June 10, 2022 • 28 mins
Vernon Davis catches a pass from the “Fifth Hour with Ben Maller, and Danny G Radio.” After a productive college career at Maryland, Vernon spent 14 seasons as a tight end for the 49ers, Broncos, and Redskins. He played in Super Bowl XLII and was on the Denver team that won SB50. Post playing career he’s moved on to the acting world. Follow Vernon Davis on Twitter @VernonDavis85, he is starring in several new projects including “Going Home” in which he plays a terminally ill NFL player, and MUTI (with Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser) which he plays a serial killer. Watch his latest project “GOING HOME” which is now streaming on Pure Flix (www.pureflix.com). Every week a new episode will release. Follow Danny G Radio on Twitter @DannyGradio, Follow Big Ben on Twitter @BenMaller, and listen to the original "Ben Maller Show," Monday-Friday on 450+ terrestrial Fox Sports Radio affiliates, iHeart stream, and SiriusXM Radio channel 83, 2a-6a ET.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kaboom. If you thought four hours a day, minutes a
week was enough, I think again. He's the last remnants
of the old Republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He
treats crackheads in the ghetto Cutter the same as the
rich pill poppers in the penthouse, the Clearinghouse of Hot
takes break free for something special. The Fifth Hour with
(00:23):
Ben Maller starts right now in the air everywhere and
a very good Friday, back at it in the podcast
do Joe. Another edition of The Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller and Danny g And it's a Friday podcast. So
(00:47):
this means if you're a regular listen, you know that
every Friday we dazzle you. We surprise you with someone
who I know or someone I'm interested in talking to.
And today on the Fifth Hour, we have a chance
to catch up with a man who was a speed
demon play in the NFL and a guy that has
(01:12):
gone on to acting. We're gonna get into all of that.
Vernon Davis, you know the name. You know the name.
He was the sixth overall pick for the forty Niners
back in the NFL draft in the early two thousand
I think it was two thousand six and had some
productive years. Was the star topic of conversation for one
(01:36):
of the great coaching rants of our time, Mike Singletary,
when he won on the rant, I want winners right now.
That person is not sold out to be a part
of this team. It is more about them than it
is about the team. Cannot play with him, cannot win
with him, cannot coach with him, can't do it. He
was actually talking about Vernon Davis, and so I thought,
(01:59):
why not, let's let's have a chance. We had an
opportunities in a bunch of acting stuff right now as well,
and so we'll get into some of that at the
beginning and then work our way to the NFL conversation.
But we welcome in now to the fifth hour Vernon Davis,
former NFL player turned actor, and he's in a new
(02:20):
project coming out. We'll get to that in a sect.
But thanks Vernon for coming on with us. We know
you as the NFL guy, but you're now an actor.
At what point in your life did you catch the
acting bug? You know what I am. It all happened
while I was playing in San Francisco. I kind of
(02:41):
caught the acting bug because I wrote myself in the
class at the Theater Art downtown San Francisco, and that
class it really it really gets. It really opened up
my eyes and made me. Gave me the passion to
really pursue to the arts. And I didn't act since then.
I said, hey, I really want to do this. I'm
(03:02):
want to continue to do even while I'm playing ball,
and um, I just continue to pursue it and didn't stop.
So when you were a kid like you, you grew
up in Washington, d C. At at no point in
your childhood you're like, man, maybe I'll gonna make some
TV shows and stuff like that. This is something that
happened later in life. Huh yeah, this happened later in life.
It was stuff that I didn't really know. Uh, I
(03:25):
was gonna pursue this. I didn't know anything about that
until I was playing in San Francisco. It is kind
of I guess you don't want to school arts studio
And maybe that was the I believe that's the catalyst
for all of this, because you know how they say,
when you're an artist, you're arnest. You know, you got
to be a brain that people don't use. So that's
(03:46):
something that it could be as well. So how different
is it in the NFL world. I do a sports
radio show version, so I'm involved in the sports world
a lot, not involved in entertainment as much. So, Uh,
you've dabbled in both. Now, how different is it that
being a a Thespian as opposed to being an NFL player.
(04:08):
I think it's It's great. It's amazing, man. I you
got to play football for so long. And I like
to tell everyone, is I say, if you're gonna do something,
you got to get the start it now. Even if
you don't know what you want to do, just try
it and see what happens. And for me, I never
really let anything assume my life. I'm open. I have
an open minded and when I was playing football, I
(04:30):
knew that at some point my time playing playing this
game within so I had to really look that I
was open and accepting the things that that I had
gone on in my life and saying that, as I
was transitioning and leading football, you had already had a plane.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I knew
(04:51):
how I wanted to do. I didn't know how it
was going to shape out, but I kept the faith
that I believed that whatever I was doing was going
to uh the se in office. Are there any any
actors you kind of model yourself after? Are you doing
your own thing? Is there somebody you you watched and
you said, I wanna kind of model myself after that person? Yeah?
(05:12):
You know I used to always wanna is Uh is
a legend to me. He's a legendary. He's an actor.
You know, I never really I've always looked at guys
like Washington, Morgan Freeman. Um, yeah, just guys and the
gays that have been around for a whole Like some
time I really modeled because I wanted to be an actor.
(05:33):
Is just when you look at at an actor, you
look at an action star, right, action and acting is
like Morgan Freeman. He's an act play anywhere you can
play anything. That's always what I'm That's what I've always
wanted to do. Yeah, and you you work with Morgan Freeman, right,
I mean you were on the same project with him?
Is that I was reading that? How is that? That
(05:55):
must have been wild? Huh? Yeah, we have a movie
coming up multi Why I played serial killer from South
Africa co Housing Morgan Freeman. Cole is in this count
co Housing goes to Morgan Freeman and figure out how
to stop me from committing all these crimes that I'm committed.
That's pretty cool when when you're working on the on
the project, you're like having a like, I can't believe
(06:17):
I'm here a situation. Where was that going through you? Hey,
when you're you're on the same project with Morgan Freeman. Well,
at that time, I was, you know, I was already
prepared and I was you know, I had my my
plan in place, so I knew I was going to
be working with co Housing Morgan Freeman. Y, So I
had time to really accept it and and just and
just get ready and be paid. But I know I
(06:38):
had to be confident as well, because you're working with
a guy like Morgan Freeman. I mean, he's legendary. He's
not going to just let the let you go out
there do anything in the scene, you know what I mean.
So I had to make sure that I was well prepared,
but I could, you know, get out there perform with
because we had scenes together, Morgan and I scenes together.
(06:59):
So that's awesome, That's that's cool. I look forward to
for checking that out. And now what about this the
project you've got which and one of the reasons we
have you on here full disclosure, is to promote the
show Going Home, which is available. And you understand, you
star as a in this one. You're you're a former
(07:19):
athlete and you enter hospical kind of kind of So
why should why should the listener want to check this out?
It's on pure flicks dot com by the way, But
how can you tell me why somebody would want to
watch them? Yeah, Pure flips is is the number one
in the Faith and Family studio. You know, they do
(07:41):
a lot of great things, very inspirational. Going Home is
compelling and touching drama that follows an inspiring team of
nurses that help gay patients and loved ones and an
ultimate in their ultimate journey as they transition from the
world and go to this to a place where they
wanted to be forever, which is heaven. We see this
(08:01):
entire journey. We fall in love with these characters because
you know, this is real life. It's a real life situation.
I play a character who's who's dying from little fields.
You know, a professional athlete who who took these pills
and drink the alcohol after you know, and and now
the suffer from everything that I did to my body.
(08:23):
I didn't know the character as the character. I didn't
know this was happening. I didn't know that my life
would be over because of this. You know that I
will be dying because of this. But you know, I
take you through this, through my story and tell you
all of this, and at the end, you know, I
expect the audience to fall in love with the character
because I mean, it's amazing. It's just it's just very
(08:43):
it's very heartbreaking, but it's also at the same time
it's very inspirational. Yeah, very cool. And and we have
it all. We'll have it all all. You can check
it out on Pure flicks dot com. And uh, I
want to get back to the I want to go
back to the acting in a minute. But let's let's
can we turned the page right into the football? Are
you cool with that little football talk? Little hot football
(09:04):
talk here? Uh? So, you were the subject of a
legendary uh coaching meltdown in San Francisco when you were
playing for the Niners. Mike Singletary, You're I guess he
was the kind of temporary coach there. He he went
on the I want winners rant for the ages. And
I know you've been asked about this a lot over
the years and whatnot, but can you kind of paint
(09:26):
the picture of how that all went down, when when
you found out about it, and what what your initial
thought process was when all that was going down back
in the day. Yeah, I was penalized, and I was
and that was just something that was one of many
things that I have, but I did to put the
team in a rough spot. And coach kept telling me.
(09:48):
I mean even before the incident, he said, hey, we
have to make sure you go out there and and
do respect for the team. It's not about you, it's
just a build up. So when that happened, he looked
at me. I came back to the side line penalized.
He said, what you do son? I said, my bad? Coach,
sorry about that. He said, go ahead, go take a shower. Winner.
(10:13):
I got myself together, and then the next day he
caught me in the office and we talked me hard
to heart. You know, he shared with me some things.
And after that, I mean it was either I listened,
I don't listen and I get kicked off the team
or something any anything, you know, I just not to
do with the things that come with this one with
(10:36):
being discipline and being compliance. So I kind of got
my I got my act together night and I listened.
I took his advice, and I did a three sixties.
It wasn't about me anymore. I was about all about
the team, and I put the team first and I
put myself last, and my career started to take off.
I became a better player, but a person, I'm just
gonna through this journey. And I was a young man
(10:57):
just trying to find myself. It's this is the first time,
my first time being a professional athlete. Now I've never
been a professional athlete before, so I was learning myself.
I was I had a lot of followers, people that
I was following, influential people that was leading me, but
there wasn't necessarily leading me in the right direction. So
I had to really make my mind up and get
myself my act together. But at that moment, on a
(11:19):
scale of one to ten, when you found out that,
you know, you heard about that, whether you saw it
on TV or somebody called you and said, hey, did
you hear what happened? But like a skilled one of them,
how angry were you at the moment when you found
out about all that. I'm just sitting back. I was
actually watching it. I was with my family and I
was laying back in Big Ben. I was like, Wow,
this man just threw me under the bus. I thought
he threw me under the bus, but it's time continue
(11:41):
to go by. I started to understand that, Hey, he
I don't think he was just really I don't think
he was doing in it, but he was reacting out
of emotion, and he was making an example out of
me because I hear I was first one draft pick.
You got all these guys who look up to me.
And his message is, hey, I can't let this kid
get away just because he's a first one draft. I
can't let him come in here and do anything that
(12:02):
he wants to do, especially if it doesn't benefit the team.
So I understood that, and I was like, Hey, this
this is a this is actually a lesson in disguise
for me. It's a blessing. It's that it's something that's
going to allow me to to be not just a
better person with a better football player. And did it
(12:24):
Vernon just it was something that I told everybody at
the very beginning of the week. I will not tolerate
UM players that think it's about them when it's about
the team. And UM, we cannot make we cannot make
decisions that cost the team and then come off the
(12:46):
sideline and it's nonjalant. No, you know what. This is
how I believe Okay, I'm from the old school. I
believe this. I would rather play with ten people and
just get penalized all the way until we got to
do something else, rather than play with eleven when I
know that right now that person is not sold out
(13:07):
to be a part of this team. It is more
about them than it is about the team. Cannot play
with him, cannot win with him, cannot coach with him,
can't do it? Do you? You guys on good terms now?
Mike Singletary in Vernon Davis, Yeah, absolutely coach us with
(13:28):
them a few times as well. I'm sure that's cool.
That's cool. And so where does that rank? I I'm
a fan Vernon. I do a sports radio show, as
you know, and so I love the the tirades, the
coaches tirades. But where would you place that? Is that?
Is that higher than the famous Dennis Green crowned them
rant from when he was coaching the Cardinals. Jim Mora
(13:48):
had playoffs. Playoffs. There was the Mike Ditka rant from
from years before. Where does the rant about you? Is
it number one? Because it was about you? Vernon the one?
Or too because it was comical it was. I mean,
if you think I didn't laugh at it now because
it's it's all in the past. And but if you
(14:09):
think about Mike Cemetery's being this Hall of Fame football
player and all said, he's a coach and he has
this rat where he comes in, it's pretty it's pretty spectacular.
Think about it the way he said, yeah, delivery, it
was just coaching the person. It's just Larry. Now that
you're done playing football, you're you're onto the acting stuff.
(14:29):
What was the What was the thing that surprised you
the most about when you made the NFL? And you
were a highly rated player coming out of college, but
when you when you got to the NFL, what was
the thing that surprised you the most about being in
the NFL? Gosh, the name is surprised me was that,
I mean, it's a professional athlete. You would think that
everybody that's a professional athlete had the same mindset, but
(14:50):
it didn't work that way for me. I played fourteen years.
You know, I had the same routine. I learned something
from my se he told me when I first walked
with my first year. He said, I want you to
learn something, soun. I want you to create a habit,
and I want you to do learn something, and I
want you to do it every day every time you
walk up to school. I want you to do it.
(15:12):
For me, I was catching balls, catching balls, and U
working on certain like techniques as far as I keep
my feet and bounds and involved right I had. I
had three things that I that I wanted to really
work on throughout for the duration of my career, and
I did it all up to my fourteenth seasons. And
(15:34):
the thing that I did most of was, like I said,
catching balls, staying out after practice and catching balls. And
I looked around all those years. Every time I looked around,
I was the last person on that field, and sometimes
I'd be the only person on the field doing what
I was doing. And I just couldn't understand the professional athlete.
We expect more professional to be out there doing the
(15:55):
same thing that I was there yea, And that told
me that there's there's a difference between being good and
being great. That's why I shared them with me because
he was great. It was great. He had the recipe
the greatness and a lot of people don't have that phone. Yeah, well,
what what what percent what what percentage for when you
(16:17):
were playing? What percentage of guys do you think we're
just kind of they were in the NFL because they
were good, not necessarily because they loved football percentage of guys.
And then yeah, the guys that really just kind of
they happened to me and they were very talented. They
made it, but they didn't. You talked about you were
staying after practice catching footballs and you learned that from
Mike Singletary and that that you looked around you didn't
(16:39):
see a lot of guys out there, So like, what
what what do you say that percent you guys in
a in an NFL locker room that are talented can
play in the NFL. But it's not like their passion
like you know, they're not they're not putting, they're not
like they're not like they don't want it. It's not
about being great for them, it's it's about being good.
They want to do that, they want to do well. Yeah,
but the you know what you get it. It's a
(17:02):
handful of guys who really just they see things differently, right,
they vision for their career and a success. It's it's
different for them. Those are the guys that are similar
to myself who are going home. You know, I got
a tennis ball machine. So when I get home about
the practice, I got the tennis ball machine set up
in my house and let's putting those tennis balls that
(17:24):
I have to catch a hundr balls before the sleep.
You know, those are the count of those kind of
guys right there. You you probably get about on each
team NFL. Yeah, just went on an average. You know,
you played fourteen seasons, so you were in you know,
fourteen different years you play in the NFL. Right, So
out of that on average, you know what per per year,
(17:44):
what do you think the percentage breakdown would be. I'd
say I'd say fifteen percent of the guys I like
that who have that that and that that what they
have pision boys they have staying at home, but when
they get home from practice, right, they don't just leave practice. Yeah,
(18:06):
so that means eight or not not in that, but
that's probably the same in any business though right very
I mean there's guys that you know, just kind of
go through it and there they cut corners or whatnot,
and they don't put the work in. And I think
that's is that within the margin of error just in
life in general. So you got these guys who are
blessed with talent, like they're blessed with tremendous ability, tremendous talent.
(18:30):
They have things that most guys don't laugh and it's natural.
So in their mind they don't have to do that.
They don't have to do as much work as the
other guys do it because they already know that. They
can go to sleep, they can go to sleep and
wake up and do the same thing every day because
they know they have something. But most guysps just natural ability.
(18:52):
They have the ability to see things on the field
when when when they have a defender on them or
or whether they got to make tactics. They can do it.
And it's certainly the most guys can't do this natural thing.
But you have the guys who eat who may have that.
You guys have guys who don't have it, but they
also know that that it's a marathon and it's not
(19:12):
a it's not a sprint. They know that they have
to in order to be great, they have to do something.
They have to be do something to make sure that
they they're consistent, because consistency consistent. When you're consistent and
you have repetition, that creates greatness. Kind of like what
my secretary was saying, He's saying, take something and do
(19:34):
it every day. That's consistent and that's repetition that that
allows you to have that done for this marathon to
be great. Yeah. Absolutely. So one of the other things
I wanted to ask you, right, what is something that
you know as a guy that played in the NFL
that would surprise a lot of people who are just
watching these Again, if something behind the scenes that would
(19:58):
surprise most people about life as an NFL players, there's
something that that you recall that most people just have
no concept of that. It's just part of being in
the NFL that a lot of people don't don't get,
they don't grasp as a player. Like you know, people
think of the NFL and they think of certain certainly,
(20:20):
and we talked about in my my business. We talked
about you guys who play all the time, But there's
stuff like just the daily part of it. Is there
something behind the scenes that that people would be shocked by,
like Joe Fan if they knew that X, Y and
Z was going on, Like, oh, I can't believe that.
Is there something like that that stands out that that's
(20:40):
passing through your head right now? Well, for me when
I think about the NFL or not, and something that
stands out to me that most people don't. But I
think most people don't get is that, Okay, you look
at a guy like me, right yeah, and you and
you and you, and most people when I tell them that,
they'd be like, oh, you're lucky. Oh no, I'm not lucky.
I did think definitely. I don't think it was because
(21:01):
you think that I've never had surgery. Really, how is
it possible? Because I did the way I did things,
the way I approached it. I stretched, I stretched, and
I a properly. And not only did stretched at properly,
but I did something where I was super consistent. I
took I took the formula that Mike single take dat
and I did it. I did my I would go in,
(21:23):
I would do this everything even during the off season.
I treated the off season the way I treated the
in season, and I did stop. I would take off
maybe a week or two weeks, and then I get
back into a full throttle and I did that every
single year. But I took care of my body. And
one thing that I did I stretched my stretched certain
muscle groups and I did it every single day. My calf,
(21:46):
my pureformance muscle, my I t band, my my hamstring,
a quads, and I would do that every single day.
Because there's certain muscle groups you need to really stretch
in order to prevent serious injuries. Like you Achilles killy
s tend you want to make you stretch your cap right,
(22:07):
you know, so you didn't pull anything your hip. You
want to make sure you warm your hip or property.
But I took pride of these things and I did
them all the time. So now when people hear about
me and not have surgery like oh you let No,
it's not luck. It's just the way I approached my
My craft was totally different than anybody. And it's not. No,
it's not many people can't nobody, that's not people can't
(22:28):
nobody say that, what fourteen years and didn't have soldier? Yeah,
that's crazy, man. What was the hardest hit you ever guy.
It was it was there was there a moment when
you were playing you just got laid out and you're like,
oh boy, what am I doing here? Yeah? I mean
I've got it. I got hit called camp chance did
uh Asan Wilson, I mean, just Asan this but he
(22:54):
uh yeah, I've had many moments like like that. But
I didn't. I didn't have that distracting. I kept doing
what I have to do. That's crazy. No surgeries in
fourteen years in the NFL. That's wild. It's crazy. Looking
at the NFL now, the tight end position. Now, you
you were seeing as I remembined you were coming out
of college, when people thought of you as like this
(23:15):
unicorn that you and you lad this. I feel like
you were one of the leaders of this new wave
of tight ends where the tight end in the NFL
these days. I haven't played in a few years, but
the tight end is a central part of a number
of offenses around the NFL. You do you feel like
the forefather of the modern era of the tight end?
(23:37):
Vernon They had a little role because of your speed
and what you brought to the game. I don't know.
I'm not sure. I mean, I think I think I was,
you know, as far as I don't think as far
as running the fastest times for a tight end NFL history,
I think that really that was just something that I've
always been good at. I've always been fast. For some reason,
(23:59):
I've had to really is I got bigger. I kept
my speed for some reason, some odd reason. But I
think I think that has to do with me continue
to work on certain things like um being exposed, um
running track, and just continue to the battlements player. But
also I don't know, I don't know. I just I
(24:21):
don't know. I don't I guess, I mean, I guess
my speed is like the number one thing that allowed
me to be able to do some of the things
that I was able to do is a tight end. Yeah,
but you look around now and you know Travis Kelsey
and Kansas I go down a list if you want.
I mean, there are a bunch of guys that are
playing tight end that are that are like the key
guy or one of the key players in their offense
and and really seemed kind of as a like a
(24:43):
receiver almost right these days. Runing the way that they
these teams are playing these days in the NFL, it's
pretty pretty wild to see the change, and it's really
happened within the last like five ten years or so.
I would say, you agree with that or disagree with that? Yeah, yeah,
I think so. I mean, I think you started with
guys like Kelly when so see you who who's someone
who I looked up to. And then you know his
son came along and they got Mackie and chanting sharp. Well,
(25:08):
have you have guys of that of that caliber? You know,
they were really and Tony Gonsot you know, I can't
as well as Tony uh Antonio Gates. Those guys are
those were bride receiver tight ends, but they also could block,
you know, they did it all. But yeah, that's that's
that's what I think. When I came in, I think
(25:30):
what I what I did, I added to to what
those guys were already doing. But my speed was just different.
You know, stretched the field, get downfield, and you know
when I came in, they they put the line, they
had a lineback on me at first, and then what
happened was, you know, I started to take the middle
of the field. We had with these plays where the
Titans run now unto the field because it was always
(25:52):
a couple of two, it was always open. Then they
started dropping they do Tampa two where they dropped the
mic back, so the Titan couldn't take the middle field, right,
But then what happened so fast and I started running back,
running by the lineback even in Tampa two. So they
had to figure out that. So then they had to
come up with another way to take that. Now, so
what happens, So what happens now the mike the mike
(26:14):
and Tampa two, the Mike drops back a lot faster,
you know, sort of wouldn't get down there. Yeah, I've
seen a lot of change, you know, as far as
me playing the game, you know. Yeah, And and I
gotta tell you, and the fact that you and your
your younger brother both played in the NFL, that's pretty
I know it's happened every once in a while. That's
pretty impressive that you two guys, uh, we're able to
(26:37):
make the end of it. Was just something. I mean,
you obviously had a rough child that it's been well
documented U from you know, growing up in d C
and whatnot. What do you what do you think was
that the reason because you had such a kind of
a tough time as a kid, growing up that you
and your brother both were able to make the NFL.
You know, I don't know. But when I got drafted,
I heard a cool fact. They said that my brother
(27:00):
I was the fourth generation of brothers to get drafted
in the first round. That's pretty cool. Yeah, I thought
that was uh yeah, but you know, I'm not sure.
You know, I used to put my brother along with
me when I was when he was in grade school.
I used to make him go to the field with
me and do these workouts because I used to sneak
out of the house when I was Jennie High School.
(27:21):
I used to sneak out late at night, about twelve am,
and I used to go over the field and work
on my game. Oh wow, that's cool that you were
getting You were getting in trouble running or you just
working on your game? Were you getting out? Were you
haven't even issues out? No, I was actually going to
work in my game. I was cool, like there was
someone out there out work in me. And I had
this thing in my mind. My parents and my grandparents
(27:42):
wouldn't understand it. I just knew that I had to.
I wanted to make it so bad. I wanted to
be successful and sports. But the only way to be
successful sports is to put the working and to me,
going outside late at night and working out, jumping, running hills.
I was doing all kinds of step man, and I
made sure I was just I was. I was accountable
(28:03):
enough to make sure that I got back home and
I got get in trouble. You know, I didn't get
any trouble at that age when I was a sleeper
at the house. I was absolutely going to work on
my game and it paid off. And you're working on
your game and acting and all that, and again, you
want to check out Vernony co stars here here Tyler
Cobb right this new project that's on Pure flicks dot com,
(28:26):
Going Home, it's streaming. You can check that out and Vernon,
thank you for your time, man. I appreciate it. Good
luck in Hollywood and acting, and we look forward to
seeing this project here. And I'm sure you'll be in
many other projects over in the next few years, so
I look forward to checking that out. Thank you, Vernon
Kaboom. If you thought four hours a day, minutes a
week was enough, I think again. He's the last remnants
of the old Republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He
treats crackheads in the ghetto Cutter the same as the
rich pill poppers in the penthouse, the Clearinghouse of Hot
takes break free for something special. The Fifth Hour with
(00:23):
Ben Maller starts right now in the air everywhere and
a very good Friday, back at it in the podcast
do Joe. Another edition of The Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller and Danny g And it's a Friday podcast. So
(00:47):
this means if you're a regular listen, you know that
every Friday we dazzle you. We surprise you with someone
who I know or someone I'm interested in talking to.
And today on the Fifth Hour, we have a chance
to catch up with a man who was a speed
demon play in the NFL and a guy that has
(01:12):
gone on to acting. We're gonna get into all of that.
Vernon Davis, you know the name. You know the name.
He was the sixth overall pick for the forty Niners
back in the NFL draft in the early two thousand
I think it was two thousand six and had some
productive years. Was the star topic of conversation for one
(01:36):
of the great coaching rants of our time, Mike Singletary,
when he won on the rant, I want winners right now.
That person is not sold out to be a part
of this team. It is more about them than it
is about the team. Cannot play with him, cannot win
with him, cannot coach with him, can't do it. He
was actually talking about Vernon Davis, and so I thought,
(01:59):
why not, let's let's have a chance. We had an
opportunities in a bunch of acting stuff right now as well,
and so we'll get into some of that at the
beginning and then work our way to the NFL conversation.
But we welcome in now to the fifth hour Vernon Davis,
former NFL player turned actor, and he's in a new
(02:20):
project coming out. We'll get to that in a sect.
But thanks Vernon for coming on with us. We know
you as the NFL guy, but you're now an actor.
At what point in your life did you catch the
acting bug? You know what I am. It all happened
while I was playing in San Francisco. I kind of
(02:41):
caught the acting bug because I wrote myself in the
class at the Theater Art downtown San Francisco, and that
class it really it really gets. It really opened up
my eyes and made me. Gave me the passion to
really pursue to the arts. And I didn't act since then.
I said, hey, I really want to do this. I'm
(03:02):
want to continue to do even while I'm playing ball,
and um, I just continue to pursue it and didn't stop.
So when you were a kid like you, you grew
up in Washington, d C. At at no point in
your childhood you're like, man, maybe I'll gonna make some
TV shows and stuff like that. This is something that
happened later in life. Huh yeah, this happened later in life.
It was stuff that I didn't really know. Uh, I
(03:25):
was gonna pursue this. I didn't know anything about that
until I was playing in San Francisco. It is kind
of I guess you don't want to school arts studio
And maybe that was the I believe that's the catalyst
for all of this, because you know how they say,
when you're an artist, you're arnest. You know, you got
to be a brain that people don't use. So that's
(03:46):
something that it could be as well. So how different
is it in the NFL world. I do a sports
radio show version, so I'm involved in the sports world
a lot, not involved in entertainment as much. So, Uh,
you've dabbled in both. Now, how different is it that
being a a Thespian as opposed to being an NFL player.
(04:08):
I think it's It's great. It's amazing, man. I you
got to play football for so long. And I like
to tell everyone, is I say, if you're gonna do something,
you got to get the start it now. Even if
you don't know what you want to do, just try
it and see what happens. And for me, I never
really let anything assume my life. I'm open. I have
an open minded and when I was playing football, I
(04:30):
knew that at some point my time playing playing this
game within so I had to really look that I
was open and accepting the things that that I had
gone on in my life and saying that, as I
was transitioning and leading football, you had already had a plane.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I knew
(04:51):
how I wanted to do. I didn't know how it
was going to shape out, but I kept the faith
that I believed that whatever I was doing was going
to uh the se in office. Are there any any
actors you kind of model yourself after? Are you doing
your own thing? Is there somebody you you watched and
you said, I wanna kind of model myself after that person? Yeah?
(05:12):
You know I used to always wanna is Uh is
a legend to me. He's a legendary. He's an actor.
You know, I never really I've always looked at guys
like Washington, Morgan Freeman. Um, yeah, just guys and the
gays that have been around for a whole Like some
time I really modeled because I wanted to be an actor.
(05:33):
Is just when you look at at an actor, you
look at an action star, right, action and acting is
like Morgan Freeman. He's an act play anywhere you can
play anything. That's always what I'm That's what I've always
wanted to do. Yeah, and you you work with Morgan Freeman, right,
I mean you were on the same project with him?
Is that I was reading that? How is that? That
(05:55):
must have been wild? Huh? Yeah, we have a movie
coming up multi Why I played serial killer from South
Africa co Housing Morgan Freeman. Cole is in this count
co Housing goes to Morgan Freeman and figure out how
to stop me from committing all these crimes that I'm committed.
That's pretty cool when when you're working on the on
the project, you're like having a like, I can't believe
(06:17):
I'm here a situation. Where was that going through you? Hey,
when you're you're on the same project with Morgan Freeman. Well,
at that time, I was, you know, I was already
prepared and I was you know, I had my my
plan in place, so I knew I was going to
be working with co Housing Morgan Freeman. Y, So I
had time to really accept it and and just and
just get ready and be paid. But I know I
(06:38):
had to be confident as well, because you're working with
a guy like Morgan Freeman. I mean, he's legendary. He's
not going to just let the let you go out
there do anything in the scene, you know what I mean.
So I had to make sure that I was well prepared,
but I could, you know, get out there perform with
because we had scenes together, Morgan and I scenes together.
(06:59):
So that's awesome, That's that's cool. I look forward to
for checking that out. And now what about this the
project you've got which and one of the reasons we
have you on here full disclosure, is to promote the
show Going Home, which is available. And you understand, you
star as a in this one. You're you're a former
(07:19):
athlete and you enter hospical kind of kind of So
why should why should the listener want to check this out?
It's on pure flicks dot com by the way, But
how can you tell me why somebody would want to
watch them? Yeah, Pure flips is is the number one
in the Faith and Family studio. You know, they do
(07:41):
a lot of great things, very inspirational. Going Home is
compelling and touching drama that follows an inspiring team of
nurses that help gay patients and loved ones and an
ultimate in their ultimate journey as they transition from the
world and go to this to a place where they
wanted to be forever, which is heaven. We see this
(08:01):
entire journey. We fall in love with these characters because
you know, this is real life. It's a real life situation.
I play a character who's who's dying from little fields.
You know, a professional athlete who who took these pills
and drink the alcohol after you know, and and now
the suffer from everything that I did to my body.
(08:23):
I didn't know the character as the character. I didn't
know this was happening. I didn't know that my life
would be over because of this. You know that I
will be dying because of this. But you know, I
take you through this, through my story and tell you
all of this, and at the end, you know, I
expect the audience to fall in love with the character
because I mean, it's amazing. It's just it's just very
(08:43):
it's very heartbreaking, but it's also at the same time
it's very inspirational. Yeah, very cool. And and we have
it all. We'll have it all all. You can check
it out on Pure flicks dot com. And uh, I
want to get back to the I want to go
back to the acting in a minute. But let's let's
can we turned the page right into the football? Are
you cool with that little football talk? Little hot football
(09:04):
talk here? Uh? So, you were the subject of a
legendary uh coaching meltdown in San Francisco when you were
playing for the Niners. Mike Singletary, You're I guess he
was the kind of temporary coach there. He he went
on the I want winners rant for the ages. And
I know you've been asked about this a lot over
the years and whatnot, but can you kind of paint
(09:26):
the picture of how that all went down, when when
you found out about it, and what what your initial
thought process was when all that was going down back
in the day. Yeah, I was penalized, and I was
and that was just something that was one of many
things that I have, but I did to put the
team in a rough spot. And coach kept telling me.
(09:48):
I mean even before the incident, he said, hey, we
have to make sure you go out there and and
do respect for the team. It's not about you, it's
just a build up. So when that happened, he looked
at me. I came back to the side line penalized.
He said, what you do son? I said, my bad? Coach,
sorry about that. He said, go ahead, go take a shower. Winner.
(10:13):
I got myself together, and then the next day he
caught me in the office and we talked me hard
to heart. You know, he shared with me some things.
And after that, I mean it was either I listened,
I don't listen and I get kicked off the team
or something any anything, you know, I just not to
do with the things that come with this one with
(10:36):
being discipline and being compliance. So I kind of got
my I got my act together night and I listened.
I took his advice, and I did a three sixties.
It wasn't about me anymore. I was about all about
the team, and I put the team first and I
put myself last, and my career started to take off.
I became a better player, but a person, I'm just
gonna through this journey. And I was a young man
(10:57):
just trying to find myself. It's this is the first time,
my first time being a professional athlete. Now I've never
been a professional athlete before, so I was learning myself.
I was I had a lot of followers, people that
I was following, influential people that was leading me, but
there wasn't necessarily leading me in the right direction. So
I had to really make my mind up and get
myself my act together. But at that moment, on a
(11:19):
scale of one to ten, when you found out that,
you know, you heard about that, whether you saw it
on TV or somebody called you and said, hey, did
you hear what happened? But like a skilled one of them,
how angry were you at the moment when you found
out about all that. I'm just sitting back. I was
actually watching it. I was with my family and I
was laying back in Big Ben. I was like, Wow,
this man just threw me under the bus. I thought
he threw me under the bus, but it's time continue
(11:41):
to go by. I started to understand that, Hey, he
I don't think he was just really I don't think
he was doing in it, but he was reacting out
of emotion, and he was making an example out of
me because I hear I was first one draft pick.
You got all these guys who look up to me.
And his message is, hey, I can't let this kid
get away just because he's a first one draft. I
can't let him come in here and do anything that
(12:02):
he wants to do, especially if it doesn't benefit the team.
So I understood that, and I was like, Hey, this
this is a this is actually a lesson in disguise
for me. It's a blessing. It's that it's something that's
going to allow me to to be not just a
better person with a better football player. And did it
(12:24):
Vernon just it was something that I told everybody at
the very beginning of the week. I will not tolerate
UM players that think it's about them when it's about
the team. And UM, we cannot make we cannot make
decisions that cost the team and then come off the
(12:46):
sideline and it's nonjalant. No, you know what. This is
how I believe Okay, I'm from the old school. I
believe this. I would rather play with ten people and
just get penalized all the way until we got to
do something else, rather than play with eleven when I
know that right now that person is not sold out
(13:07):
to be a part of this team. It is more
about them than it is about the team. Cannot play
with him, cannot win with him, cannot coach with him,
can't do it? Do you? You guys on good terms now?
Mike Singletary in Vernon Davis, Yeah, absolutely coach us with
(13:28):
them a few times as well. I'm sure that's cool.
That's cool. And so where does that rank? I I'm
a fan Vernon. I do a sports radio show, as
you know, and so I love the the tirades, the
coaches tirades. But where would you place that? Is that?
Is that higher than the famous Dennis Green crowned them
rant from when he was coaching the Cardinals. Jim Mora
(13:48):
had playoffs. Playoffs. There was the Mike Ditka rant from
from years before. Where does the rant about you? Is
it number one? Because it was about you? Vernon the one?
Or too because it was comical it was. I mean,
if you think I didn't laugh at it now because
it's it's all in the past. And but if you
(14:09):
think about Mike Cemetery's being this Hall of Fame football
player and all said, he's a coach and he has
this rat where he comes in, it's pretty it's pretty spectacular.
Think about it the way he said, yeah, delivery, it
was just coaching the person. It's just Larry. Now that
you're done playing football, you're you're onto the acting stuff.
(14:29):
What was the What was the thing that surprised you
the most about when you made the NFL? And you
were a highly rated player coming out of college, but
when you when you got to the NFL, what was
the thing that surprised you the most about being in
the NFL? Gosh, the name is surprised me was that,
I mean, it's a professional athlete. You would think that
everybody that's a professional athlete had the same mindset, but
(14:50):
it didn't work that way for me. I played fourteen years.
You know, I had the same routine. I learned something
from my se he told me when I first walked
with my first year. He said, I want you to
learn something, soun. I want you to create a habit,
and I want you to do learn something, and I
want you to do it every day every time you
walk up to school. I want you to do it.
(15:12):
For me, I was catching balls, catching balls, and U
working on certain like techniques as far as I keep
my feet and bounds and involved right I had. I
had three things that I that I wanted to really
work on throughout for the duration of my career, and
I did it all up to my fourteenth seasons. And
(15:34):
the thing that I did most of was, like I said,
catching balls, staying out after practice and catching balls. And
I looked around all those years. Every time I looked around,
I was the last person on that field, and sometimes
I'd be the only person on the field doing what
I was doing. And I just couldn't understand the professional athlete.
We expect more professional to be out there doing the
(15:55):
same thing that I was there yea, And that told
me that there's there's a difference between being good and
being great. That's why I shared them with me because
he was great. It was great. He had the recipe
the greatness and a lot of people don't have that phone. Yeah, well,
what what what percent what what percentage for when you
(16:17):
were playing? What percentage of guys do you think we're
just kind of they were in the NFL because they
were good, not necessarily because they loved football percentage of guys.
And then yeah, the guys that really just kind of
they happened to me and they were very talented. They
made it, but they didn't. You talked about you were
staying after practice catching footballs and you learned that from
Mike Singletary and that that you looked around you didn't
(16:39):
see a lot of guys out there, So like, what
what what do you say that percent you guys in
a in an NFL locker room that are talented can
play in the NFL. But it's not like their passion
like you know, they're not they're not putting, they're not
like they're not like they don't want it. It's not
about being great for them, it's it's about being good.
They want to do that, they want to do well. Yeah,
but the you know what you get it. It's a
(17:02):
handful of guys who really just they see things differently, right,
they vision for their career and a success. It's it's
different for them. Those are the guys that are similar
to myself who are going home. You know, I got
a tennis ball machine. So when I get home about
the practice, I got the tennis ball machine set up
in my house and let's putting those tennis balls that
(17:24):
I have to catch a hundr balls before the sleep.
You know, those are the count of those kind of
guys right there. You you probably get about on each
team NFL. Yeah, just went on an average. You know,
you played fourteen seasons, so you were in you know,
fourteen different years you play in the NFL. Right, So
out of that on average, you know what per per year,
(17:44):
what do you think the percentage breakdown would be. I'd
say I'd say fifteen percent of the guys I like
that who have that that and that that what they
have pision boys they have staying at home, but when
they get home from practice, right, they don't just leave practice. Yeah,
(18:06):
so that means eight or not not in that, but
that's probably the same in any business though right very
I mean there's guys that you know, just kind of
go through it and there they cut corners or whatnot,
and they don't put the work in. And I think
that's is that within the margin of error just in
life in general. So you got these guys who are
blessed with talent, like they're blessed with tremendous ability, tremendous talent.
(18:30):
They have things that most guys don't laugh and it's natural.
So in their mind they don't have to do that.
They don't have to do as much work as the
other guys do it because they already know that. They
can go to sleep, they can go to sleep and
wake up and do the same thing every day because
they know they have something. But most guysps just natural ability.
(18:52):
They have the ability to see things on the field
when when when they have a defender on them or
or whether they got to make tactics. They can do it.
And it's certainly the most guys can't do this natural thing.
But you have the guys who eat who may have that.
You guys have guys who don't have it, but they
also know that that it's a marathon and it's not
(19:12):
a it's not a sprint. They know that they have
to in order to be great, they have to do something.
They have to be do something to make sure that
they they're consistent, because consistency consistent. When you're consistent and
you have repetition, that creates greatness. Kind of like what
my secretary was saying, He's saying, take something and do
(19:34):
it every day. That's consistent and that's repetition that that
allows you to have that done for this marathon to
be great. Yeah. Absolutely. So one of the other things
I wanted to ask you, right, what is something that
you know as a guy that played in the NFL
that would surprise a lot of people who are just
watching these Again, if something behind the scenes that would
(19:58):
surprise most people about life as an NFL players, there's
something that that you recall that most people just have
no concept of that. It's just part of being in
the NFL that a lot of people don't don't get,
they don't grasp as a player. Like you know, people
think of the NFL and they think of certain certainly,
(20:20):
and we talked about in my my business. We talked
about you guys who play all the time, But there's
stuff like just the daily part of it. Is there
something behind the scenes that that people would be shocked by,
like Joe Fan if they knew that X, Y and
Z was going on, Like, oh, I can't believe that.
Is there something like that that stands out that that's
(20:40):
passing through your head right now? Well, for me when
I think about the NFL or not, and something that
stands out to me that most people don't. But I
think most people don't get is that, Okay, you look
at a guy like me, right yeah, and you and
you and you, and most people when I tell them that,
they'd be like, oh, you're lucky. Oh no, I'm not lucky.
I did think definitely. I don't think it was because
(21:01):
you think that I've never had surgery. Really, how is
it possible? Because I did the way I did things,
the way I approached it. I stretched, I stretched, and
I a properly. And not only did stretched at properly,
but I did something where I was super consistent. I
took I took the formula that Mike single take dat
and I did it. I did my I would go in,
(21:23):
I would do this everything even during the off season.
I treated the off season the way I treated the
in season, and I did stop. I would take off
maybe a week or two weeks, and then I get
back into a full throttle and I did that every
single year. But I took care of my body. And
one thing that I did I stretched my stretched certain
muscle groups and I did it every single day. My calf,
(21:46):
my pureformance muscle, my I t band, my my hamstring,
a quads, and I would do that every single day.
Because there's certain muscle groups you need to really stretch
in order to prevent serious injuries. Like you Achilles killy
s tend you want to make you stretch your cap right,
(22:07):
you know, so you didn't pull anything your hip. You
want to make sure you warm your hip or property.
But I took pride of these things and I did
them all the time. So now when people hear about
me and not have surgery like oh you let No,
it's not luck. It's just the way I approached my
My craft was totally different than anybody. And it's not. No,
it's not many people can't nobody, that's not people can't
(22:28):
nobody say that, what fourteen years and didn't have soldier? Yeah,
that's crazy, man. What was the hardest hit you ever guy.
It was it was there was there a moment when
you were playing you just got laid out and you're like,
oh boy, what am I doing here? Yeah? I mean
I've got it. I got hit called camp chance did
uh Asan Wilson, I mean, just Asan this but he
(22:54):
uh yeah, I've had many moments like like that. But
I didn't. I didn't have that distracting. I kept doing
what I have to do. That's crazy. No surgeries in
fourteen years in the NFL. That's wild. It's crazy. Looking
at the NFL now, the tight end position. Now, you
you were seeing as I remembined you were coming out
of college, when people thought of you as like this
(23:15):
unicorn that you and you lad this. I feel like
you were one of the leaders of this new wave
of tight ends where the tight end in the NFL
these days. I haven't played in a few years, but
the tight end is a central part of a number
of offenses around the NFL. You do you feel like
the forefather of the modern era of the tight end?
(23:37):
Vernon They had a little role because of your speed
and what you brought to the game. I don't know.
I'm not sure. I mean, I think I think I was,
you know, as far as I don't think as far
as running the fastest times for a tight end NFL history,
I think that really that was just something that I've
always been good at. I've always been fast. For some reason,
(23:59):
I've had to really is I got bigger. I kept
my speed for some reason, some odd reason. But I
think I think that has to do with me continue
to work on certain things like um being exposed, um
running track, and just continue to the battlements player. But
also I don't know, I don't know. I just I
(24:21):
don't know. I don't I guess, I mean, I guess
my speed is like the number one thing that allowed
me to be able to do some of the things
that I was able to do is a tight end. Yeah,
but you look around now and you know Travis Kelsey
and Kansas I go down a list if you want.
I mean, there are a bunch of guys that are
playing tight end that are that are like the key
guy or one of the key players in their offense
and and really seemed kind of as a like a
(24:43):
receiver almost right these days. Runing the way that they
these teams are playing these days in the NFL, it's
pretty pretty wild to see the change, and it's really
happened within the last like five ten years or so.
I would say, you agree with that or disagree with that? Yeah, yeah,
I think so. I mean, I think you started with
guys like Kelly when so see you who who's someone
who I looked up to. And then you know his
son came along and they got Mackie and chanting sharp. Well,
(25:08):
have you have guys of that of that caliber? You know,
they were really and Tony Gonsot you know, I can't
as well as Tony uh Antonio Gates. Those guys are
those were bride receiver tight ends, but they also could block,
you know, they did it all. But yeah, that's that's
that's what I think. When I came in, I think
(25:30):
what I what I did, I added to to what
those guys were already doing. But my speed was just different.
You know, stretched the field, get downfield, and you know
when I came in, they they put the line, they
had a lineback on me at first, and then what
happened was, you know, I started to take the middle
of the field. We had with these plays where the
Titans run now unto the field because it was always
(25:52):
a couple of two, it was always open. Then they
started dropping they do Tampa two where they dropped the
mic back, so the Titan couldn't take the middle field, right,
But then what happened so fast and I started running back,
running by the lineback even in Tampa two. So they
had to figure out that. So then they had to
come up with another way to take that. Now, so
what happens, So what happens now the mike the mike
(26:14):
and Tampa two, the Mike drops back a lot faster,
you know, sort of wouldn't get down there. Yeah, I've
seen a lot of change, you know, as far as
me playing the game, you know. Yeah, And and I
gotta tell you, and the fact that you and your
your younger brother both played in the NFL, that's pretty
I know it's happened every once in a while. That's
pretty impressive that you two guys, uh, we're able to
(26:37):
make the end of it. Was just something. I mean,
you obviously had a rough child that it's been well
documented U from you know, growing up in d C
and whatnot. What do you what do you think was
that the reason because you had such a kind of
a tough time as a kid, growing up that you
and your brother both were able to make the NFL.
You know, I don't know. But when I got drafted,
I heard a cool fact. They said that my brother
(27:00):
I was the fourth generation of brothers to get drafted
in the first round. That's pretty cool. Yeah, I thought
that was uh yeah, but you know, I'm not sure.
You know, I used to put my brother along with
me when I was when he was in grade school.
I used to make him go to the field with
me and do these workouts because I used to sneak
out of the house when I was Jennie High School.
(27:21):
I used to sneak out late at night, about twelve am,
and I used to go over the field and work
on my game. Oh wow, that's cool that you were
getting You were getting in trouble running or you just
working on your game? Were you getting out? Were you
haven't even issues out? No, I was actually going to
work in my game. I was cool, like there was
someone out there out work in me. And I had
this thing in my mind. My parents and my grandparents
(27:42):
wouldn't understand it. I just knew that I had to.
I wanted to make it so bad. I wanted to
be successful and sports. But the only way to be
successful sports is to put the working and to me,
going outside late at night and working out, jumping, running hills.
I was doing all kinds of step man, and I
made sure I was just I was. I was accountable
(28:03):
enough to make sure that I got back home and
I got get in trouble. You know, I didn't get
any trouble at that age when I was a sleeper
at the house. I was absolutely going to work on
my game and it paid off. And you're working on
your game and acting and all that, and again, you
want to check out Vernony co stars here here Tyler
Cobb right this new project that's on Pure flicks dot com,
(28:26):
Going Home, it's streaming. You can check that out and Vernon,
thank you for your time, man. I appreciate it. Good
luck in Hollywood and acting, and we look forward to
seeing this project here. And I'm sure you'll be in
many other projects over in the next few years, so
I look forward to checking that out. Thank you, Vernon