've been able to move past it.
'cause I was just doing the bestthat I could.
It's like I went from streetmode of the walk-on type of deal
to this thing happening.
All right.
I can't do anything about it.
What can I learn from it though?
Okay.
That's what I'm trying to domoving forward.
(31:47):
The second thing is that itshowed me that it, it is a great
strength to ask for help, right?
It's it's actually strong to askfor help.
I actually had some of my ownmental health issues in 2019
after, so my, I get cut.
My dad got a diagnosis of cancerAt the time, my mom, she had
been battling some mental healthstuff.
(32:08):
I had ended a five yearengagement or a five year
relationship.
We were engaged at the time andmy dog died.
I had a couple hip surgeriesand, what am I doing?
Who am I?
I was really struggling.
I called my sister, she couldhear it in my voice.
She's you need help and.
I was so shameful to get help.
I, all the old programming cameback, even though Tyler had just
(32:29):
passed, 18 months earlier orwhatever the math is on that,
not a very long time.
He's still very prominent in mythinking, thinking, what's it
gonna say about my masculinity?
What are coaches gonna think ofme?
What is this, that and theother?
And thank God I went and I didit.
Thank God that my sisterfollowed through and made sure
that I did it.
Because you know what?
That saved my life in some formof capacity.
(32:50):
And so with mind strength.
I tell people it's not aboutperfection.
Mind strength's not aboutperfection.
I'm not telling you, you gothrough and you read my book, or
you do my program, or you do anyof this stuff that you're gonna
be perfect.
No.
There's gonna be bumps in theroad.
You're gonna have to callaudibles at times.
What Mind strength to me isabout it's upstream, right?
I think I heard Tony Robbinstalk about this.
(33:10):
It's like you've got upstreamand then here's the waterfall,
and all our systems and ourprograms are working on the
waterfall right now after thefall has happened, mine
strength's, just working onupstream.
That doesn't mean that you won'tfall off the waterfall every now
and then.
It's like learning how to changea tire before you need to learn
how to change a tire.
Great.
You can fix it.
You can keep moving.
But what happens when all fourtires blow?
What happens when the car blowsup in that sense?
(33:32):
You need help.
And the audible that you askfor, then the mind strength
audible you ask for is, I needhelp.
And you go seek it.
And so that's why I thinktherapy and, that type of
support, it's absolutely I thinka huge mind strength gift.
And it's part of my mindstrength practice.
Shoot.
I've had two therapy sessionsthis week about things that I'm
going through right now.
I'm not ashamed to admit that.
(33:53):
I think it and especially, justlike any industry.
I've got a really great peoplein my corner in that regard that
can help me, that can helpsupport me in my journey.
And so I really encourage peopleto, if they're going through
struggles, issues, stuff likethat.
It's not shameful, especiallywith men, right?
Especially with men, women theyseem to be more open or
(34:14):
receptive to go receive thehelp.
And men, it's that's weak,that's weak.
What's somebody gonna say aboutme?
No, I think it shows greatstrength.
I think it helps yourmasculinity, it helps you become
a healthy man, so you can be agreat, human being in that
regard.
So one, one thing too, I justwanna say the Linsky have done a
phenomenal job.
(34:35):
With the tragedy of Tyler interms of making an impact, I
can't imagine what they've gonethrough.
A lot of people probablywouldn't do what they've done.
What they've done is createdalinsky's hope, trying to end
stigma for mental health,especially in when it comes to
student athletes and providethem resources.
What they've done is createdthis thing called Student
Athlete Mental Health Week, andit's at the beginning of each
(34:56):
October.
It's a full week long, andyou'll see your favorite
football team in college or yourfavorite sport, whatever, it's
soccer or whatever's going on.
You'll see their, their emblemor their sticker on the back.
It'll have the light blue andgreen and then the number three
on it.
And so I think they have over200 schools participating in it
now.
That's fantastic.
Talk about that.
(35:17):
I'm proud to say this year I'mteaming up with them and using
the book as a resource.
'cause part of their mission isto provide resources.
What better than a mind shrinkbook for student athletes.
Great.
And all the proceeds that comeusing their special link that
we've got for them, giving ahundred percent of the proceeds
to them to help them with theircause, and also hopefully
provide a resource for thesestudent athletes.
(35:38):
So I, I'm proud to do my part.
Like I said, I had guilt withTyler's stuff.
I can't do anything about thatnow.
What I can do is try to helpmove'em forward and, further his
legacy.
Luke, I know we don't know eachother well, so take this for
what it's worth from a dad andan old coach.
I'm so proud of you, man.
I'm I appreciate that.
I'm so grateful that we haveyour voice in this world right
(36:02):
now'cause it's so important.
It means a lot.
Thank you.
We can have you speaking toteenagers and athletes and
coaches and parents enough forthe message that you have and
the experiences that you've hadand the humility that you see
those experiences with.
(36:23):
So keep doing what you're doing.
I want to get some advice forfrom you because.
Every football team, everybasketball team, every soccer
team, men and women, it doesn'tmatter.
Doesn't matter if it's pro,doesn't matter if it's college,
doesn't matter if it's youth.
Everybody's got a Tyler.
There's probably three or fourTylers.
(36:44):
There's probably three or fourLukes that are going through
what you went through and Matt'swhat I went through.
What are some of the things asparents.
So we need to be doingproactively as much as being
aware of what we're watching andwhat we're looking for, because
we talked about how bubbly Tylerwas and how joyful he was and
(37:05):
how funny he was and what he putout externally.
What are some of those things weneed to do as coaches and
parents and teachers to beproactive with our youngsters?
That's a great question.
I'm probably not qualified toeven answer it.
I can.
You are more than you thinkbecause you know what you needed
and what you got.
(37:25):
Yeah.
You talked about your parentsmade.
A priority to get you sports,psychologist in front of you,
right?
Yeah, totally.
I think just the more and morethat you can here's what has
helped me the most when it comesto quote unquote my mental
health.
So I can't speak on to, I'm nota therapist, I'm not licensed,
whatever.
But I can talk about my ownexperience.
(37:47):
Like you said, it comes down tothis.
It's like letting them know asan individual that they're loved
no matter what.
I struggled with.
Self love.
I struggled with loving who Iwas.
I didn't like my body, I didn'tlike my circumstances, I didn't
like me, I didn't love me.
And and then sometimes you hearmy dad was very big on this and
(38:09):
I, I love it.
To this day, it's I love you.
I didn't like what you did.
It was, he was always trying toaffirm me.
I love you, the action that youtook.
I don't like that we're notgonna do that.
Now, obviously it didn't sinkinto me in terms of the
self-love that I had, but Ithink the greatest thing that
you can do is try to help themcreate an identity of love
within themselves.
And for me that's through.
(38:32):
My, my faith now, it's likethat's the bedrock for my mind
strength.
If you don't have that, in myopinion, you're living off of
the outcomes, what people thinkof you, comparisons, and it's an
anxiety ridden.
I call it the teeter-tottertrap.
It's an anxiety ridden type ofplayground that I wouldn't
advise anybody to be on, and allthose things are things you
(38:52):
can't control.
So what's helped me the most isto look at myself in the mirror
and genuinely have a love andappreciation for who God made me
to be, and knowing that myworth, it doesn't change based
upon whether I won or whether Ilost.
It's unchanging, unwavering,it's God-given and whatever your
belief system is like.
I went through a program calledAl-Anon.
(39:13):
I don't know if any of thelisteners know what Al-Anon is,
but it's a right, it's arecovery thing for family
members that have family membersthat are alcoholics.
And one of the greatest thingsat the end is having a spiritual
relationship with, within yourown personal relationship of it.
I come from Utah.
Obviously, there's a predominantreligion here, and sometimes
it's if you don't fit the moldin that religion, then people
(39:34):
just go away from.
That.
So anyways, not to go down thatpath, but I think it's important
because if you don't have youridentity on something that's
unchanging, unwavering, nowyou're living the highs and lows
and that can get you in somedark places like it did me,
right?
If I'm not the football playerand that's where my identity
was, if I'm not this, that, andthe other, if I'm, the way
people look at me, I'm in thedumps, now I'm depressed, now
(39:56):
I'm now, I'm allowing my worthto be based off of things I
can't control and things thatare always gonna be up and down
for me.
Yeah, I went through the samething.
My identity was 100% as anathlete, and when that was taken
away because of some injuriesand I didn't have the emotional
and mental game that you'retalking about, the mental
(40:16):
strength I moved all that energyinto coaching.
And then when I got outtacoaching in my late thirties,
early forties, all of a sudden Irealized that was my identity.
I'd put all my weight and energyinto the identity of being a
coach.
Yeah.
And it's taken me into myfifties to understand that's not
my identity.
That never was my identity.
(40:38):
My identity is.
The gratitude and the generosityI give to others and how I raise
my kids and the love I giveother people.
And whether that's coming from afoundation of faith or a
foundation of love, it becomesvalue driven.
Value driven.
Value driven.
It's not, yeah.
Yeah.
And that's my concern with youngathletes right now is a lot of
(40:59):
them can say the words you'resaying.
That my faith is my foundationand I'm doing this.
Oh it's talking points.
It's talking points, but there'snothing behind it.
It's a mask.
And that's my concern with that.
What's, I think, could you havebeen, could you have felt this
way when you were 17, 18?
I think you can, if you havesomebody like I, I am, I agree.
(41:22):
I see even these collegequarterbacks that say.
Right things, they've been pro,but I know that it's not, I can
see me in them of knowing atthat, right?
I said when I'm at WashingtonState, oh, I don't care about
what people think of me in themedia.
I just wanna bullshit.
I cared immensely.
I cared so much because that'swhat I tied my worth to, how I'm
(41:45):
viewed, how they, how did I win,did that, all that stuff.
So I think what it does in orderto crack the deal, I think you
can, I haven't lived it, so Ican't say for sure, but I think
you can of, if you had maybesomebody who's gone in their
shoes and expressed how much.
They disliked themselves andthat's why that they felt they
needed to rise to the top.
(42:05):
In fact, a lot of high achieversI think, feel that it's like
they're trying to get the lovethat they might not have gotten.
At other places and they'retrying to make up for it by
achieving, and people then willpat you on the back.
But here's the thing.
We beat USC, I have 500 textmessage messages, flood in after
we beat number five USC.
I get cut from the jets.
(42:25):
I have 10 text messages flooded,right?
Minsu mania happens.
Who am I now?
It was a really, I called it aquarter life crisis.
I went in a quarter life crisis.
I had to figure out for thefirst time, who really am I, and
it's still a process.
It's not like I wake up everyday and I'm just a hundred
percent, oh.
I love exactly who I am.
(42:45):
I'm a hundred percent no.
It's just like my strength.
It's a practice.
It's a journey.
Yeah.
And I could share a poem withyou.
I'd love to share it with you.
I share it.
Please do.
Because I think when I go talkto these macho.
College programs or even highschool programs, and I talk
about this poem, I get people, Ican see the shift in their eyes.
They know they're hearing themin the story, and then they ask
(43:09):
me, can I take a picture ofthat?
Hey, I got an ad.
Can I take a picture of that?
Because so many of us struggle,I think, with this topic of
self-worth feeling like we'regood enough.
Blah, blah, blah.
And it goes like this.
And I wrote this when I was theoffensive coordinator at
Northern Iowa.
I'm in just one of those.
Sometimes I get in these lowpoints and it's like something
is brewing in me.
(43:29):
Something's working.
And it was in this moment that Ihad this insight.
It's who cares what they think?
I surely do every move I'vemade, I've thought of the
review.
How will I look and what willthey say?
Will I win their love andapproval for just one more day?
Why do I do this?
How can it be?
Does it all stem from a deeproot of a lack of love for me?
(43:50):
And if this is, so how then do Igrow?
The answer becomes clear.
Start love in the man who isstanding in the mirror.
And I say that now, I must haverecited that however many times
at this point.
I get chills every time becauseit's truth.
Yeah, it's truth.
I love it.
And if you do that you take thehandcuffs off of needing any
(44:11):
outcome, anybody telling you howgood you are, anything like the
comparison, whatever.
And you can just have peace inyour life and knowing that
you're enough.
And that doesn't mean that youdon't work hard.
It just means that you can playwith house money, you can cut it
loose.
And anyways, that's a constantbattle for me and a constant
workout for me to this day.
(44:32):
So I think if you have, yeah Ithink you can get it, but I
think it's a process and ajourney.
Yeah.
It really is.
Experience is so important.
It's so hard for me to tell kidsthat.
Everything they're going throughis a part of where they're
headed.
It's a part of who they're gonnabe, and they need it.
They need the hurt, they needthe stress.
(44:54):
They need to know how strongthey are.
They need to know they canovercome.
They need to know they canbecome the person they wanna be
and they may not know who thatis yet.
And until they have thoseexperiences and go through what
you've gone through and whatI've gone through, we, we don't
get to be the person we wantuntil we do that.
So Totally send me that poem.
I'm gonna post it.
It's in the book.
It's in the book.
(45:15):
I was gonna ask you if it's thebook.
So chapter's, chapter two.
I can't wait to read your book.
Yeah, I think you're gonna loveit.
I re I wouldn't, it's funny, mycareer, I would never have.
Been as confident tellingsomebody about something I did
in my career.
'cause I wasn't that confidentin being able to do it with this
book, the team around me that Ihad.
Anyways, I just, I love it.
I think it's gonna be a gamechanging for people and it's
(45:37):
entertaining as well.
It's not prescriptive.
It's here's stories and they'llbe able to see themselves in
those stories.
Can't wait.
Can't wait.
And I will, I'll promote it andI'll make sure I get some of my
kids reading it too.
I appreciate it.
I'm gonna tell you something.
Because I wish I would've heardit at when I was your age.
'cause I needed it at your age.
(45:58):
I really wish there would'vebeen a Mike Leach at the NFL
level for you, because there'sno doubt in my mind that you
could have played at that level.
No doubt in my mind.
Yeah.
I appreciate it.
I just, I enjoyed watching youplay live and going back and
watching your film again beforetoday.
I just, everything you want aquarterback to do and the spirit
(46:22):
you played with and the armstrength, the ball just flies
outta your hand.
So whatever you do from here onout, no.
That you deserve to be at thatlevel.
I appreciate, it's funny though,it's like I view all that, like
you said, the experiences.
Yeah.
Everything I've gone through, Ilove playing football.
It wasn't my purpose though,what I'm doing now.
It is.
(46:42):
And it's like all that was theapprenticeship, the highs, the
lows, the hard, the, this.
To help me do what I'm doingnow.
I'm glad I didn't play in theNFL.
I can't say that when I got out,that was the case, right?
That's one of those audibleseasy.
I think I'm gonna play 10 yearsin the NFL.
Hey easy.
Lemme write this book.
Let me write this program.
Let me go through this.
And this is now my journey.
(47:02):
'cause shit's Sorry, I sorry toswear.
You're good.
Stuff's gonna happen.
Stuff's gonna happen.
The defense might not give youwhat you want.
Yeah, they might blitzsomewhere.
Whatcha gonna do about it?
Easy.
Move on.
Focus on what you can controland adapt.
Good.
I wanna talk recruiting withyou.
I wanna do a little rapid firewith you.
Just get some fun questions inyour head and get some quick
(47:23):
answers from you.
Who's the toughest defensiveplayer you ever faced?
Yeah, Vive really good.
Steve, something else.
Yeah, he was, he's a, super Bowlchampion for a reason we played
Washington.
That guy, I joke with my wife,he knows my body better than her
because he was all over me everytime we played.
It must have looked like arhinoceros coming through the
(47:45):
line.
Oh my gosh.
He, it felt like they wererushing seven when in reality it
was three and he was just, hewas a man amongst boys at that
age.
And he still is.
He great player.
Strongest arm you ever saw Closeup?
Oh man.
Josh Allen at the Senior Bowl.
Just guy had an absolute cannon.
Still does too.
(48:05):
Yeah.
Yeah.
NFA great guy too.
He was my roommate at the SeniorBowl.
And was he?
Yeah, he's got he's like a guy Ilike really referring.
Especially when I work with ahigh school quarterback or a
college quarterback.
It's like that guy's confidenthumility.
He's not boast and he is notdoing all this.
He's really a genuine humanbeing.
Yeah, he's really found himself,hasn't he?
(48:26):
I think so.
I don't know him all that well.
I know Sam better and I knowthat those guys are buddies.
If you're friends with Sam's thesame way.
Sam's just a, he's just a greatdude and I think, they haven't
changed.
It seems like they haven'tchanged.
They've always been comfortable.
In their own skin, it seems saysa lot about a guy when they make
that kind of money and thingsdon't change, and how they treat
people and how they go abouttheir business.
(48:47):
It's I listen to Dave Ramsey.
It's like you become more of,you know who you already are.
He's, he became an even betterguy, both of them.
That's great.
Yeah.
NFL stadium, you'll never forgetplaying.
Definitely Gillette Stadium.
First career.
Start playing against Tom Bradydefending Super Bowl champions.
The guy that I had looked up tomy whole life.
(49:07):
I will never forget it.
Maybe I haven't washed my handssince that day, since I'm just
kidding.
Oh, that's great.
Best teammate leader you everplayed with?
Jamal Morrow.
Jamal Morrow.
Best teammate of all time.
Just a phenomenal footballplayer.
Always positive, always, wantingto do what's best for the team.
(49:27):
He's in college coaching rightnow, and he's gonna, he's gonna
take off.
He's one of those guys that if Iwas still in college coaching,
he'd have been one of my firsthires because he's that type of
guy.
You went on the bus.
If somebody came to you tomorrowwith a job offer, what would you
hope it would be?
Oh man.
That's I like being theentrepreneur.
So I would say, I don't knowmaybe a job offer to work on
(49:51):
mind strength with let's say oneof these big conferences to be,
create a curriculum to teachyoung people mind strength,
because I think it's needed.
So I love it.
They would hire me as aconsultant to create the
curriculum and come in and leadit.
Let's manifest that.
Manifest that's what happen.
I like it.
I like, I am getting hired.
I love it.
I love it.
(50:12):
What's your best advice forcoaches?
Oh, that's a good one.
I would say.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna steal fromChris Peterson's here.
So it's like you gotta create agame plan for your life.
So Chris Peterson, I listened tohim on a podcast, sorry, this is
gonna be a long-winded answer,but I listened to him on a
podcast and I heard him talkabout society's scoreboard and
(50:36):
having your own game plan foryour life.
And he got out of collegecoaching'cause he felt like,
things got outta hand for him inthat regard.
And I asked Jake Browning togive me his number.
Chris Peterson's number before Igot into college coaching.
He gave me this, worksheet offinding my mission.
What are my values?
What are the things in my lifethat are most important to me?
And then make decisions basedupon them rather than society's
(50:59):
scoreboard.
Lo and behold, my missionstatement at that time was to
help people live aself-actualized life through
coaching, speaking, writing,whatever it looks like.
I've changed the missionstatement now to make it more
of, Hey, my goal is to helppeople live their, live life to
their full potential throughstrengthening their minds, and
what helped me best do that.
What wasn't in college coachingbecause I was getting outta my
(51:21):
values.
I said, family, guess what?
I wasn't spending any time withmy family.
I said, exactly, that's whyyou're out of it.
It's so that helped me, althoughI got off course, although I
went down the path, although Idid go chase what I call the
Society Scoreboard Mountain,right?
He called Society Square.
I use it all the time now.
It's like I was on the externalmountain of what could it get
(51:42):
me?
How could people view me?
I was still getting thatexternal hit and his.
Message to me and looking at mygame plan for my life.
And then, there was a diagnosisthat happened in my family.
It's like it put things inperspective for me again, and
now when I make decisions, it'soff of that.
It's and if I don't make it offof that, then there fill
something off in me.
(52:04):
So I think too often coachesthey coach for the win and loss.
Yep.
Great.
That will.
You'll have your moment in thesun, but will you have peace?
Will you have the opportunity tohave, the pass the pillow test
at night knowing that you'vemade a contribution and a
difference based off, that's whyI love John Wooden.
It's like the guy was avalue-based coach and he did
win.
Sure he won, but it's thatwasn't the important thing to
(52:26):
him.
It was about, making thedecisions that were in alignment
with who he was.
So I'm in full agreeance withyou on that.
Where can people find you, Luke,if they want to get your book,
they wanna learn more about youand what you're doing, and they
want to connect with you, wherecan they find you?
Yeah, my website's a great spot.
It's coach luke faulk.com.
(52:48):
Faulk is a four letter word,starts with an F, ends with a K,
no U in there, right?
FALK.
So coach luke faulk.com.
My dad will love that.
I used his line right there forour last name.
I've heard that pitch over andover again.
What's dad's first name?
Mike.
Mike.
Yeah, Mike.
Great.
Mike.
Mike Faulk.
Yep.
But so that'd be a great spot.
You, they could follow me on allplatforms, social media on X,
(53:09):
Instagram, LinkedIn at CoachLuke Faulk, and then they can
buy the book.
So I think it's on every bookplatform right now, Barnes and
No by Amazon.
And then they can also get on mywebsite.
Give him the title one more timeof the book.
It's called The Mind StrengthPlaybook.
Master your Mind.
Elevate Your Game.
I would've said life, but I knowit's gonna help you in the life
area as well.
I love it, my friend.
(53:30):
I'm so thankful we did this.
I'm so thankful I got to meetyou and hear your story and if
we can get more people listeningto it and understanding that
they're okay.
And that there's a path tohappiness and a path to get over
everything they're, they mightbe dealing with and it all
starts with saying, Hey, I needsome help.
Then we did something goodtoday.
Yeah.
No, I certainly agree.
(53:51):
This has been very enjoyable.
Love the questions and thanksfor having me on.
What an incredible conversationwith Luke Falk.
I came away deeply impressed,not just with his journey from
Walkon to NFL quarterback, butwith the way he's using those
experiences to pour back intoothers.
Luke has so much good to sharewith the world from his openness
(54:13):
about mental health to hispassion for coaching, to the
wisdom in his new book, the MindStrength Playbook.
It is clear he's committed tohelping athletes, parents, and
leaders grow stronger in bothperformance and purpose.
If today's episode resonatedwith you, I encourage you to
pick up a copy of the MindStrength Playbook when it
releases on October 24th.
(54:35):
It's a resource that belongs inthe hands of anyone who wants to
strengthen not just their game,but their mindset.
Luke's story is a reminder thatsignificance comes not from
titles or stats, but from how weimpact others, and I believe his
best impact is still ahead ofhim.
If you'd like to connect with meor learn more about my
(54:56):
recruiting, coaching, andspeaking resources and services,
you can check meout@coachmattrogers.com.
Until next time, stay focused,stay humble, and keep chasing
significance.
who cares what they think?
I surely do every move I'vemade, I've thought of the
review.
How will I look and what willthey say?
Will I win their love andapproval for just one more day?
Why do I do this?
How can it be?
Does it all stem from a deeproot of a lack of love for me?
And if this is, so how then do Igrow?
The answer becomes clear.
(00:21):
Start love in the man who isstanding in the mirror.
Welcome back to the SignificantCoaching Podcast.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
You just heard Luke Faulk readfrom his brand new book, the
Mind Strength Playbook,releasing October 24th.
(00:43):
If the name Luke Falk soundsvery familiar, it's because it
should.
If you were a college footballfan, Luke is one of the most
decorated NCAA division onecollege quarterbacks in the
history of the game.
After four years of leading MikeLeach's daunted air raid offense
at Washington State Universitywhere they terrorize PAC 12
opponents with theiraggressiveness and dominance.
(01:05):
After his senior year, Lukewould get drafted in the sixth
round of the 2017 NFL draft.
But due to injuries, a lack ofconfidence, and as he states,
not having a strong enough mindfor that level.
His NFL career was short-lived.
He would soon move on tocoaching, trying to chase the
next big thing that was expectedof someone with his resume.
(01:26):
He would soon realize that hewas chasing the wrong things and
had lost his true identity.
Luke's poem is one he wroteafter his playing career ended
and he moved into the world ofcoaching.
It isn't just words on a page.
It's a mirror into the journey.
So many athletes, coaches andleaders wrestle with that
constant chase for approval.
The pressure of outside voicesand the realization of purpose
(01:48):
and values and self-worth, theseare things I can definitely
relate to when I was an athleteand coaching my own program.
Before we dive deeper into ourconversation, I wanna pause and
offer a word of caution.
Luke and I talk about his closefriend and teammate, Tyler
Holinski, who tragically tookhis own life during Luke's
senior year at Washington State.
(02:08):
This was a heartbreaking momentthat impacted Luke in profound
ways, and it continues to shapehow he thinks about life,
relationships, and mentalwellness.
Luke shares openly about whatTyler meant to him and about
returning to Pullman thisOctober to celebrate Tyler's
life with Tyler's parents whileraising awareness for mental
health.
(02:28):
I know this may be a difficulttopic for some listeners, but
it's also an important,conversations like this remind
us that behind the stats, thewinds, the highlight reels.
Athletes are human beings whocarry very real struggles, and
mental health is something weall need to take seriously for
ourselves, our teammates, andour loved ones.
(02:51):
Today we'll dive into Luke'splaying career.
The lessons from the coaches whoshaped him, his transition into
coaching, and why he believesmind strength is the ultimate
separator for athletes, parents,and leaders.
And of course we'll talk aboutthe heart behind the Mind
Strength playbook, a resource Ibelieve every competitor and
coach will want in their hands.
(03:12):
After getting to meet this youngman and listening to his heart
and his purpose, this is gonnabe a powerful conversation about
performance, pressure, andpurpose.
So let's get started.
Here's my conversation with LukeFalk.
Luke so great to see you, man.
I'm so excited about thisjourney you're on, and thanks
for being on the show today.
I appreciate you having me.
(03:33):
Looking forward to it, man.
I have followed your career andI went back and watched a bunch
of your games this week and yourhighlights.
And I and it brought me back tothat time'cause I was always a
Mike Leach fan.
As a basketball coach, I was arun and gun.
We ran the system as a coach andI wanted to run everybody off
the floor.
(03:54):
So when Mike started doing whathe was doing on the football
field, I was like, okay, this ismy kindred spirit on the
football field.
Did you feel that right awaywhen you got to Mike?
Certainly, yeah.
In high school, I came from asystem where we threw the piss
outta the ball.
We set records for completionsattempts and games and.
(04:14):
Advice that we got from somebodythat was helping us in the
recruiting process was pick fiveschools that you really want to
go to.
And at the top of the list wasWashington State, because for
that exact reason, coach Leachwas gonna throw it.
And when I got there, I reallygotta see his mentality even
more in depth.
Because, we're on the road,we're playing at Oregon and
we're up 21 points in the fourthquarter, and I'm checking quick
(04:38):
game, I'm checking runs to tryto bleed the clock out.
And I get to the sideline, wejust kick a field goal.
So we go up 24, I think, and hegoes.
You're a career bunter, aren'tyou?
I'm like, what do you mean?
He is you just love bunting.
And he's let's attack.
He is just getting on my caseabout not being aggressive
enough and here I am trying tobleed the clock out.
But he wanted to score, score,throw it all over the field and
(05:01):
really.
When I was in college coaching,that offense, I just love it
because really the identity ofit is to attack them where
they're weak.
If they have a light box, we'regonna run it.
If they load the block box,we're gonna be able to go throw
it all over.
I just love the way that heapproached the game from that
standpoint, although frustratingat certain times.
Yeah, absolutely.
(05:21):
I can only imagine.
He was a piece of work, wasn'the?
Yeah.
Yeah, he certainly was.
And do you have a pirateinfatuation and other worldly
things as well that are outsideof basketball?
Like he did?
He didn't wanna talk footballever.
No, I'm a junkie man.
I'm a basketball, a footballjunkie.
It's sports.
I'm there.
There, there's no pirates.
(05:42):
I'm a Cubs fan, so I stay awayfrom everything.
Pirates.
That's good stuff.
Unless we're talking aboutRoberto Clemente, then I can do
that.
I'm so curious and I wanna savesome of this for, we're gonna
have a great recruiting talkhere in a little bit, but I'm so
curious, again, watching youplay again, you made every throw
(06:03):
Luke, and I'm not trying tobuild you up, I'm not trying to
make you feel good aboutyourself, but that offense you
run, you look at the routes yourreceivers were running and the
deceptiveness and the space.
Could you even think aboutplaying you guys man to man?
Oh I loved when teams did.
The kryptonite for us was theChris Peterson.
(06:26):
Defensive, Boise State Treewhere they rush three, play some
cloud coverage three.
Anyways they had P coverage orthey'd do supplemental pressure.
And so that was challenging.
But yeah, when teams played usman coverage we had recruited,
they had recruited at such ahigh level too, along with our
system.
It was awesome.
Like we played Oregon State in2015 and they played cover zero
(06:48):
and we had six touchdowns at thefirst half.
Yes.
A lot of teams really.
Kind of went away from that.
Arizona State would do somestuff.
You're always guaranteed to gethit by them.
But just a really fun systemand, I think Coach Leach, a lot
of coaches could learn from him.
Have an identity, have a system,don't just have plays.
When I got into college coachingwas fortunate enough to be able
(07:09):
to have my buddy Trey Tinsley asa receiver coach, and he would
always use this so many offensesare just Applebee's.
They've got everything, butnothing's great.
When we were with the air raid,sure we had a limited menu.
We might've been the in and out,but we were excellent at
executing that in and out menu.
And we could tweak, we could docertain things.
And maybe what people would sayCoach Leach's fault is that, we
(07:30):
didn't adapt enough.
But the guy won everywhere.
He went at places you're notsupposed to win.
That's right.
Nine wins.
10 wins.
11 win seasons in Starkville.
Lubbock and Pullman, those aretough places.
How many coaches were pullingyou aside after a game?
After you just beat the heck outof them?
You beat Oregon four times forcrying out loud.
(07:52):
How many coaches were pullingyou aside and saying something
like, I don't know how we missedyou.
I don't know how we didn't getyou on our radar.
After the fact.
I had a lot, a number of'em,especially in state, right?
Utah state's five minutes up theroad, right?
And Coach Anderson was there andit was fun for me.
'cause we gotta play him when hewas at Oregon State.
(08:14):
So it was kinda like, Hey, threetimes in my career, I gotta give
him a reminder that you missedon me.
And I'm, his two twins, his twotwin sons were my friends.
We played on the same team.
I read that's why I was just I'mbaffled.
No one outta your staterecruited you.
Just baffled.
I know.
Yeah.
Weber State, nothing.
Yeah.
Dixie State, which is now UtahTech, nothing Southern Utah.
(08:35):
Nothing.
BYU Utah, nothing.
No, not even walkon opportunity.
So for me it was very fulfillingcoming back to Utah and being
able to break the PAC 12,passing touchdown record at Rice
Cycles.
In my home state in front of aKyle Whittingham, who, obviously
passed me up and, I, I get it.
Had I gone anywhere else though,I don't know if I would've had
(08:56):
the success that I had.
In fact, I know I wouldn't havebecause I came, I went to the
perfect situation, to theperfect coach, to the perfect
team, and anyway the starsreally did align for me there.
Looking back on it now it's justso cool to watch because the,
your footwork and yourconfidence.
I, kids grow.
I'm sure they coached the heckout of you to get you where you
(09:18):
were.
You didn't get the starting jobright away.
There had to be an injury.
You had to earn that spot.
It was late sophomore year whenyou finally got on the field,
right?
So I got super lucky.
My red shirt freshman year I gotput on scholarship.
So one year after being there,'cause guys transferred out and
and literally, so in myrecruiting class we had a four
(09:40):
star quarterback.
And so him and I, the, our firstspring together after the fall
season we're playing and we'recompeting for the backup role.
And I had beat him and then hetransferred out that summer.
So I got put on scholarship.
I think week nine we played USCand our starter broke his leg.
And then I started, I playedthat game, and then I started
(10:01):
the next week.
And ever since then, I was astarter.
So I was a three plus yearstarter as a walk-on, which
just, I'm still, my mind'sboggled, with that whole
situation and scenario.
I'm going back and watchingthose first couple of games when
you're on the field.
And I see so much confidence inyou.
(10:22):
Where does that come from?
Where does that, being a walk-onearning that, right?
All of a sudden you're, I'm sureyou're always thinking, I gotta
be ready to go on the game, butnobody's ever ready for that
first one being in a stadium,being on that field with that
many people watching you.
What was that like, that firsttime on the field, knowing you
were about to take a snap in aDivision one game?
(10:44):
It was incredible.
It really was.
And I didn't have a lot ofconfidence in high school.
I didn't have a lot ofconfidence.
In youth sports or any of that.
And really the difference makerfor me is I started working on
my mind.
My parents invested in a sportspsychologist for me going into
my senior year of my seniorseason, maybe a month
(11:04):
beforehand.
And so you compound that withthat year, my red shirt year,
and now I'm in my red shirtfreshman year.
So that's three years of workingon my mind as diligently as I
had in my body.
With a guy who was, incredibleas a mentor and a coach for me.
His name's Dr.
Craig Manning.
I owe him a lot.
And so when my moment came, Ihad, I really, truly was
(11:28):
prepared for it.
Each week I prepared, like I wasthe starter.
Okay.
I didn't get the starting reps,but after practice I walked
through'em.
I threw the routes with them.
Film preparation.
I'm making comments to thecoaching staff about, Hey, this
is what I'm seeing this week.
I think these plays would begood.
I did that as a backup and oneof my most fulfilling things in
college we're playing Cal andthey're playing this shell
(11:50):
coverage, Middlefield open typeof deal.
I'm like, Hey, if we ran acorner post here off of our
concept, it would be open.
We did that, we threw a 90 yardtouchdown pass.
And I had called it in duringthat game to our our quality
control guy at the time, EricMely.
And I was like, coach Mely, hewas the one that found me.
So shout out to him, without himnothing happens.
(12:11):
So I called it up.
He said, Hey, it's time to runthat, within a few series they
called it.
And for me.
That was as fulfilling asanything.
And I took that confidence of,Hey, I'm seeing the picture I'm
understanding this offense.
And I had a lot of coaches thatworked with me.
I had our running backs coachJim Mastro mentor me in the run
game and our offensive linecoach mentor me in the run game.
(12:33):
That helped me create a masteryaround this offense.
Yes, it's simple, but as long asthe quarterback knows the
intricacies of it, it can becomplex for teams because the
quarterback can get you in andout.
He's the magic eraser.
And so I think that's what CoachLeach does and a great job of,
and his staff did a great job ofpreparing me.
So when my moment did come,yeah, I absolutely had nerve.
(12:56):
We were playing USC, I justwatched Connor, our starter,
break his leg by LeonardWilliams.
It's we're getting our buttskicked.
But there was also a component,and I've talked about this in my
mind, strength training.
I was playing with house money.
What did I have to lose?
I was a walk-on.
I'm not a four star.
I'm not a five star.
Nobody expected me to be on thefield, so it allowed me to play
like I was playing with somebodyelse's money.
(13:17):
I played free, shoot, I cut itloose that year.
That was probably the most freeI've ever played in my entire
life.
That red shirt freshman year,and sure did I make mistakes.
Absolutely.
I threw four interceptionsagainst them.
Arizona State and also through600 and something yards that
game as well.
What a great learning for me.
I also called my own number anda quarterback sneak on a fourth
(13:39):
down when we're on the one yardline and they're playing double
threes up front, that we hadworked on.
So I was just like, I.
I felt and probably leached likeme that year better than any
year besides maybe my sophomoreyear because there was just your
kind of maverick mentality.
I just, like I just said, f itmentality is a Falcon mentality
and it was had so much fun and Ihad put all the preparation to
(14:00):
allow me to have that type ofconfidence.
What I get excited about as acoach is hearing you talk about
the ownership.
Of what you were doing, and theyand your coaches were accepting
you, taking that ownershipsaying, Hey, I see this.
We need to run this.
It's gonna work.
And they were going, all right,let's do it.
Yeah, totally.
(14:21):
And that doesn't happen.
Yeah.
Hats off to them.
No, and that's the thing aboutLeach yeah, we all have an ego,
but he also, he let you haveautonomy of the offense.
It's if it worked, great.
If it didn't work, yeah, you'regonna get your butt chewed.
But it's it really, what didthat allow me as a player to do?
Golly, I invested, I studied.
It's like I wanted thatopportunity, and so I knew I
(14:43):
could say I have a PhD in theair raid because it's like they
allowed me to, rather than justtelling me what to do all the
time.
Let's talk about.
The transition from college tothe NFL.
Okay.
I'm gonna lead you here a littlebit.
I wanna talk about a couplethings before I wanna lead into
your book here.
I'm a Bears fan, so there's somuch talk about Caleb Williams
(15:06):
right now, never being undercenter at USC.
Okay.
You were you ever under center?
Quarterback snakes, and then wehad a couple plays, green, fake
Z quick 85 double under.
That would've been a play thatwe were under center and then,
but we're talking what, 5%?
No, no less.
Maybe 2%.
2%, yeah.
(15:26):
How much do you see that as anegative trying to go to the
NFL?
Not having that experience undercenter?
I think that, it's just adifferent style, right?
It's like they're working ondifferent footwork and I'm, and
quite frankly, leach nevercoached me on footwork.
He didn't care.
It's as long as you got the ballout on time, right?
(15:47):
So that I came from a systemthat had very little structure
with that type of stuff.
Then I go play and I get draftedin the West Coast system with
Coach Matt LaFleur.
And it's if you're the ball'snot out on this timing.
You're getting reprimanded or,so it just went from no
structure to ultra structure,which was different.
But really what I, what was thebiggest thing for me is my head
(16:09):
space, my mindset.
Had I been in a different headspace, had I been in that
walk-on mentality, I have nodoubt I'd still be playing
today.
In what capacity?
I don't know whether I'm astarter, whether I'm a backup,
because I would've taken to itjust like I did at the air raid,
and I would've.
Met extra, done all the things,but I allowed a victim mentality
where I felt entitled that Ifell so far in the draft because
(16:33):
I had this mindset, agentstelling me after my junior year,
you're be a second round pick,third round pick if you go right
now.
I didn't, and I wanted to goback to Washington State to go
win a championship and quitefrankly, I didn't feel good
enough to go at the next level.
At that time I had impostersyndrome and I, and part of that
really.
I think came out, I call it inmy chapter three, like the inner
(16:53):
critic, right?
The inner critic.
And my, my, my internal successthermostat.
Oh, man, I surpassed it.
So what did I do?
I brought myself right back downto where I felt more
comfortable, and I played bad mysenior year.
I didn't do what it wasnecessary, so I needed to have
an internal shift, and I didn'tquite do that.
So yes, there are differencesbetween the air raid and the NFL
and when I watch NFL games now,though.
(17:15):
Shoot, a lot of them are in thegun.
A lot of them are transitioningto what the college game is.
Yep.
So I just think, you got adifferent era of football, but
had I been in a differentmentality, I think I would've
been just fine.
I also had a, I, I had a wristinjury, so my.
Not to say that this contributedto anything, but, so I broke my
SCA Floyd against Boise in weektwo on Play three, I think
(17:38):
Leighton Van Dresh, the,remember that linebacker for the
Cowboys.
So he was with the Broncos orwith Boise.
I think he got me from behindand then, broke my wrist.
So play all year with it andthen they do a scan.
So your scaphoid, it's one ofthose bones, apparently it
doesn't heal on your own, I'msure you know it well.
Yep.
I'm sure basketball people havehad it.
Yep.
So then they did a scan on itand my doctor or team doctor
(18:00):
called me up, said.
Your bone's not healingproperly, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah.
If you don't get the surgeryright now, you could lose it.
In terms of, it never heals.
So I got the surgery, don't playthe bowl game, and that injury
has still bothers me to thisday.
So taking under center snaps, Iwas taking under center snaps
with a guy who was at USC whohad never.
(18:22):
Himself snapped the ball undercenter there in the gun.
He's snapping to me, hitting mybottom hand, which is my
surgically repaired wrist atthis time.
And it felt like a lightningbolt hitting my wrist every
time.
So I'm like.
I hate going under center, letalone, so had I not had those
things, different mentality Idon't think it would've been
that big of a deal being undercenter versus not.
And here's the thing too.
(18:42):
The more athletic you are beingunder center, I think you have
a, you have a greater chance.
Yeah.
And the gun, it's I didn't haveto do anything and under center,
I had to go meet Dion Lewis on astretch play and beat him to the
Point, or Derrick Henry on astretch play and beat him to
point.
I'm by far the slowest guy,probably on the field, maybe
behind one of our guards, andthey might've been, they
(19:03):
might've been up there with me.
So it's yeah, there was a littlebit of anxiety like, oh my gosh,
I'm not gonna be able to getthis handoff, or am I gonna get
the.
Am I gonna get the exchangehere?
So my mind, rather than going,okay, what's the rotation doing?
Who's got what I'm thinking, oh,I gotta get the snap, I gotta
get to the running back.
Yeah.
So it's tough to ever play anygame when that's how your
thought process is, when you'rethinking about every little
(19:25):
thing instead of flowing and betotally in a moment.
And reading.
Let me switch roles with you.
Let's say you're thequarterback's coach that drafts
you for the Titans, tennessee.
Yep.
How would you have coached youdifferently?
Not to be critical of theseguys.
Oftentimes the GM's making thefinal decision, especially in
(19:48):
the sixth round.
You're taking the best playeryou can and we need a
quarterback, and you're the guythat's there highest on our
board.
How would you have handled youdifferently in that first year
if you were in that position?
What's a good point?
And nobody's asked me that.
And the guy that I had, he was agreat human being.
I'm a phenomenal human being.
The, I think the point that Iprobably would've done is he's
(20:09):
learning the offense just like Iam.
So he's learning LA floor'soffense, just like every coach
is.
The questions I have, he mightnot know the answer to.
And it's almost like we had abuddy system where it's I'm not
gonna throw him under the busand he's not gonna throw me
under the bus.
So one, I'd say, know my stuffbetter than, as good as the
coordinator so I can help thiskid know what's going on.
(20:30):
And then, trying to take meunder my, if I'm his coach, I'm
trying to take me under the wingin terms of, Hey, let's go work
on the fundamentals and themechanics that you really
probably haven't done as acollege athlete that we're gonna
do now.
And you know what, to hiscredit, he did a lot of that at
practice.
He did.
And it's the earnest is, Ithink, on the player to go seek
the help and to consistently dothat.
(20:51):
And I didn't.
But I think the biggest thingis, go ahead.
I was just thinking, I think thebiggest thing is just you gotta
know what you're coaching on.
Too often.
I've seen it.
We had a receiver coach come inwhen I was in college and he
didn't know the system.
So here he is trying to coachand you don't know the system.
How are you supposed to coachthese guys effectively?
(21:11):
Same thing when I got intocoaching.
The guys that didn't know andhave a comprehension of what
we're doing on offense, youcan't coach effectively.
And then it's like the kiddoesn't do the job and then the
coach is I told them and it'sHey, sorry guys, sorry I didn't
get, because a lot of thesecoaches, you probably know it,
it's CYA.
Cover your own.
Yeah.
A SS, right?
(21:32):
Yep.
Yep.
Rather than, what I think wouldserve them well is take
ownership coach.
I didn't get'em on that.
I didn't, we didn't go over thathere.
But a lot of these guys it'sit's their livelihood, it's what
they need.
So what are they gonna do?
You're going to survival mode.
And what does survival mode, CYAlemme tell you what you want to
hear.
That's right.
Let me, do this, that and theother.
So I think just in coaching ingeneral.
You gotta know your material.
(21:53):
You gotta know your stuff.
Take ownership.
And you know what I loved withCoach Leach, his son, one of the
favorite things that Coach Leachsaid, you are either coaching it
or you're allowing it to happen.
That's right.
You're either coach didn'tallowing it to happen.
It's like that makes you put amicroscope on everything that
you do.
I even have that he even hadthat mentality with
quarterbacks.
Can I share something realquick, please?
(22:14):
Yeah.
I think it's great for anybodylistening to it, whatever sport,
coach, parent, whatever.
Business.
So he would say, all sacks areon the quarterback and we all
know that's bs.
That's a lie.
There's sometimes it's not.
But with that mentality, whatdoes it force you to do?
I could have got the ball to myrunning back.
Could I have made a protectionchange?
Could I have got us into abetter play call?
(22:36):
Could I have gone somewhere elsewith the football?
It's putting the ownership andthe control in you, which then
you can improve.
Now, obviously I didn't do agreat job of that when I was in
college.
I averaged like 30 plus sacks ayear.
But had I had that mentality, itwould've helped me.
Same thing.
How about when a receiver dropsthe ball?
You can't control that.
But what if you took theownership that it was all on
(22:57):
you?
Could, was my pace good?
Did I make the right read?
Did I put the ball where itneeded to be?
How about if the receiver missesthe signal or a play call or
somebody didn't get it?
Did I go over a signal meetingwith them?
Did I communicate clearly?
Did I work with this guy extra?
Did I, so it's putting theresponsibility and the earnest
on you.
You can use that in any phase ofyour life.
(23:18):
Sure, there are things you can'tcontrol.
I get that, but what can youtake?
Extreme ownership.
It's like that Jocko Willickbook of, extreme ownership,
which I think if we all didthat, not only in athletics, but
in our everyday life, oh my goshwe're thriving as a society.
But a lot of people see YA, Hey,lemme blame.
It's not me.
They deflect and it's, theydon't, it's like they don't have
(23:40):
the security in themselves toadmit that.
Hey, I was wrong there.
That's an insecurity that itwon't allow you to take in
ownership, in my opinion andmoments in my life when I felt
insecure, those are the momentsthat I haven't taken ownership.
It's such great teachingperspective.
Luke, what you're talking aboutand you talk about society.
(24:03):
We're in a society right nowthat doesn't start with a
mirror.
We start by pointing andcriticizing and vitriol, and
that's, it's gotta be theirproblem.
The, my left tackle didn't pickup the, the blitz that my
running back didn't, wasn'twhere he was supposed to be.
Instead of looking in the mirrorand saying, what could I have
done better?
What could I done better tocoach these guys?
(24:24):
What could I have done better toprepare?
Yeah.
Bears Story.
Your Bears fan.
So I'm at the Senior Bowl and myagent was good friends with a
guy that was in the front officewith the Bears, and they were
doing us a favor.
They're gonna do a mockinterview for me with the
entire.
Organization at that time toprep me for what was coming, the
NFL draft.
(24:44):
And so I go in there and I thinkI kill it, right?
They put me that Ryan Pace putringer.
It was, I think it was Ryan Ican't remember who it was.
It might have been Ryan Pace.
Okay.
I'm sure it was, we could goback and look at who the GM was,
I'm telling you, there were 20people in that room, wow.
That's intimidating, man.
Maggie was in that room, right?
Yeah.
So you walk in and they put youthrough the ringer and all that,
(25:06):
and I'm telling you, I think Icrushed this thing.
In fact, I'm like, I might go tothe Bears, even though they
don't need a guy.
They drafted Trubisky the yearbefore.
I'm like, I might go there.
We get the feedback and myagents, I'm like how?
What'd they think?
They're like.
They hated it.
They didn't think you did a goodjob.
They thought you threw CoachLeach under the bus too much.
I'm like, what?
And in my victim mentality atthat point guess what?
(25:27):
I pointed the finger to Leach.
Oh, if Leach didn't bench me, ifLeach didn't do this, if Leach
didn't do that, if Leach didn'tdo this.
How does that look as me?
This guy didn't take ownershipof anything.
This guy has no clue about whoneeds to improve me, right?
So obviously the bears didn'tdraft me, and that mentality
stuck with me my entire NFLcareer.
(25:49):
It stunk.
I victim my way outta the NFLbecause of that right there.
I blamed, I made excuses.
I was entitled, I was the samedraft pick as Tom Brady.
Brady felt.
Gratitude for the opportunity.
I felt slighted Brady took themost of his opportunities like I
had as a walk-on me.
Oh, they'll never give me achance.
(26:09):
They've already spent too muchmoney on these other guys.
Meanwhile, I'm getting more repsthan I ever did in my entire
life on my freshman year.
It's just the perspective thatyou have of it, the gratitude,
it's I butchered this storybeforehand, but it's the talent
story in the Bible.
It's what are you gonna do withwhat you have?
And if you do great with whatyou have, you're gonna get more.
And as a walk-on, sure.
(26:29):
I had one talent and I got more.
And in the NFL, it's like I hadmore talents, yet I did less
with them.
So guess what?
It got taken away from me.
I wasn't a good steward of thegifts.
I was guilty of it just as muchas you were when I was that age.
And it's a pandemic.
It's, I have all these kids thatI work with, all my recruits
(26:50):
that I work with.
90% of'em, it is their biggestobstacle, and it's the tip of
their nose.
They can't get past it.
How do we teach it?
Luke, and I know you've writtenthis great book, the Mind
Strength Playbook and Feel, andI know you've been dropping some
things from it already.
How do we get kids?
(27:11):
How do we get that 16, 17,8-year-old.
To start understanding these,this value system that you're
talking about, where it startswith me and it has to end with
me as well.
You gotta coach it.
What are they surrounded byright now?
Society media, it's fault.
It's that party's fault.
It's this, it's that.
Yeah.
And everybody's focus is onthings they can't control, so
(27:35):
you have to coach'em properly.
And that's why I love mindstrength because there's really
a mind strength movement goingon right now because it's so
needed.
And it's a system that can trainsomebody sequentially how they
can develop it.
What does it do?
It helps you in sports.
Sure.
I want it to, I want you to getthe quote unquote external
scoreboard, but what I'm reallyafter is how can it help you in
(27:56):
your life?
How can you have that innermastery so that no matter what
happens in the external world,you can have a process and a way
of being able to deal with it.
Right now, everybody's focus istoo much on what they can't, the
external, and guess what?
As my sports psychologist toldme, when you focus on things you
can't control.
Your anxiety increases.
(28:16):
Think about a backseat driver.
Oh, this their anxiety isthrough the roof.
They don't enjoy the ride versusthe driver on the other hand,
they're calm in most casesunless they have road rage.
Yeah.
And then in that case, they'refocused on somebody else.
But as athletes.
What do you do?
Are you focused on what peopleare thinking of you?
Are you worried about whethercoach is gonna play or not?
You're recruiting this, that,and the other things.
(28:37):
You can't control the outcome ofa game.
You're not gonna enjoy the Drthe ride.
Your anxiety's gonna be high'cause it's focused on the
things that you can't control.
And we could take the same exactprinciples that we learn in
sports, in the mind strengthrealm, and you can apply'em in
anything in life.
Yeah.
I'm with you.
It's the same thing with me.
My, my word is significance.
(28:57):
It's, I use it for everythingbecause it's, I was taught many
years ago to replace the wordsuccess with significance.
Don't just go for the win, don'tjust go for the score.
I gotta understand.
What that means, what's theprocess to get there?
How do I wanna do it?
What's right for me?
Instead of just saying, I'mgonna throw the ball 50 yards at
this point and have him catchit.
(29:18):
We gotta put some practice intoit.
We have to understand why we'rerunning that route.
So I love that mentality.
I wanna talk about mentalhealth.
'cause we you've used the wordanxiety a couple times and
things like that.
You had a great tragedy that youand your teammates dealt with
your senior year and I'm, andI'm talking about Tyler Holinski
(29:40):
and his death.
What did that do to you and yoursoul at that point of your young
life?
And I know you've got a coupleother guys that got drafted
around the same time you didthat.
That had some mental healthissues and didn't get to finish
their career.
Some of your alignment, and Ithink if we're honest, must have
(30:02):
affected all of you.
I would say it infected or itimpacted all of us.
How could it not, you go fromthis guy who seems to have it
all together, who is the mostbubbly individual I've ever been
around?
Just happy Bambi in a sense.
It's just like he, that he had apep in his step.
It's I wish I was that positivewhen I was going through it.
(30:26):
And then obviously.
The tragic passing of it.
So two things happened for mebig time.
One, it humanized sport for me.
I had gone from a walk on and Iviewed everybody that's in that
quarterback room as like theenemy competition.
I'm not giving you a lick, I'mnot doing anything.
I wasn't that quarterback guythat was inviting the
(30:46):
quarterbacks over.
In fact, I would tell them.
I wouldn't tell them opposite.
I wouldn't tell'em what we'redoing though in terms of what I
was doing and inviting peopleover.
I was very limited in mythinking.
Very not abundant thinking inthat regard, their competition.
And so his passing, it's oh myGod, could I have.
Been a much better human toTyler.
(31:07):
Could I have, how did I not seethis?
So it just, it really humanizedit for me.
And I took that same approachwhen I went to the NFL.
Then it's like I quit viewing.
The guys in that quarterbackroom as competition and saw
people for, we're all humanbeings.
We're all going throughstruggle.
We're all got some things goingon and it just, it, it really
(31:27):
humanized sport for me.
I, that's the only way I can sumit up.
So it's and I have, I had guiltover it.
I've had guilt over it for solong about that.
I've been able to move past it.
'cause I was just doing the bestthat I could.
It's like I went from streetmode of the walk-on type of deal
to this thing happening.
All right.
I can't do anything about it.
What can I learn from it though?
Okay.
That's what I'm trying to domoving forward.
(31:47):
The second thing is that itshowed me that it, it is a great
strength to ask for help, right?
It's it's actually strong to askfor help.
I actually had some of my ownmental health issues in 2019
after, so my, I get cut.
My dad got a diagnosis of cancerAt the time, my mom, she had
been battling some mental healthstuff.
(32:08):
I had ended a five yearengagement or a five year
relationship.
We were engaged at the time andmy dog died.
I had a couple hip surgeriesand, what am I doing?
Who am I?
I was really struggling.
I called my sister, she couldhear it in my voice.
She's you need help and.
I was so shameful to get help.
I, all the old programming cameback, even though Tyler had just
(32:29):
passed, 18 months earlier orwhatever the math is on that,
not a very long time.
He's still very prominent in mythinking, thinking, what's it
gonna say about my masculinity?
What are coaches gonna think ofme?
What is this, that and theother?
And thank God I went and I didit.
Thank God that my sisterfollowed through and made sure
that I did it.
Because you know what?
That saved my life in some formof capacity.
(32:50):
And so with mind strength.
I tell people it's not aboutperfection.
Mind strength's not aboutperfection.
I'm not telling you, you gothrough and you read my book, or
you do my program, or you do anyof this stuff that you're gonna
be perfect.
No.
There's gonna be bumps in theroad.
You're gonna have to callaudibles at times.
What Mind strength to me isabout it's upstream, right?
I think I heard Tony Robbinstalk about this.
(33:10):
It's like you've got upstreamand then here's the waterfall,
and all our systems and ourprograms are working on the
waterfall right now after thefall has happened, mine
strength's, just working onupstream.
That doesn't mean that you won'tfall off the waterfall every now
and then.
It's like learning how to changea tire before you need to learn
how to change a tire.
Great.
You can fix it.
You can keep moving.
But what happens when all fourtires blow?
What happens when the car blowsup in that sense?
(33:32):
You need help.
And the audible that you askfor, then the mind strength
audible you ask for is, I needhelp.
And you go seek it.
And so that's why I thinktherapy and, that type of
support, it's absolutely I thinka huge mind strength gift.
And it's part of my mindstrength practice.
Shoot.
I've had two therapy sessionsthis week about things that I'm
going through right now.
I'm not ashamed to admit that.
(33:53):
I think it and especially, justlike any industry.
I've got a really great peoplein my corner in that regard that
can help me, that can helpsupport me in my journey.
And so I really encourage peopleto, if they're going through
struggles, issues, stuff likethat.
It's not shameful, especiallywith men, right?
Especially with men, women theyseem to be more open or
(34:14):
receptive to go receive thehelp.
And men, it's that's weak,that's weak.
What's somebody gonna say aboutme?
No, I think it shows greatstrength.
I think it helps yourmasculinity, it helps you become
a healthy man, so you can be agreat, human being in that
regard.
So one, one thing too, I justwanna say the Linsky have done a
phenomenal job.
(34:35):
With the tragedy of Tyler interms of making an impact, I
can't imagine what they've gonethrough.
A lot of people probablywouldn't do what they've done.
What they've done is createdalinsky's hope, trying to end
stigma for mental health,especially in when it comes to
student athletes and providethem resources.
What they've done is createdthis thing called Student
Athlete Mental Health Week, andit's at the beginning of each
(34:56):
October.
It's a full week long, andyou'll see your favorite
football team in college or yourfavorite sport, whatever, it's
soccer or whatever's going on.
You'll see their, their emblemor their sticker on the back.
It'll have the light blue andgreen and then the number three
on it.
And so I think they have over200 schools participating in it
now.
That's fantastic.
Talk about that.
(35:17):
I'm proud to say this year I'mteaming up with them and using
the book as a resource.
'cause part of their mission isto provide resources.
What better than a mind shrinkbook for student athletes.
Great.
And all the proceeds that comeusing their special link that
we've got for them, giving ahundred percent of the proceeds
to them to help them with theircause, and also hopefully
provide a resource for thesestudent athletes.
(35:38):
So I, I'm proud to do my part.
Like I said, I had guilt withTyler's stuff.
I can't do anything about thatnow.
What I can do is try to helpmove'em forward and, further his
legacy.
Luke, I know we don't know eachother well, so take this for
what it's worth from a dad andan old coach.
I'm so proud of you, man.
I'm I appreciate that.
I'm so grateful that we haveyour voice in this world right
(36:02):
now'cause it's so important.
It means a lot.
Thank you.
We can have you speaking toteenagers and athletes and
coaches and parents enough forthe message that you have and
the experiences that you've hadand the humility that you see
those experiences with.
(36:23):
So keep doing what you're doing.
I want to get some advice forfrom you because.
Every football team, everybasketball team, every soccer
team, men and women, it doesn'tmatter.
Doesn't matter if it's pro,doesn't matter if it's college,
doesn't matter if it's youth.
Everybody's got a Tyler.
There's probably three or fourTylers.
(36:44):
There's probably three or fourLukes that are going through
what you went through and Matt'swhat I went through.
What are some of the things asparents.
So we need to be doingproactively as much as being
aware of what we're watching andwhat we're looking for, because
we talked about how bubbly Tylerwas and how joyful he was and
(37:05):
how funny he was and what he putout externally.
What are some of those things weneed to do as coaches and
parents and teachers to beproactive with our youngsters?
That's a great question.
I'm probably not qualified toeven answer it.
I can.
You are more than you thinkbecause you know what you needed
and what you got.
(37:25):
Yeah.
You talked about your parentsmade.
A priority to get you sports,psychologist in front of you,
right?
Yeah, totally.
I think just the more and morethat you can here's what has
helped me the most when it comesto quote unquote my mental
health.
So I can't speak on to, I'm nota therapist, I'm not licensed,
whatever.
But I can talk about my ownexperience.
(37:47):
Like you said, it comes down tothis.
It's like letting them know asan individual that they're loved
no matter what.
I struggled with.
Self love.
I struggled with loving who Iwas.
I didn't like my body, I didn'tlike my circumstances, I didn't
like me, I didn't love me.
And and then sometimes you hearmy dad was very big on this and
(38:09):
I, I love it.
To this day, it's I love you.
I didn't like what you did.
It was, he was always trying toaffirm me.
I love you, the action that youtook.
I don't like that we're notgonna do that.
Now, obviously it didn't sinkinto me in terms of the
self-love that I had, but Ithink the greatest thing that
you can do is try to help themcreate an identity of love
within themselves.
And for me that's through.
(38:32):
My, my faith now, it's likethat's the bedrock for my mind
strength.
If you don't have that, in myopinion, you're living off of
the outcomes, what people thinkof you, comparisons, and it's an
anxiety ridden.
I call it the teeter-tottertrap.
It's an anxiety ridden type ofplayground that I wouldn't
advise anybody to be on, and allthose things are things you
(38:52):
can't control.
So what's helped me the most isto look at myself in the mirror
and genuinely have a love andappreciation for who God made me
to be, and knowing that myworth, it doesn't change based
upon whether I won or whether Ilost.
It's unchanging, unwavering,it's God-given and whatever your
belief system is like.
I went through a program calledAl-Anon.
(39:13):
I don't know if any of thelisteners know what Al-Anon is,
but it's a right, it's arecovery thing for family
members that have family membersthat are alcoholics.
And one of the greatest thingsat the end is having a spiritual
relationship with, within yourown personal relationship of it.
I come from Utah.
Obviously, there's a predominantreligion here, and sometimes
it's if you don't fit the moldin that religion, then people
(39:34):
just go away from.
That.
So anyways, not to go down thatpath, but I think it's important
because if you don't have youridentity on something that's
unchanging, unwavering, nowyou're living the highs and lows
and that can get you in somedark places like it did me,
right?
If I'm not the football playerand that's where my identity
was, if I'm not this, that, andthe other, if I'm, the way
people look at me, I'm in thedumps, now I'm depressed, now
(39:56):
I'm now, I'm allowing my worthto be based off of things I
can't control and things thatare always gonna be up and down
for me.
Yeah, I went through the samething.
My identity was 100% as anathlete, and when that was taken
away because of some injuriesand I didn't have the emotional
and mental game that you'retalking about, the mental
(40:16):
strength I moved all that energyinto coaching.
And then when I got outtacoaching in my late thirties,
early forties, all of a sudden Irealized that was my identity.
I'd put all my weight and energyinto the identity of being a
coach.
Yeah.
And it's taken me into myfifties to understand that's not
my identity.
That never was my identity.
(40:38):
My identity is.
The gratitude and the generosityI give to others and how I raise
my kids and the love I giveother people.
And whether that's coming from afoundation of faith or a
foundation of love, it becomesvalue driven.
Value driven.
Value driven.
It's not, yeah.
Yeah.
And that's my concern with youngathletes right now is a lot of
(40:59):
them can say the words you'resaying.
That my faith is my foundationand I'm doing this.
Oh it's talking points.
It's talking points, but there'snothing behind it.
It's a mask.
And that's my concern with that.
What's, I think, could you havebeen, could you have felt this
way when you were 17, 18?
I think you can, if you havesomebody like I, I am, I agree.
(41:22):
I see even these collegequarterbacks that say.
Right things, they've been pro,but I know that it's not, I can
see me in them of knowing atthat, right?
I said when I'm at WashingtonState, oh, I don't care about
what people think of me in themedia.
I just wanna bullshit.
I cared immensely.
I cared so much because that'swhat I tied my worth to, how I'm
(41:45):
viewed, how they, how did I win,did that, all that stuff.
So I think what it does in orderto crack the deal, I think you
can, I haven't lived it, so Ican't say for sure, but I think
you can of, if you had maybesomebody who's gone in their
shoes and expressed how much.
They disliked themselves andthat's why that they felt they
needed to rise to the top.
(42:05):
In fact, a lot of high achieversI think, feel that it's like
they're trying to get the lovethat they might not have gotten.
At other places and they'retrying to make up for it by
achieving, and people then willpat you on the back.
But here's the thing.
We beat USC, I have 500 textmessage messages, flood in after
we beat number five USC.
I get cut from the jets.
(42:25):
I have 10 text messages flooded,right?
Minsu mania happens.
Who am I now?
It was a really, I called it aquarter life crisis.
I went in a quarter life crisis.
I had to figure out for thefirst time, who really am I, and
it's still a process.
It's not like I wake up everyday and I'm just a hundred
percent, oh.
I love exactly who I am.
(42:45):
I'm a hundred percent no.
It's just like my strength.
It's a practice.
It's a journey.
Yeah.
And I could share a poem withyou.
I'd love to share it with you.
I share it.
Please do.
Because I think when I go talkto these macho.
College programs or even highschool programs, and I talk
about this poem, I get people, Ican see the shift in their eyes.
They know they're hearing themin the story, and then they ask
(43:09):
me, can I take a picture ofthat?
Hey, I got an ad.
Can I take a picture of that?
Because so many of us struggle,I think, with this topic of
self-worth feeling like we'regood enough.
Blah, blah, blah.
And it goes like this.
And I wrote this when I was theoffensive coordinator at
Northern Iowa.
I'm in just one of those.
Sometimes I get in these lowpoints and it's like something
is brewing in me.
(43:29):
Something's working.
And it was in this moment that Ihad this insight.
It's who cares what they think?
I surely do every move I'vemade, I've thought of the
review.
How will I look and what willthey say?
Will I win their love andapproval for just one more day?
Why do I do this?
How can it be?
Does it all stem from a deeproot of a lack of love for me?
(43:50):
And if this is, so how then do Igrow?
The answer becomes clear.
Start love in the man who isstanding in the mirror.
And I say that now, I must haverecited that however many times
at this point.
I get chills every time becauseit's truth.
Yeah, it's truth.
I love it.
And if you do that you take thehandcuffs off of needing any
(44:11):
outcome, anybody telling you howgood you are, anything like the
comparison, whatever.
And you can just have peace inyour life and knowing that
you're enough.
And that doesn't mean that youdon't work hard.
It just means that you can playwith house money, you can cut it
loose.
And anyways, that's a constantbattle for me and a constant
workout for me to this day.
(44:32):
So I think if you have, yeah Ithink you can get it, but I
think it's a process and ajourney.
Yeah.
It really is.
Experience is so important.
It's so hard for me to tell kidsthat.
Everything they're going throughis a part of where they're
headed.
It's a part of who they're gonnabe, and they need it.
They need the hurt, they needthe stress.
(44:54):
They need to know how strongthey are.
They need to know they canovercome.
They need to know they canbecome the person they wanna be
and they may not know who thatis yet.
And until they have thoseexperiences and go through what
you've gone through and whatI've gone through, we, we don't
get to be the person we wantuntil we do that.
So Totally send me that poem.
I'm gonna post it.
It's in the book.
It's in the book.
(45:15):
I was gonna ask you if it's thebook.
So chapter's, chapter two.
I can't wait to read your book.
Yeah, I think you're gonna loveit.
I re I wouldn't, it's funny, mycareer, I would never have.
Been as confident tellingsomebody about something I did
in my career.
'cause I wasn't that confidentin being able to do it with this
book, the team around me that Ihad.
Anyways, I just, I love it.
I think it's gonna be a gamechanging for people and it's
(45:37):
entertaining as well.
It's not prescriptive.
It's here's stories and they'llbe able to see themselves in
those stories.
Can't wait.
Can't wait.
And I will, I'll promote it andI'll make sure I get some of my
kids reading it too.
I appreciate it.
I'm gonna tell you something.
Because I wish I would've heardit at when I was your age.
'cause I needed it at your age.
(45:58):
I really wish there would'vebeen a Mike Leach at the NFL
level for you, because there'sno doubt in my mind that you
could have played at that level.
No doubt in my mind.
Yeah.
I appreciate it.
I just, I enjoyed watching youplay live and going back and
watching your film again beforetoday.
I just, everything you want aquarterback to do and the spirit
(46:22):
you played with and the armstrength, the ball just flies
outta your hand.
So whatever you do from here onout, no.
That you deserve to be at thatlevel.
I appreciate, it's funny though,it's like I view all that, like
you said, the experiences.
Yeah.
Everything I've gone through, Ilove playing football.
It wasn't my purpose though,what I'm doing now.
It is.
(46:42):
And it's like all that was theapprenticeship, the highs, the
lows, the hard, the, this.
To help me do what I'm doingnow.
I'm glad I didn't play in theNFL.
I can't say that when I got out,that was the case, right?
That's one of those audibleseasy.
I think I'm gonna play 10 yearsin the NFL.
Hey easy.
Lemme write this book.
Let me write this program.
Let me go through this.
And this is now my journey.
(47:02):
'cause shit's Sorry, I sorry toswear.
You're good.
Stuff's gonna happen.
Stuff's gonna happen.
The defense might not give youwhat you want.
Yeah, they might blitzsomewhere.
Whatcha gonna do about it?
Easy.
Move on.
Focus on what you can controland adapt.
Good.
I wanna talk recruiting withyou.
I wanna do a little rapid firewith you.
Just get some fun questions inyour head and get some quick
(47:23):
answers from you.
Who's the toughest defensiveplayer you ever faced?
Yeah, Vive really good.
Steve, something else.
Yeah, he was, he's a, super Bowlchampion for a reason we played
Washington.
That guy, I joke with my wife,he knows my body better than her
because he was all over me everytime we played.
It must have looked like arhinoceros coming through the
(47:45):
line.
Oh my gosh.
He, it felt like they wererushing seven when in reality it
was three and he was just, hewas a man amongst boys at that
age.
And he still is.
He great player.
Strongest arm you ever saw Closeup?
Oh man.
Josh Allen at the Senior Bowl.
Just guy had an absolute cannon.
Still does too.
(48:05):
Yeah.
Yeah.
NFA great guy too.
He was my roommate at the SeniorBowl.
And was he?
Yeah, he's got he's like a guy Ilike really referring.
Especially when I work with ahigh school quarterback or a
college quarterback.
It's like that guy's confidenthumility.
He's not boast and he is notdoing all this.
He's really a genuine humanbeing.
Yeah, he's really found himself,hasn't he?
(48:26):
I think so.
I don't know him all that well.
I know Sam better and I knowthat those guys are buddies.
If you're friends with Sam's thesame way.
Sam's just a, he's just a greatdude and I think, they haven't
changed.
It seems like they haven'tchanged.
They've always been comfortable.
In their own skin, it seems saysa lot about a guy when they make
that kind of money and thingsdon't change, and how they treat
people and how they go abouttheir business.
(48:47):
It's I listen to Dave Ramsey.
It's like you become more of,you know who you already are.
He's, he became an even betterguy, both of them.
That's great.
Yeah.
NFL stadium, you'll never forgetplaying.
Definitely Gillette Stadium.
First career.
Start playing against Tom Bradydefending Super Bowl champions.
The guy that I had looked up tomy whole life.
(49:07):
I will never forget it.
Maybe I haven't washed my handssince that day, since I'm just
kidding.
Oh, that's great.
Best teammate leader you everplayed with?
Jamal Morrow.
Jamal Morrow.
Best teammate of all time.
Just a phenomenal footballplayer.
Always positive, always, wantingto do what's best for the team.
(49:27):
He's in college coaching rightnow, and he's gonna, he's gonna
take off.
He's one of those guys that if Iwas still in college coaching,
he'd have been one of my firsthires because he's that type of
guy.
You went on the bus.
If somebody came to you tomorrowwith a job offer, what would you
hope it would be?
Oh man.
That's I like being theentrepreneur.
So I would say, I don't knowmaybe a job offer to work on
(49:51):
mind strength with let's say oneof these big conferences to be,
create a curriculum to teachyoung people mind strength,
because I think it's needed.
So I love it.
They would hire me as aconsultant to create the
curriculum and come in and leadit.
Let's manifest that.
Manifest that's what happen.
I like it.
I like, I am getting hired.
I love it.
I love it.
(50:12):
What's your best advice forcoaches?
Oh, that's a good one.
I would say.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna steal fromChris Peterson's here.
So it's like you gotta create agame plan for your life.
So Chris Peterson, I listened tohim on a podcast, sorry, this is
gonna be a long-winded answer,but I listened to him on a
podcast and I heard him talkabout society's scoreboard and
(50:36):
having your own game plan foryour life.
And he got out of collegecoaching'cause he felt like,
things got outta hand for him inthat regard.
And I asked Jake Browning togive me his number.
Chris Peterson's number before Igot into college coaching.
He gave me this, worksheet offinding my mission.
What are my values?
What are the things in my lifethat are most important to me?
And then make decisions basedupon them rather than society's
(50:59):
scoreboard.
Lo and behold, my missionstatement at that time was to
help people live aself-actualized life through
coaching, speaking, writing,whatever it looks like.
I've changed the missionstatement now to make it more
of, Hey, my goal is to helppeople live their, live life to
their full potential throughstrengthening their minds, and
what helped me best do that.
What wasn't in college coachingbecause I was getting outta my
(51:21):
values.
I said, family, guess what?
I wasn't spending any time withmy family.
I said, exactly, that's whyyou're out of it.
It's so that helped me, althoughI got off course, although I
went down the path, although Idid go chase what I call the
Society Scoreboard Mountain,right?
He called Society Square.
I use it all the time now.
It's like I was on the externalmountain of what could it get
(51:42):
me?
How could people view me?
I was still getting thatexternal hit and his.
Message to me and looking at mygame plan for my life.
And then, there was a diagnosisthat happened in my family.
It's like it put things inperspective for me again, and
now when I make decisions, it'soff of that.
It's and if I don't make it offof that, then there fill
something off in me.
(52:04):
So I think too often coachesthey coach for the win and loss.
Yep.
Great.
That will.
You'll have your moment in thesun, but will you have peace?
Will you have the opportunity tohave, the pass the pillow test
at night knowing that you'vemade a contribution and a
difference based off, that's whyI love John Wooden.
It's like the guy was avalue-based coach and he did
win.
Sure he won, but it's thatwasn't the important thing to
(52:26):
him.
It was about, making thedecisions that were in alignment
with who he was.
So I'm in full agreeance withyou on that.
Where can people find you, Luke,if they want to get your book,
they wanna learn more about youand what you're doing, and they
want to connect with you, wherecan they find you?
Yeah, my website's a great spot.
It's coach luke faulk.com.
(52:48):
Faulk is a four letter word,starts with an F, ends with a K,
no U in there, right?
FALK.
So coach luke faulk.com.
My dad will love that.
I used his line right there forour last name.
I've heard that pitch over andover again.
What's dad's first name?
Mike.
Mike.
Yeah, Mike.
Great.
Mike.
Mike Faulk.
Yep.
But so that'd be a great spot.
You, they could follow me on allplatforms, social media on X,
(53:09):
Instagram, LinkedIn at CoachLuke Faulk, and then they can
buy the book.
So I think it's on every bookplatform right now, Barnes and
No by Amazon.
And then they can also get on mywebsite.
Give him the title one more timeof the book.
It's called The Mind StrengthPlaybook.
Master your Mind.
Elevate Your Game.
I would've said life, but I knowit's gonna help you in the life
area as well.
I love it, my friend.
(53:30):
I'm so thankful we did this.
I'm so thankful I got to meetyou and hear your story and if
we can get more people listeningto it and understanding that
they're okay.
And that there's a path tohappiness and a path to get over
everything they're, they mightbe dealing with and it all
starts with saying, Hey, I needsome help.
Then we did something goodtoday.
Yeah.
No, I certainly agree.
(53:51):
This has been very enjoyable.
Love the questions and thanksfor having me on.
What an incredible conversationwith Luke Falk.
I came away deeply impressed,not just with his journey from
Walkon to NFL quarterback, butwith the way he's using those
experiences to pour back intoothers.
Luke has so much good to sharewith the world from his openness
(54:13):
about mental health to hispassion for coaching, to the
wisdom in his new book, the MindStrength Playbook.
It is clear he's committed tohelping athletes, parents, and
leaders grow stronger in bothperformance and purpose.
If today's episode resonatedwith you, I encourage you to
pick up a copy of the MindStrength Playbook when it
releases on October 24th.
(54:35):
It's a resource that belongs inthe hands of anyone who wants to
strengthen not just their game,but their mindset.
Luke's story is a reminder thatsignificance comes not from
titles or stats, but from how weimpact others, and I believe his
best impact is still ahead ofhim.
If you'd like to connect with meor learn more about my
(54:56):
recruiting, coaching, andspeaking resources and services,
you can check meout@coachmattrogers.com.
Until next time, stay focused,stay humble, and keep chasing
significance.
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