May 29, 2025 • 56 mins
In this powerful episode, Carl Lee reunites with NFL great Curt Warner for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with their shared roots in West Virginia and stretches to the heights of college football and the NFL. Warner reflects on his journey from Pineville to Penn State’s national title, his time with the Seahawks, and the impact of mentors, injuries, and discipline. With co-hosts Hollis Lewis and Lisa Odie, they explore the real value of competition, the evolving meaning of team culture, and staying grounded through success. A must-listen for anyone who loves football—and the life lessons that come with it.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Yeah, you gotta work. You gotta work, ry sh It's
mine gotta show.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Everybody is my time. Can you gotta work? Cry Shan
Another mile Saga Dogs.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Welcome to Let's Talk with Carl Lee and frequent guest
hosts Hollis Lewis and Lisa Odie, where sports culture and
community intersect. Join the crew as they dive into engaging
conversations with guests from all walks of the sports life.
Let's Talk as proudly presented by Attorney Frank Walker, Real Talk,
Real Experience, Real Results, Frank Walker Law dot com and
(00:41):
by the all new historic Choyer Diner in downtown Charleston
one line at Choyerdiner dot com. Let the conversation begin
on Let's Talk.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Hello, ladies and gentlemen, hope that you're having a good day.
I am about to get ready to talk to a
friend of mine that goes way way way back. I
have my my my co host Hollis Lewis in the
building and the football Queen Lise Odie on the other end,
and I have to just kind.
Speaker 5 (01:13):
Of tell this story before before we get going.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
It was interesting to me I played in the North
South game in who knows how long ago.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
That was. But the biggest name, you know, we don't need.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Day, the biggest name in in the state for the
game was Kurt Warner and me and a buddy of
mine who's passed away, Eddie ray Dyas we couldn't wait
to see him.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
Like we wanted. We wanted to look at him.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
We wanted to see and we wanted to size him
up to just to see like, you know, because he
was from Pinefuls so that you know, it wasn't Triple A,
so we wanted to kind of see what he.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Was like, uh huh.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
So we wait, we help him with his bags and
we're talking with him and all this kind of stuff.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
And when he got on the field and.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
He couldn't he couldn't do the full tackling and all
that because he was late because he was getting the O. J.
Simpson Awards, so you know, which again speaks how how
talented he was. So now he's out on the field
and man, when he got the ball the first time,
I was like, oh my god, like what.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Like what just happened? So Kurt, are you out there?
Speaker 6 (02:35):
Yes, sir, I heard you.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Well, And again I want to make sure I have
Hollis Lewis here and Lisa Odie Okay, so that you
know the other voices around and Kurt, I've looked at
your bio. I've looked at your bio, man, and it is.
It is phenomenal and full of everything. From Rookie of
(03:02):
the Year, basically Offensive Player of the Year, three Pro Bowls,
All Rookie Team, Ring of Honor, a national championship, I
mean all all an All American team.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
In eighty one. Bruh.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Like tell us like when you reflect back and you
look at this, and and and for the people who
don't know you, I kind of make it. I will
probably make the case. You probably don't even go back
and even think about it, But when you hear it,
what do you think, like, Well, how does it make
(03:42):
you like?
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Because man, that's a great career.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
Well let's start with the high school game in Charleston,
West Virginia. First. Okay, when you and Ray I thought
I thought we were like best at that moment. Come
to find all you guys for size. That's why most
(04:11):
of all, yes, yes, hey let me help you with
your bag, Hey, let me the room, Yeah, let me
help Youah. Okay, these guys be nice guy's a triple A. Guys,
I'm a single a guy regards to I'm the West
Virginia out in the Boonie. So yeah, that's that's.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
What that's that's the new story for you.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
Now I have I'll tell you something. I had a blast.
It was the most fun I've ever had playing against
guys like you and anyway in practice and then having
an opportunity to play in the game, and then our
friendship over the years. Yes, and really it's been a
(04:57):
good friendship. So I appreciate that.
Speaker 7 (05:00):
So.
Speaker 6 (05:01):
Uh so that's where I'll start. Okay, we can we
can move on.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
How you doing, miss Warner? This is how Hollis lewis.
Oh you can't call him mister Warner.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
You can't get it back. Well, how are you doing?
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So you're being from like, as you mentioned, the Boonies, Pineville.
But what people may not know that area collectively Wyoming
Mother's different things of that nature. I mean, you have
some some athletic legends. You know, you got Nick sabans
Uh yourself, you got Christy Martin, the first female superstar, boxing,
Dan Antonio, basketball coaches, and and just a whole host
(05:38):
about the What was it about growing up in that
area that spawned so many, you know, high level athletes
and coaches.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
That's a good question. I don't know. Other we just
played against one another growing up at a very high level.
And uh, I had a couple of cousins that were
just phenomenal basketball players governor of Frankie Warner and Eugene Warner.
(06:07):
They were just legendary. So I got to watch these
guys in action at Pineval High School, and I had
a number of other relatives and friends who had come
up through that Pine Built connection, and it was it
was it was competitive. I mean, it was just you know,
they talk about the Friday night fights and the Saturday
(06:29):
night lights and all the other stuff, and this was
exactly that way. I mean, it was just we didn't
like each other in that area, but it was it
was really good competition. And I got to see a
lot of it growing up and got to participate in it.
So I think that helped me right along the way.
Speaker 8 (06:48):
So awesome, Hey there, I want to call you, mister
Warner all said, like Collins said, But I guess I'll
go back to Kurt.
Speaker 9 (06:57):
How's that? So this is Lisa Kurk.
Speaker 8 (07:00):
Good to Okay, thank you. It's good to have you
on the podcast tonight, so thank you. Yes, So I'm
looking back at your history, Like Carl said, it's so
impressive seeing all of the accomplishments that you've had in
football throughout your career.
Speaker 9 (07:14):
You were also.
Speaker 8 (07:15):
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in two
thousand and nine. Then eventually during that time period, I
think you were playing for the Nitney Lions of course Penn.
Speaker 9 (07:23):
State, and so walk me through how did you end up?
Speaker 8 (07:30):
Were there other schools in the state that were recruiting
actively recruiting you, and how did you decide that, you know,
your your college career, the path you took was to
go to Penn State and play for the Nitney Lions.
Speaker 9 (07:43):
Did I open a can of worms with that question?
Speaker 6 (07:46):
I like it, I like it, good question. You are correct.
I did have a number of the schools who were
interested in my services at that now, uh, and we
didn't have the nil thing, so it was, you know,
just the the you know, it was what it is,
(08:07):
what it was, and so on and so forth, et cetera,
et cetera. So I did, uh, I did have an
opportunity to visit wn b U Uh. I narrowed it
down to w w U Tent, Penn State. I looked
(08:27):
at Notre Dame, uh, Nebraska. Tom Osbourne came to my
house in the middle of the winter and west by
God's Virginia, and yeah, it wasn't impressed. I was impressed. Uh.
And then I had Paternal to come down, and it
(08:48):
was you know, I knew I wanted to play at
a at a high level, and I had I had
heard about Penn State and Paternal uh and kid in
West Virginia. And once I went to visit the various
collegist schools universities, Uh, it just it was the right pick,
(09:13):
you know, with regards to Penn stay. Now, now you
had Robert Alexander and uh so that was kind of
a gauge as far as what I was looking at
and what I was gonna do. And I just, you know,
let let Robert stay there. I'll go somewhere else. And
(09:35):
that was kind of what I was thinking with regards
to that. So it wasn't go.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Ahead, Oh, Kurt, I was gonna I was gonna ask
this question as a as kind of a follow up. Also,
I think one of the interesting components that I thought
was you were like at that time you talked about
the eye back position, you know, right, that was you know,
(10:01):
in order to pick a school doing what you did
and what and the position and how you played. Those
were teams, the primary teams that you're talking about were
already had advanced to the eyeback formation with the toss
sweep and that type of thing, compared to and I
(10:21):
think WU had just kind of got there because because
when Robert first got there, they were in the near
far backs.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
And I know this is technical football kind of talk,
but what which never fits?
Speaker 5 (10:36):
It can't fit an.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Eyeback because an eye back is just a it's a
natural it's a natural skill set of being able to
find where to go.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Am I right on that?
Speaker 6 (10:47):
Yeah, they were running a veer offense where it was
faith on one side and you put to the other
side and no blocking in front of you. Not really
you didn't have a fullback in front, right, And I'm like,
you know, so I passed. I said, hey, you know what,
that's just not for me. That's not a good fit
(11:07):
for me. Uh. And I could see what Robert Alexander
was doing, So if it wasn't gonna work for him,
Surely the goodness is not gonna work for me as well.
I figured he let's go in a different direction.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
So, now, being that you were from such a small
town in West Virginia, what or maybe the better question
is who gave you sort of the guidance and perspective
to think so big and large about particularly like coming
from Pineville and possibly considering Notre Dame on Nebraska or
some of these big schools.
Speaker 6 (11:37):
Huh, that's that's that's a good question as well. You
know where I grew up, you had a couple of options. Uh.
You know, I'm not the smartest guy in the classroom,
so uh it was just one of them.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Iom.
Speaker 6 (12:00):
You know, you you got to you gotta make your
you gotta make your hey when you have an opportunity
to do that, and uh so it's just it was,
it was. It was a challenging fit because I obviously
went up there to to look around and to visit
the campuses and to see the the the competition and
(12:22):
so on and so forth, and there was a lot
of competition at that level.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Now, Now, did you have like a coach or or
your like your your parents advising you at this time?
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Well, I had a person by the name of Liddy McKinney,
believe it or not. She was my English teacher. Her husband,
Darryl McKinney, was a coach at Pineville High School years before,
so he coached my, my cousins and so on and
so forth. And it was it was kind of through
her because I had all of these people converging on Timeeville,
(12:58):
West Virginia, and I knew really knows sick and can
come here. So I kind of just she was kind
of like my agent at the time, and I trusted
her to be able to narrow it down or help
me narrow it down to a certain degree. And she
was a big Joe Paterno fan, so that that kind
(13:19):
of pushed me in that direction. And she was pushing
me in that direction, but I still wanted to go
and see the other opportunities that were out there. I
went up to pitt and I did not get a
chance to go to Nebraska and Notre Dame because of
weather issues. But you know, more importantly, I wanted my
(13:42):
parents and my friends to be able to come at
least to be able to drive from where we were
playing to watch the game. I needed them to be
involved in that process. And I'm sure glad I did
it because my old man, good God, bless his soul,
he's passed away. But man, he loved going to Penn State.
He loved of having holding courts and being able to,
(14:03):
you know, to be a part of that process. So
I was close enough. Yet I was in an arena
where I could play at you know, against some talent,
very talented teams and opportunities. So it was a combination
of both of those things. When it's all said and.
Speaker 8 (14:22):
Pat, yeah, that's really that's a great story. So let's
go back. We'll just stay on this train with the
Penn State conversation, Kurt, if you don't mind. So your
tenure there was between the years of nineteen seventy nine
and nineteen eighty two, and you guys won the national
championship that year. I think Carl alluded to that in
his introduction of you. What was it like to go
(14:43):
through that experience with Joe Paterno?
Speaker 6 (14:48):
Oh man, another good question.
Speaker 9 (14:52):
We're just loaded with good questions for you. We're going
to get are we making it too hard?
Speaker 6 (15:00):
Sometimes? Potno was a bear, Yes, I mean he didn't
take any stuff from anybody. So he and I respected
that because he kept us in line because there's a
lot of talent going on and you can call you
you know, at that level, there's a lot of talent
(15:20):
and there's a lot of guys who think that they're
the best. And you get to you get to play
it out on the practice field and you get to
play it out on the football field. But I'll tell
you what really, uh really got my attention when it
comes to Joe Paterno is the fact that, you know,
(15:44):
my freshman year he talked about academics. My freshman year,
we had to all Americans that were not able to
play that season because academically they were not there to
all Americans. Wow, And that got my attention. And what
he was saying to the rest of is you better
(16:05):
go to class. You're going to get an education as well.
So the second day, this is the second day of
training camp, we had one of our captain who was
not he was not in the football shape to do
what was required during that first you know, that first
(16:27):
day or so, you got to see what kind of
shape you're in and it's called I guess a training
camp shape or whatever you need to be in. So
we had a guy who was our captain who did
not make the times that he was allotted from running
a really which he probably shouldn't have been running it,
but he just didn't make the time. So he took
(16:47):
away his cates sit in the first two days of camp.
Paterno has already set his mark. As far as I'm concerned,
it's like, you know what, you got to go to class,
and you don't want to remember this guy because he
doesn't he doesn't play around. And so you know I
respected that and and and just by you know, him
(17:11):
holding us to a certain standard.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
He he backed it up. He didn't just say it,
he actually executed it. And you've got to respect the guy,
uh who who lived by those type of rules. So
as we move forward, you know, we played against some
pretty good competition, uh you know at Penn State, and
especially my senior year, we played uh you know, you know,
(17:38):
guys like Notre Dame, Alabama, Nebraska and and uh, you know,
it was just a matter of being in the right
spot at the right time to get to that national
championship game and the minute to have an opportunity to
play Georgia. Uh don it's a sugar Bowl. So it
was just a combination of a lot of different things
that it happened. And I thought we had a couple
(17:59):
of other teams that were better than in my senior year.
My junior year, I thought we had a better football team.
We just we lost one too many games. We lost
two games, and we were that's just not going to
get you in a national championship game. So that year
we lost one and we were able to compete at
that level. So you know, it's just a you know,
(18:22):
the Good Lord looking out for us in that time
and we had an opportunity to participate at that at
that level.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
Kurt, I'm gonna win. Oh I'm sorry, Okay, I want
to jump in.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
And and because you're hitting on something that triggers me,
you know, I go to Marshall and of course the
record wasn't this and wasn't that, So there was no
there was no necessarily celebration of being at Marshall at
that time. But Sonny Randall was there, who was a
disciplinarian and and you and the thing that.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
What was triggered me as you were talking.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Coaches who hold you accountable and coaches that you know,
they don't care how good you are. They're willing to
sacrifice any and everything for the for the for your betterment.
So that and when I say for your betterment, that
you understand you are not this team. You are part
(19:23):
of it, but you're not this team. Sonny Randall put
me in study hall. I had like about a one
seven after like after my freshman year.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Bro, I was just so happy that I was at Marshall.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
I was playing, I was, you know, getting some acculades
and people talking about me, and you know, this is
my first step trying to get to the league, and
and I'm not thinking school is the last thing on
my mind. And Sonny made that very clear and bright.
He made me stay in study hall my entire career
(19:55):
at Marshall.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
Because of that. And and today, hey, I don't.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
Know, you know, I don't know if coaches understand the importance.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
You know. I think that sometimes we want to be buddies.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but if.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
You want to, if you want to impact a kid,
those coaches like that they impact you.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
Would you would you agree with that?
Speaker 6 (20:22):
Yeah? God, Paterno and I were not friends at all.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
I mean we all hated it.
Speaker 6 (20:28):
Yeah, it wasn't just me. We all hated him because
he was a bear. But when you go back, you
visit him after you get out of there, he's a
whole different person. I'm like, who is this scot? Every
conversation that we had, I was getting screamed at over something,
and so I tried to keep it to a minimum
(20:49):
with regards to that. But when I went back after
my rookie year, and uh, I went down to the
Fiestabo and I actually had a conversation with him. Whereas
we were having a conversation, I'm like, well, this guy's
you mad? You know what's the story here? But yes,
(21:10):
you've got to be held accountable. Uh, there is no
prima donna. There's no prima donna in football. It's not
going to happen. There's too many bevariables that come into play.
And it's a team game. It's the ultimate team game
when it when it comes to sports, as far as
I'm concerned, and I'm biased about it, but uh, there's
a lot of lack of lessons that you learned as
(21:30):
well with regards to sports and what it what it
does for you, and the opportunities that you have because
of it. Because like I said, I was not the
sharpest guy in the classroom. Let's not get usselves. But
I had an opportunity, uh to uh to move forward,
(21:50):
uh to not be a coal miner. Because it's either
you're going to get out of here one way, or
you're gonna go into coal mines and do something else.
And it is what it is.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
That was.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
Let the guy's on the truth either because I'm not
gonna get out of there either either way unless there's
something else that provides me an opportunity to to do
in that direction. In the direction anyway.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
So just on the field when you get to Penn State,
I believe that initially he play some running back, obviously,
but you also did some special teams. And I want
to say, and you can correct me if I'm wrong,
your first touch, the first college touch, you were a
kick returning.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
You took it to the house. Am I correct?
Speaker 6 (22:36):
That is not correct? But that's okay, you know, we
can exaggerate it. I talked to Bill cot He's just
a great friend of mine, and he says, say, you
know what, one thing you got to learn to tell
his stories, Kurt. It's a Penn State guy. He said,
you gotta embellish. We're not gonna mbell it's almost broken.
(23:00):
I was pretty closed. But I do score three touchdowns
that day, So what do you know?
Speaker 5 (23:05):
And that was and that was your first college game.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
That was my first college game.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
So how was that?
Speaker 4 (23:10):
I mean, you're come, like I said, you're coming from Pinesville,
first college game, You're going through the camp all that,
then you finally get at a major university and pen st.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
Yeah, and then then you know, you get three tds?
Like what was that feeling after?
Speaker 6 (23:27):
Well? Uh, there were so many stories going on. I
really don't I don't know. I mean, how did they
find Joe Paterno? Or how did Joe find this guy
in Pineville, West Virginia. That was the biggest story. Who
are you.
Speaker 9 (23:44):
Waver for social media or any of that. Yeah, that's
amazing social media.
Speaker 6 (23:49):
And I think everybody in Pineville in that area was
probably shot that I had that type of a game.
Even I was shocked that I had that type of
a game. Uh, but uh, it was It was quite
a day. Uh but uh it was a lot of fun.
I had a great time and I was able to
(24:09):
play on a great football team. And my freshman year on.
So it was it was a good opportunity when you
go back.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
When you when you look back at your.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Senior year at Poneville and because I'm I'm just going
from the North South game and seeing you in that
and the whole issue between you know, who's going to
be the best tail back? You were ready armstand like
when you were when you were I know, I knew
(24:41):
that would bring I knew that would bring bring back
a memory. So when you when you're when you're walking
around there and you're trying to figure out who you are,
are you understanding like the expectation of the people in
Poneville and the outs of the people who hadn't necessarily
(25:03):
seen you play. Did that ever have anything? Did you
think anything about that? Did you ever want to say, Hey,
I want to prove something wrong, like I want to
I want to prove these people wrong that I am
this kind of a player.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Because I know I was.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I was wholeheartedly that way, you know, because you know,
you know, my whole thing at Marshall.
Speaker 5 (25:25):
I was happy to.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Be at Marshall, but I knew where Marshall was at
the time, you know, and so I wanted to prove
there was something I needed to prove to folks who
who doubted me. Who there were people who said I
wouldn't even play at Marshall. So I have to believe
that there was that motivation. Some of that motivation came
(25:46):
from I want to prove these people wrong.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
Am I right there?
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Yes? You are, You're You're completely right. I mean, there's
always a chip on one shoulder, and there's there's you've
got to have a reason to say, you know, I
can play at this level. And I believe that I
could play at that level from day one. But it
wasn't just because I, you know I it wasn't something
(26:18):
that I thought about with regards to well and my
second guessing what I can do and what I can't do.
I felt as though I could play there. I belonged there,
and now it was just an opportunity to get out
there and chill with me. That's really you got to
prove it to a certain degree because nobody's going to
(26:39):
give you anything, especially at that level when you've got
five six I mean, I remember going into our running
back room and they had, you know, the guys on
the board my freshman year and there was like seven
eight guys on that list, and I remember seeing that
and I was at the bottom of the list, and
it wasn't because my last name was said, I was
(27:02):
on the bottom of that list. That's thinking myself, Okay,
you know what, Well, when I get out of this camp,
I'm not gonna be on the bottom of this list
when I finish here as this camp. But that's what
I was saying to myself. But I was determined not
to be on that bottom of that list when it
was all said and done. And so that's, yeah, that's
(27:22):
what you're up against. You got to find something that says, hey,
I belong here, I can play here, I can do this,
But you also have to execute what you're doing because
it could have verily gone the other way.
Speaker 9 (27:37):
Oh well, take hertis Lisa again.
Speaker 8 (27:40):
So we're gonna keep going down this this memory memory
trip here, and we're going to take you back to
the summer of seventy nine.
Speaker 9 (27:48):
You at that time, you were the Kennedy.
Speaker 8 (27:50):
Award winner, and you were also a guest of honor
at a fundraiser at that time called the Run for Thad.
Speaker 9 (27:56):
You were the honor honoree of that.
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Of that event, and that event was to help establish
a memorial scholarship fund for it was in memory of
Thad Snagris, who was a DuPont High School student athlete
that was killed by a drunk driver in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 9 (28:13):
And just to give you an update.
Speaker 8 (28:15):
That year that you were the guest of honor, they
had raised five hundred dollars and were able to give
away one single scholarship.
Speaker 9 (28:22):
But now it I just wanted to give you an
update to.
Speaker 8 (28:25):
Now that they're giving out this same organization is still
is still in working and they give out at least
six scholarships a year at six sixty eight hundred dollars each.
Speaker 9 (28:35):
So just wanted to let.
Speaker 8 (28:37):
You know you were a part of something that has
really grown and helped a lot of the students at
the Riverside area of the east end of eastern end
of Kannall County.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
Thank you much.
Speaker 6 (28:46):
Yeah, I was a part of.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
Yeah, So knowing that what are some other charitable you know,
causes that you're a part of. Now, are there any
you know near and dear to your heart that you'd
like to help with?
Speaker 4 (29:01):
No?
Speaker 6 (29:01):
You know what, I've got a couple of guys that
are on the Aufie in stec frum. Okay, so I
kind of that's spent a lot of I spend a
lot of time in that arena, sure, working with them
and making you know, making sure that they're you know.
Speaker 9 (29:19):
Well, that's a charitable cause for for sure.
Speaker 8 (29:21):
I mean you're you're a part of something that that's very,
very you know needed.
Speaker 5 (29:25):
So for sure, all right, kats the kittens, have you heard?
Speaker 10 (29:29):
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Speaker 3 (30:27):
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with Carl Lee. This is Let's Talk with Carl Lee.
Now back into the conversation.
Speaker 5 (30:56):
We're going to jump to the NFL.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
So, okay, okay, you get drafted. You're the third pick.
Do you know the two guys that were ahead of you?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (31:05):
I know?
Speaker 5 (31:10):
Okay, all right, how did so when you get drafted?
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Now, Now remember now you're talking to a dude who
came into seventh round, right, sixth big seventh round, so
so and was happy. So when you when you got
picked on the day that they picked you, and as
quick as you went, did it bother you that you
didn't go in one of.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Those first two picks or did it matter at.
Speaker 6 (31:37):
All to you? Okay, not at all? You know what,
I had, no idea that's the when I was gonna
get picked. Okay, no idea.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
What.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Yeah, they didn't tell you that back then. They didn't
really they.
Speaker 6 (31:50):
Didn't tell anybody.
Speaker 8 (31:51):
No.
Speaker 6 (31:51):
No, we didn't have the ESCN thing right right, you know,
you know, hugging on the commissioner and all the other staff. No,
So that that's another story for another day. Uh, it was,
you know. My agent was Marvin dam Off, and I
(32:15):
had talked with coach Knox, Chuck Knock. He and his
wife Shirley came up to Pennsylvania as he was the
new coach of the Seattle Seahawks at that time. They
were picked number nine. They had a ninth pick, and
I remember talking to Gosh, what's the guy's name? The
the Uh it wasn't the recruiter he was the uh,
(32:37):
the guy who was the talent scout for the Seattle
Ralph gold Steam.
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Now you remember Ralph.
Speaker 6 (32:43):
You never see him round I've heard.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Why do I know that name?
Speaker 6 (32:48):
Because he was he he was all in the NFL
around quite a bit with the Seattle Seahouse. He was
the guy that went out and do the scouting thing.
So he had come up to Penn State and uh,
we we were doing the forties and all the other stuff.
Because now you were doing it on campus back then,
right and now you can pretty much, you know, do
it wherever. But so, uh so he he had mentioned
(33:11):
the fact that you know they're number nine, and then
he said you're going to be gone before then. Well, okay,
that's fine, But I still had no idea as to
where I was going or what was going to happen.
So knock them up. And I talked to him in
his wife and he was the coach with the Seattle Seahawks.
And then one thing kind of let or another, and
(33:34):
I didn't really know what the situation was probably until
maybe a day before uh the actual draft, where I'd
gotten a call from my agent, Marvin Demo, and he said, hey,
I need you to come out to cut up to
La because you're gonna you're gonna you're gonna be headed
north up to Seattle. I'm like, Okay, that works for me, Okay,
(33:58):
was it? Uh So that's kind of how I knew
about it, and that's that's kind of what happened on
my end. But yeah, I knew l Way was gonna
go number one, and I knew Eric Differson was gonna
go number two, and then I was gonna go number.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
And again.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Man, that's that's huge, and that's behind you know, Eric Dickerson,
you know what I'm saying, and and and and to me.
And when I and again, I can I go back
to I go back to the game and us laying
on the on the turf laughing because I'm laying on
top of you, and all of a sudden there's two
(34:39):
West Virginia guys from the North South game who are buddies,
who are laying on the turf, just absolutely like laughing
because we can't we you know, it's just unbelievable that
this is actually happening. I can remember that. I can
I can remember that playing as day man, and I may.
Speaker 6 (34:55):
Have said a few other words, well, I would.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
I'm gonna I'm gonna try to take some credit like
I did tackle you, so you know, so tell me
a little bit more accurt about like, Okay, so when
you go when you're the first pick to a team,
(35:22):
and you go to this team, and obviously me like you,
like anybody who's coming, everybody wants to play, everybody wants
to start. Yeah, I remember going in and checking, you know,
looking at at my position. I'm moving from safety to corner.
So I'm now I'm checking out the corners. I'm kind
of looking to see, Okay, who can I go after?
(35:44):
Do you remember your process of trying to figure out
like who you had to get past?
Speaker 5 (35:51):
How did you think that you were going to get him?
Speaker 6 (35:54):
Or you just on the top of the When I
walked in there, I was on the top of the board.
Speaker 5 (35:57):
There you go, what's just a bottom?
Speaker 6 (36:00):
I was at the top, and they're like, let's see
what you can do.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
So so they put you, they put you in the
eye right now.
Speaker 6 (36:09):
Let me tell you something. You're the number one guy.
You've got all the other stuff that there's no hiding you.
You can't hide. You gotta play. So what are you
gonna do? You're gonna play. You're gonna play. What what's
going on here? Well, you know what, you gotta bring it.
I can't hide. I an say I can hide, you know,
(36:30):
back in the weeds in the wood.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
But you got to get there. You gotta go.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
It's exposed. And I'm like, oh man, so you know,
and you gotta show up. Because you don't show up,
they got no use for you. You gotta go. Yeah,
you don't want to bus So so that was that.
That's that's what I did not want to be, was
a bust bring it. I had the right guy had
(37:00):
ground Chuck, and you know what he said to me was, hey,
the ball ain't heavy. The ball ain't heavy. I'm not
having the ball not heavy?
Speaker 5 (37:12):
When the daylight.
Speaker 6 (37:13):
That was the second thing he said, run the daylight
and run with he ain't so.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
Like.
Speaker 6 (37:19):
That was my instruction from Chuck knock and I just
s I still remember it heavy. You're gonna be running
that football. She's a ball right here. It ain't heavy.
Let's go.
Speaker 9 (37:34):
Love that phrase.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
That's what he did. He had a lot of phrase
they called them. Go not today, not today.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
That's awesome And I think that what that does is
sort of display the attitude that you had coming in
at you know, particularly at various levels, because you had
to take on one sort of role coming into Penn State.
Then when you go to the NFL, it's it's another
as far as being on the top of the list.
So what I want to ask is, like a lot
of times when you have guys and athletes coming from
(38:05):
small towns and going to you know, bigger, bigger cities,
and then obviously being on the top of your field
of endeavor, which was football, a lot of them subscribe
to a lot of the trappings that are around.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
Particularly being the number one, you know, p of a team.
Speaker 4 (38:21):
So how did you avoid that during particularly that mid
eighties when you know kind of we all know what
was going on at that time.
Speaker 6 (38:29):
You know what it wasn't I think it's just your upbringing,
your friends, your family and the values that they instilled
in you. You don't. I didn't very too much off
of that, so I was able to kind of keep
(38:49):
the focus on what I needed to do. As far
as as far as I was concerned, I was well
ahead of the game. I wasn't in the coal mines
of That's Virginia, remember that, right, right, and was a
great experience, so I would what I got no complaint.
(39:10):
I'm okay. So now you've got to go out here
and and and uh and play at another level, which
is Carl, you know that the NFL level that that
that is the whole different level within itself. You can't
you can't duplicate that. You can't go out and practice
that these are the best of the best. You can't
(39:31):
fake it. You can't fake no new dude.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
And and and to that at all, and to that, Kurt,
there has to be you have to have not I'm
not gonna say it can't be an arrogance, because arrogance
can can cost you. But you've got to have the
confidence to know one, I've done everything I can do
working out.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
You know, I'm gonna work as.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Hard as I possibly can. I'm all out work anybody
that's in the position that I'm those when when when
you get people who focus on a dream, something that
they want and you don't, you don't veer off of that,
and you're not gonna let.
Speaker 5 (40:12):
Anybody take you from that. I didn't care who was
playing corner.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
I just wanted to know which one was gonna be
the first one I could get, you know, and as
soon as I walked in, I'm trying.
Speaker 5 (40:24):
I'm trying to get you. I'm sorry, I don't know,
I don't really know you. I'm sure we'll get to
know each other.
Speaker 4 (40:29):
But but you and my spot and and and as
arrogant as that sounds, you're not gonna make it, and
you're not gonna make it at that point.
Speaker 5 (40:39):
If you're not thinking.
Speaker 6 (40:40):
That way, I would call it a quiet confidence. You
don't go out and talking, you know, you do it,
you execute it because I don't want to hear you talking.
Do something, just be quiet and play. And that is
the mindset. That was my mindset. I don't I don't
need to talk. We'll speak, you know, for itself. And
(41:03):
that that's that was my mindset. Uh, that was my
attitude with regards to playing in the NFL, because I mean,
you got guy, you got guys that are like Lawrence Taylor.
I mean that guy was. Youre talking about men, the
men amongst the men. That guy was. He was crazy.
He was crazy. He was the craziest guy I've ever seen,
(41:26):
and I mean good crazy. He could play, he could
scare your you know, he's like the guy you don't
want to mess around with him. Uh, let's run to
the other side. Let's let's let's not let's not run
at this guy.
Speaker 4 (41:35):
You come in eighty three, when we came in in
eighty three. But there were some dogs in the league.
Speaker 6 (41:40):
Oh, there were some crazy people out there. They were
all crazy. You gotta get crazy right along with them.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (41:49):
I don't know why you do it. You you got
to about the third or fourth quarter you just say, Okay,
you know what, I don't care anymore. I just don't care.
Let's just play.
Speaker 8 (41:58):
So yeah, yeah, Hey, Kurt, So I'm going to talk
a little bit about a career changing moment, probably probably
not one of your fondest memories of your NFL experiences,
but Week one of nineteen eighty four when you injured
your right ACL and you missed the rest of this season.
We've talked on here. I know Carl's had some of
his former teammates from the Vikings talk about their own injury,
(42:21):
you know, detrimental injury experiences with the team doctors, and
how was that for you whenever you found out that
your ACL was injured, and it was you know, it
could be a career changing type of injury. How did
the Seahawks handle that injury with you and how did
you overcome all that controversy.
Speaker 6 (42:41):
Doctor Scranton, who was our orthopedic surgeon, I specifically him
remember him coming into my to the hospital room bed
saying after the surgery, he says, I have fixed your
knee accordingly. Now it's up to you to do something
(43:02):
about it. Right, And because I had no idea, you
know just how how significant that was with regards to
the injury. You know, I didn't think that I wasn't
ever going to play again. I figured, hey, it's another
obstacle you got to overcome. But he did fix my
(43:22):
knee accordingly, and I didn't have any issues with it.
So it's just a manner of you know, getting you know,
nine months of rehab right, pretty much every day, eight
hours a day of rehab. I mean not literally, that's
how much time I spent to get back, you know,
on track. And I and my knee was healthy. It
(43:44):
wasn't you know, it was it was stable.
Speaker 9 (43:47):
It was.
Speaker 6 (43:50):
It wasn't like, Okay, I'm running and all of a
sudden I can't run or it pops or it clicks
or something like that. I didn't have that that that issue. Well,
I you know, I fortunately enough to have a great
doctor who actually mean he went in and did what
he said he was going to do. Uh and uh,
you know, I had to, you know, work at it
(44:11):
quite a bit for a long time. And I appreciate
our trainers because they did a great job as well.
And then I wore a knee brace for my first
year or so, and then it broke and fell apart
my second year or so, and I just I didn't
even put it back on. I said, I'm done. I
don't need it's.
Speaker 8 (44:33):
An amazing and that was an amazing you know, overcoming
that that that's pretty pretty special.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
And I'm shocked, I guess I'm shocked that you you
would take that brace off.
Speaker 6 (44:45):
I broke it. It broke, and and I'm like, what
they don't break And I don't, you know, I'm talking
about the breaks. I don't talking about people. I'm just
I just don't like that bake on my knee. And
then it broke and I I went to the sidelines
and I just said, you know what, I'm done. I'm
not I'm not wearing a stick. And then two plays
(45:06):
later I got hit I got hit on the knee.
I got hit, and then I got up and.
Speaker 5 (45:12):
I was like, oh, now it's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 6 (45:15):
You know what, Now it's okay. And then I proceeded
to just go after it from that time all so
it was a little you know, there's there's somehow it
just clicked. It was like, okay, I got ninety nine
point five and then all of a sudden, the brace
went away and then I got hit, and it's like, okay,
just I think about it. I just started playing again
(45:38):
right now.
Speaker 4 (45:39):
Not only because we talked. Coachly talked about you guys
playing in the North South Game together during high school,
but I also believe you guys played in the Pro
Bowl together. Yes, in my correct eighty seven. Yes, Now,
how was that kind of reconnecting? You know, playing in
the All Star game in high school? Now you know
you meet each other back in the league.
Speaker 6 (46:00):
You know, did I play that year? I don't know
if I played.
Speaker 4 (46:05):
You know what now that I think, yeah, you were selected,
but I don't I don't think that you don't think
that you play.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
I don't think that you didn't show up.
Speaker 6 (46:13):
I said, you know what, my my knee still hurts
and I'm not gonna play. No, I wasn't. I didn't
want to play person.
Speaker 4 (46:31):
I just know.
Speaker 6 (46:34):
I just like you know what, I don't want to play.
Uh because Carl, if you know that game over there,
they didn't really do anything until maybe the fourth quarter,
where when you start kicking in who's gonna get paid?
What the first couple of quarters, I mean we we
were taking it easy on each other because you don't
want to see anybody get hurt. And uh so.
Speaker 4 (46:57):
When you look at it to pretty interesting when you
look at it today, what does it even look like
to you today? Because it's not even a game anymore.
Like that's just why that's.
Speaker 6 (47:07):
You know what I say, You know what I say.
I'm like, why why you're not doing anything? So you
know they're playing playing.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
Football now with exactly and you know what, you know
what bothers me? And I'm curious about how you how
what you think about this? And Hollis and Lisa, you
you all can chime in real quick too, like why
even so, why don't you just have like, you know,
an all pro team, all this whatever whatever you want
(47:36):
to call it, and just erase all of the games
and just let it be like like all State, all conference.
Speaker 5 (47:43):
Why not just make it that and then and don't
put no game with its no game, no more.
Speaker 4 (47:49):
Yeah, but I mean don't even do don't do nothing.
Speaker 5 (47:53):
Just just give you the honor and move on and
move on. I mean they got to feel the gap
between the playoffs and no, they got to make money. Well,
they're gonna make money. You gotta feel that weekend. And
you know, so what don't.
Speaker 6 (48:08):
They Why don't they blame Well, you couldn't because he
couldn't bring college kids in there and let them play
and do it that way. Because I don't I think
they're in the it's isn't it during that? Uh? Isn't
it during the bowl games? Which these kids don't play
any longer in the bowl games anyway?
Speaker 4 (48:23):
Right the national championship, the championship, I think, right like
right after.
Speaker 6 (48:30):
But okay, so yeah, I don't I don't know why.
It's like, why play in it? Because it's just the
gal you to a certain degree. And I don't blame
the guys for not playing. It's you know, it's like, hey,
I don't want to go there and get hurt and
then all of a sudden you're done and you don't
you don't want to career any injury out there playing
(48:52):
that area because you're not really focused on it. It's
not a game game. You're just kind of going through
the motions, which I hate say, but you know you're
trying to protect your yourself and others as well as you.
Speaker 9 (49:06):
Should, right, I mean as you should?
Speaker 6 (49:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (49:08):
Yeah, all right, So I have one more question.
Speaker 8 (49:10):
I'm going back to your Nitney Lion days and I'm
going to kind of throw in a little Mountaineer Nitney
Lion rivalry discussion here. So I think you've been you
were a part of that, correct, some of the games
that were played between WU and Penn State, and so
out of the sixties sixty previous meetings, I think the
Nitney Lions led the series forty nine to nine and two.
(49:33):
So what are your thoughts on do you feel like
the WVU Penn State rivalry over the years?
Speaker 9 (49:38):
Was it really truly a robbery?
Speaker 8 (49:40):
I know some of the arguments are when there's a
rivalry that it's not as lopsided with wins and losses.
Speaker 9 (49:46):
How does Penn State.
Speaker 8 (49:47):
Look or view the WVU rivalry Do they feel like
it's a rivalry?
Speaker 9 (49:53):
Yes, okay we did okay, without it out, Okay.
Speaker 6 (49:55):
Got it out. We put that game very seriously. And
if you don't take it seriously, you're good. That's when
you're gonna get beat. It didn't matter to us what
the record was there was want to oh, we weren't gonna,
you know, let up on them because we had won
who knows how many more games than so nothing, but
(50:17):
we were able to focus in on what we needed
to do that week and knowingly that West Virginia you know,
could beat us at any given time, you can lose,
so we uh, we took it very seriously for gun concerts.
Speaker 5 (50:31):
Well, anybody got anything anything else?
Speaker 4 (50:34):
Kurt uh Hollis, Yeah, just again you you were tired
in the nineties, so just like post football, what has
life been like and kind of what have you been
up to since your playing days have been done?
Speaker 6 (50:46):
Business asopreneur guy uh had was in the auto indust
for for a number of years, in the insurance industry
and so on and so forth, So I have no
I have no complaints, uh, just taking care of the
kids in the family and so on and so forth.
So I'd love to get back there every so often.
But uh, it's been a while.
Speaker 5 (51:07):
Yeah, we would love to have you back.
Speaker 4 (51:09):
Hey, And I was gonna say, I was gonna say,
if you come back and you don't contact me, just
so that if you don't, if you're not if you're
not too busy, right, if you don't call me, we're
gonna have a problem.
Speaker 5 (51:27):
I'm you again.
Speaker 9 (51:29):
That sounds a bit threatening, Kurt, I don't know about that.
Take that.
Speaker 7 (51:35):
Now, I'm getting the I'm getting the true clar that
high school day, that high school day.
Speaker 6 (51:50):
I got play bro.
Speaker 5 (51:52):
We you didn't.
Speaker 4 (51:54):
You didn't get play. You didn't get played. We just
needed to verify how good you were.
Speaker 5 (51:59):
We didn't.
Speaker 6 (52:00):
You're in the booty. Yeah, I know. I know exactly
what I was getting myself. And then I figured out
that they played me. I'm like, win this game. Let's
go win the game that has some fun.
Speaker 4 (52:20):
Let me ask let me ask this question, let me
ask you this question. And I hate and I hate
to kind of I hate to compare players in different generations.
But when you when you when you go, when you
reflect back on how you ran, and maybe you didn't,
(52:41):
never really reflect on it, because it's just who you
were and what what you knew.
Speaker 5 (52:46):
Did you ever consider like who who you look like
or who don't?
Speaker 4 (52:51):
Okay, so you wouldn't know. I always say that you
who reminds me of yeah, Gale sayrs.
Speaker 6 (53:03):
I can't argue with you. I'm not going to protest
on nothing.
Speaker 4 (53:09):
And I hate to give it to you because we're friends,
and I hate for you to, you know, walk off
the show with with with too much confidence in you.
But Bron, that's when I go back and and and
you know, had seen clips and stuff like that, like
man like I'm like like, I'm like I would watch
you like in the North South when I and and
of course, just so you you all know, the person
(53:30):
who got the front the front cover of the newspaper
after we won the North South game was me.
Speaker 2 (53:37):
I read them what time my drip drop?
Speaker 4 (53:46):
I had one run and they caught that one and
put it in the front.
Speaker 5 (53:50):
Page in the paper. I might have been a bit
of running back to you. That's got the home cooking
on that one.
Speaker 6 (54:06):
Lson, the big Charlton there, Charleston.
Speaker 5 (54:12):
Maybe maybe I was meant to be a running back.
Maybe that's what they were trying to promote. Maybe, So
I don't know, my brother, we got to get out
of here.
Speaker 4 (54:25):
I appreciate it, and I, like I said, I'm gonna
keep working on trying to get you back here soon.
Speaker 5 (54:30):
So we'll talk about that again.
Speaker 9 (54:32):
It's been great to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 6 (54:35):
Thank you, Kirk, thank you, thank you all right, man,
you take care well, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 5 (54:41):
I hope you enjoyed the show. And we ran our
time all the way.
Speaker 4 (54:45):
To the limit, so we got to get out of here,
so we will get you again soon.
Speaker 5 (54:51):
We're out of here.
Speaker 3 (54:52):
Let's Talk with Carl Lee is presented by Attorney Frank
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(55:12):
at seven or Sunday nights at eight for Let's Talk
with Carl Lee.
Speaker 12 (55:16):
If you fall, doesn't don't for get back up for
your feet. Anything will be a win, yup, even defeat.
They say, shugar bath for you wise Vineary Sweet couldn't
play with big kids. I had to sit in the
street and watch from a distance. But over time I grew.
If I put in the work, in no time, I'm
doing everything that I worked and prayed the moka. If
you ask me how did I do it, I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (55:37):
You gotta work, ry Shine, it's.
Speaker 12 (55:40):
Mine gotta show everybody is my time here.
Speaker 2 (55:43):
You gotta work, cry Shine.
Speaker 12 (55:45):
Love a mind who talking dies this day line, don't talk.
Speaker 2 (55:48):
You gotta work. You gotta work. You gotta work. You
gotta work, You gotta work. You gotta work.
Yeah, you gotta work. You gotta work, ry sh It's
mine gotta show.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Everybody is my time. Can you gotta work? Cry Shan
Another mile Saga Dogs.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Welcome to Let's Talk with Carl Lee and frequent guest
hosts Hollis Lewis and Lisa Odie, where sports culture and
community intersect. Join the crew as they dive into engaging
conversations with guests from all walks of the sports life.
Let's Talk as proudly presented by Attorney Frank Walker, Real Talk,
Real Experience, Real Results, Frank Walker Law dot com and
(00:41):
by the all new historic Choyer Diner in downtown Charleston
one line at Choyerdiner dot com. Let the conversation begin
on Let's Talk.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Hello, ladies and gentlemen, hope that you're having a good day.
I am about to get ready to talk to a
friend of mine that goes way way way back. I
have my my my co host Hollis Lewis in the
building and the football Queen Lise Odie on the other end,
and I have to just kind.
Speaker 5 (01:13):
Of tell this story before before we get going.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
It was interesting to me I played in the North
South game in who knows how long ago.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
That was. But the biggest name, you know, we don't need.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Day, the biggest name in in the state for the
game was Kurt Warner and me and a buddy of
mine who's passed away, Eddie ray Dyas we couldn't wait
to see him.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
Like we wanted. We wanted to look at him.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
We wanted to see and we wanted to size him
up to just to see like, you know, because he
was from Pinefuls so that you know, it wasn't Triple A,
so we wanted to kind of see what he.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Was like, uh huh.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
So we wait, we help him with his bags and
we're talking with him and all this kind of stuff.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
And when he got on the field and.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
He couldn't he couldn't do the full tackling and all
that because he was late because he was getting the O. J.
Simpson Awards, so you know, which again speaks how how
talented he was. So now he's out on the field
and man, when he got the ball the first time,
I was like, oh my god, like what.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Like what just happened? So Kurt, are you out there?
Speaker 6 (02:35):
Yes, sir, I heard you.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Well, And again I want to make sure I have
Hollis Lewis here and Lisa Odie Okay, so that you
know the other voices around and Kurt, I've looked at
your bio. I've looked at your bio, man, and it is.
It is phenomenal and full of everything. From Rookie of
(03:02):
the Year, basically Offensive Player of the Year, three Pro Bowls,
All Rookie Team, Ring of Honor, a national championship, I
mean all all an All American team.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
In eighty one. Bruh.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Like tell us like when you reflect back and you
look at this, and and and for the people who
don't know you, I kind of make it. I will
probably make the case. You probably don't even go back
and even think about it, But when you hear it,
what do you think, like, Well, how does it make
(03:42):
you like?
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Because man, that's a great career.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
Well let's start with the high school game in Charleston,
West Virginia. First. Okay, when you and Ray I thought
I thought we were like best at that moment. Come
to find all you guys for size. That's why most
(04:11):
of all, yes, yes, hey let me help you with
your bag, Hey, let me the room, Yeah, let me
help Youah. Okay, these guys be nice guy's a triple A. Guys,
I'm a single a guy regards to I'm the West
Virginia out in the Boonie. So yeah, that's that's.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
What that's that's the new story for you.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
Now I have I'll tell you something. I had a blast.
It was the most fun I've ever had playing against
guys like you and anyway in practice and then having
an opportunity to play in the game, and then our
friendship over the years. Yes, and really it's been a
(04:57):
good friendship. So I appreciate that.
Speaker 7 (05:00):
So.
Speaker 6 (05:01):
Uh so that's where I'll start. Okay, we can we
can move on.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
How you doing, miss Warner? This is how Hollis lewis.
Oh you can't call him mister Warner.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
You can't get it back. Well, how are you doing?
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So you're being from like, as you mentioned, the Boonies, Pineville.
But what people may not know that area collectively Wyoming
Mother's different things of that nature. I mean, you have
some some athletic legends. You know, you got Nick sabans
Uh yourself, you got Christy Martin, the first female superstar, boxing,
Dan Antonio, basketball coaches, and and just a whole host
(05:38):
about the What was it about growing up in that
area that spawned so many, you know, high level athletes
and coaches.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
That's a good question. I don't know. Other we just
played against one another growing up at a very high level.
And uh, I had a couple of cousins that were
just phenomenal basketball players governor of Frankie Warner and Eugene Warner.
(06:07):
They were just legendary. So I got to watch these
guys in action at Pineval High School, and I had
a number of other relatives and friends who had come
up through that Pine Built connection, and it was it
was it was competitive. I mean, it was just you know,
they talk about the Friday night fights and the Saturday
(06:29):
night lights and all the other stuff, and this was
exactly that way. I mean, it was just we didn't
like each other in that area, but it was it
was really good competition. And I got to see a
lot of it growing up and got to participate in it.
So I think that helped me right along the way.
Speaker 8 (06:48):
So awesome, Hey there, I want to call you, mister
Warner all said, like Collins said, But I guess I'll
go back to Kurt.
Speaker 9 (06:57):
How's that? So this is Lisa Kurk.
Speaker 8 (07:00):
Good to Okay, thank you. It's good to have you
on the podcast tonight, so thank you. Yes, So I'm
looking back at your history, Like Carl said, it's so
impressive seeing all of the accomplishments that you've had in
football throughout your career.
Speaker 9 (07:14):
You were also.
Speaker 8 (07:15):
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in two
thousand and nine. Then eventually during that time period, I
think you were playing for the Nitney Lions of course Penn.
Speaker 9 (07:23):
State, and so walk me through how did you end up?
Speaker 8 (07:30):
Were there other schools in the state that were recruiting
actively recruiting you, and how did you decide that, you know,
your your college career, the path you took was to
go to Penn State and play for the Nitney Lions.
Speaker 9 (07:43):
Did I open a can of worms with that question?
Speaker 6 (07:46):
I like it, I like it, good question. You are correct.
I did have a number of the schools who were
interested in my services at that now, uh, and we
didn't have the nil thing, so it was, you know,
just the the you know, it was what it is,
(08:07):
what it was, and so on and so forth, et cetera,
et cetera. So I did, uh, I did have an
opportunity to visit wn b U Uh. I narrowed it
down to w w U Tent, Penn State. I looked
(08:27):
at Notre Dame, uh, Nebraska. Tom Osbourne came to my
house in the middle of the winter and west by
God's Virginia, and yeah, it wasn't impressed. I was impressed. Uh.
And then I had Paternal to come down, and it
(08:48):
was you know, I knew I wanted to play at
a at a high level, and I had I had
heard about Penn State and Paternal uh and kid in
West Virginia. And once I went to visit the various
collegist schools universities, Uh, it just it was the right pick,
(09:13):
you know, with regards to Penn stay. Now, now you
had Robert Alexander and uh so that was kind of
a gauge as far as what I was looking at
and what I was gonna do. And I just, you know,
let let Robert stay there. I'll go somewhere else. And
(09:35):
that was kind of what I was thinking with regards
to that. So it wasn't go.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Ahead, Oh, Kurt, I was gonna I was gonna ask
this question as a as kind of a follow up. Also,
I think one of the interesting components that I thought
was you were like at that time you talked about
the eye back position, you know, right, that was you know,
(10:01):
in order to pick a school doing what you did
and what and the position and how you played. Those
were teams, the primary teams that you're talking about were
already had advanced to the eyeback formation with the toss
sweep and that type of thing, compared to and I
(10:21):
think WU had just kind of got there because because
when Robert first got there, they were in the near
far backs.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
And I know this is technical football kind of talk,
but what which never fits?
Speaker 5 (10:36):
It can't fit an.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Eyeback because an eye back is just a it's a
natural it's a natural skill set of being able to
find where to go.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Am I right on that?
Speaker 6 (10:47):
Yeah, they were running a veer offense where it was
faith on one side and you put to the other
side and no blocking in front of you. Not really
you didn't have a fullback in front, right, And I'm like,
you know, so I passed. I said, hey, you know what,
that's just not for me. That's not a good fit
(11:07):
for me. Uh. And I could see what Robert Alexander
was doing, So if it wasn't gonna work for him,
Surely the goodness is not gonna work for me as well.
I figured he let's go in a different direction.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
So, now, being that you were from such a small
town in West Virginia, what or maybe the better question
is who gave you sort of the guidance and perspective
to think so big and large about particularly like coming
from Pineville and possibly considering Notre Dame on Nebraska or
some of these big schools.
Speaker 6 (11:37):
Huh, that's that's that's a good question as well. You
know where I grew up, you had a couple of options. Uh.
You know, I'm not the smartest guy in the classroom,
so uh it was just one of them.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Iom.
Speaker 6 (12:00):
You know, you you got to you gotta make your
you gotta make your hey when you have an opportunity
to do that, and uh so it's just it was,
it was. It was a challenging fit because I obviously
went up there to to look around and to visit
the campuses and to see the the the competition and
(12:22):
so on and so forth, and there was a lot
of competition at that level.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Now, Now, did you have like a coach or or
your like your your parents advising you at this time?
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Well, I had a person by the name of Liddy McKinney,
believe it or not. She was my English teacher. Her husband,
Darryl McKinney, was a coach at Pineville High School years before,
so he coached my, my cousins and so on and
so forth. And it was it was kind of through
her because I had all of these people converging on Timeeville,
(12:58):
West Virginia, and I knew really knows sick and can
come here. So I kind of just she was kind
of like my agent at the time, and I trusted
her to be able to narrow it down or help
me narrow it down to a certain degree. And she
was a big Joe Paterno fan, so that that kind
(13:19):
of pushed me in that direction. And she was pushing
me in that direction, but I still wanted to go
and see the other opportunities that were out there. I
went up to pitt and I did not get a
chance to go to Nebraska and Notre Dame because of
weather issues. But you know, more importantly, I wanted my
(13:42):
parents and my friends to be able to come at
least to be able to drive from where we were
playing to watch the game. I needed them to be
involved in that process. And I'm sure glad I did
it because my old man, good God, bless his soul,
he's passed away. But man, he loved going to Penn State.
He loved of having holding courts and being able to,
(14:03):
you know, to be a part of that process. So
I was close enough. Yet I was in an arena
where I could play at you know, against some talent,
very talented teams and opportunities. So it was a combination
of both of those things. When it's all said and.
Speaker 8 (14:22):
Pat, yeah, that's really that's a great story. So let's
go back. We'll just stay on this train with the
Penn State conversation, Kurt, if you don't mind. So your
tenure there was between the years of nineteen seventy nine
and nineteen eighty two, and you guys won the national
championship that year. I think Carl alluded to that in
his introduction of you. What was it like to go
(14:43):
through that experience with Joe Paterno?
Speaker 6 (14:48):
Oh man, another good question.
Speaker 9 (14:52):
We're just loaded with good questions for you. We're going
to get are we making it too hard?
Speaker 6 (15:00):
Sometimes? Potno was a bear, Yes, I mean he didn't
take any stuff from anybody. So he and I respected
that because he kept us in line because there's a
lot of talent going on and you can call you
you know, at that level, there's a lot of talent
(15:20):
and there's a lot of guys who think that they're
the best. And you get to you get to play
it out on the practice field and you get to
play it out on the football field. But I'll tell
you what really, uh really got my attention when it
comes to Joe Paterno is the fact that, you know,
(15:44):
my freshman year he talked about academics. My freshman year,
we had to all Americans that were not able to
play that season because academically they were not there to
all Americans. Wow, And that got my attention. And what
he was saying to the rest of is you better
(16:05):
go to class. You're going to get an education as well.
So the second day, this is the second day of
training camp, we had one of our captain who was
not he was not in the football shape to do
what was required during that first you know, that first
(16:27):
day or so, you got to see what kind of
shape you're in and it's called I guess a training
camp shape or whatever you need to be in. So
we had a guy who was our captain who did
not make the times that he was allotted from running
a really which he probably shouldn't have been running it,
but he just didn't make the time. So he took
(16:47):
away his cates sit in the first two days of camp.
Paterno has already set his mark. As far as I'm concerned,
it's like, you know what, you got to go to class,
and you don't want to remember this guy because he
doesn't he doesn't play around. And so you know I
respected that and and and just by you know, him
(17:11):
holding us to a certain standard.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
He he backed it up. He didn't just say it,
he actually executed it. And you've got to respect the guy,
uh who who lived by those type of rules. So
as we move forward, you know, we played against some
pretty good competition, uh you know at Penn State, and
especially my senior year, we played uh you know, you know,
(17:38):
guys like Notre Dame, Alabama, Nebraska and and uh, you know,
it was just a matter of being in the right
spot at the right time to get to that national
championship game and the minute to have an opportunity to
play Georgia. Uh don it's a sugar Bowl. So it
was just a combination of a lot of different things
that it happened. And I thought we had a couple
(17:59):
of other teams that were better than in my senior year.
My junior year, I thought we had a better football team.
We just we lost one too many games. We lost
two games, and we were that's just not going to
get you in a national championship game. So that year
we lost one and we were able to compete at
that level. So you know, it's just a you know,
(18:22):
the Good Lord looking out for us in that time
and we had an opportunity to participate at that at
that level.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
Kurt, I'm gonna win. Oh I'm sorry, Okay, I want
to jump in.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
And and because you're hitting on something that triggers me,
you know, I go to Marshall and of course the
record wasn't this and wasn't that, So there was no
there was no necessarily celebration of being at Marshall at
that time. But Sonny Randall was there, who was a
disciplinarian and and you and the thing that.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
What was triggered me as you were talking.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Coaches who hold you accountable and coaches that you know,
they don't care how good you are. They're willing to
sacrifice any and everything for the for the for your betterment.
So that and when I say for your betterment, that
you understand you are not this team. You are part
(19:23):
of it, but you're not this team. Sonny Randall put
me in study hall. I had like about a one
seven after like after my freshman year.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Bro, I was just so happy that I was at Marshall.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
I was playing, I was, you know, getting some acculades
and people talking about me, and you know, this is
my first step trying to get to the league, and
and I'm not thinking school is the last thing on
my mind. And Sonny made that very clear and bright.
He made me stay in study hall my entire career
(19:55):
at Marshall.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
Because of that. And and today, hey, I don't.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
Know, you know, I don't know if coaches understand the importance.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
You know. I think that sometimes we want to be buddies.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but if.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
You want to, if you want to impact a kid,
those coaches like that they impact you.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
Would you would you agree with that?
Speaker 6 (20:22):
Yeah? God, Paterno and I were not friends at all.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
I mean we all hated it.
Speaker 6 (20:28):
Yeah, it wasn't just me. We all hated him because
he was a bear. But when you go back, you
visit him after you get out of there, he's a
whole different person. I'm like, who is this scot? Every
conversation that we had, I was getting screamed at over something,
and so I tried to keep it to a minimum
(20:49):
with regards to that. But when I went back after
my rookie year, and uh, I went down to the
Fiestabo and I actually had a conversation with him. Whereas
we were having a conversation, I'm like, well, this guy's
you mad? You know what's the story here? But yes,
(21:10):
you've got to be held accountable. Uh, there is no
prima donna. There's no prima donna in football. It's not
going to happen. There's too many bevariables that come into play.
And it's a team game. It's the ultimate team game
when it when it comes to sports, as far as
I'm concerned, and I'm biased about it, but uh, there's
a lot of lack of lessons that you learned as
(21:30):
well with regards to sports and what it what it
does for you, and the opportunities that you have because
of it. Because like I said, I was not the
sharpest guy in the classroom. Let's not get usselves. But
I had an opportunity, uh to uh to move forward,
(21:50):
uh to not be a coal miner. Because it's either
you're going to get out of here one way, or
you're gonna go into coal mines and do something else.
And it is what it is.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
That was.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
Let the guy's on the truth either because I'm not
gonna get out of there either either way unless there's
something else that provides me an opportunity to to do
in that direction. In the direction anyway.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
So just on the field when you get to Penn State,
I believe that initially he play some running back, obviously,
but you also did some special teams. And I want
to say, and you can correct me if I'm wrong,
your first touch, the first college touch, you were a
kick returning.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
You took it to the house. Am I correct?
Speaker 6 (22:36):
That is not correct? But that's okay, you know, we
can exaggerate it. I talked to Bill cot He's just
a great friend of mine, and he says, say, you
know what, one thing you got to learn to tell
his stories, Kurt. It's a Penn State guy. He said,
you gotta embellish. We're not gonna mbell it's almost broken.
(23:00):
I was pretty closed. But I do score three touchdowns
that day, So what do you know?
Speaker 5 (23:05):
And that was and that was your first college game.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
That was my first college game.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
So how was that?
Speaker 4 (23:10):
I mean, you're come, like I said, you're coming from Pinesville,
first college game, You're going through the camp all that,
then you finally get at a major university and pen st.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
Yeah, and then then you know, you get three tds?
Like what was that feeling after?
Speaker 6 (23:27):
Well? Uh, there were so many stories going on. I
really don't I don't know. I mean, how did they
find Joe Paterno? Or how did Joe find this guy
in Pineville, West Virginia. That was the biggest story. Who
are you.
Speaker 9 (23:44):
Waver for social media or any of that. Yeah, that's
amazing social media.
Speaker 6 (23:49):
And I think everybody in Pineville in that area was
probably shot that I had that type of a game.
Even I was shocked that I had that type of
a game. Uh, but uh, it was It was quite
a day. Uh but uh it was a lot of fun.
I had a great time and I was able to
(24:09):
play on a great football team. And my freshman year on.
So it was it was a good opportunity when you
go back.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
When you when you look back at your.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Senior year at Poneville and because I'm I'm just going
from the North South game and seeing you in that
and the whole issue between you know, who's going to
be the best tail back? You were ready armstand like
when you were when you were I know, I knew
(24:41):
that would bring I knew that would bring bring back
a memory. So when you when you're when you're walking
around there and you're trying to figure out who you are,
are you understanding like the expectation of the people in
Poneville and the outs of the people who hadn't necessarily
(25:03):
seen you play. Did that ever have anything? Did you
think anything about that? Did you ever want to say, Hey,
I want to prove something wrong, like I want to
I want to prove these people wrong that I am
this kind of a player.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Because I know I was.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I was wholeheartedly that way, you know, because you know,
you know, my whole thing at Marshall.
Speaker 5 (25:25):
I was happy to.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Be at Marshall, but I knew where Marshall was at
the time, you know, and so I wanted to prove
there was something I needed to prove to folks who
who doubted me. Who there were people who said I
wouldn't even play at Marshall. So I have to believe
that there was that motivation. Some of that motivation came
(25:46):
from I want to prove these people wrong.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
Am I right there?
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Yes? You are, You're You're completely right. I mean, there's
always a chip on one shoulder, and there's there's you've
got to have a reason to say, you know, I
can play at this level. And I believe that I
could play at that level from day one. But it
wasn't just because I, you know I it wasn't something
(26:18):
that I thought about with regards to well and my
second guessing what I can do and what I can't do.
I felt as though I could play there. I belonged there,
and now it was just an opportunity to get out
there and chill with me. That's really you got to
prove it to a certain degree because nobody's going to
(26:39):
give you anything, especially at that level when you've got
five six I mean, I remember going into our running
back room and they had, you know, the guys on
the board my freshman year and there was like seven
eight guys on that list, and I remember seeing that
and I was at the bottom of the list, and
it wasn't because my last name was said, I was
(27:02):
on the bottom of that list. That's thinking myself, Okay,
you know what, Well, when I get out of this camp,
I'm not gonna be on the bottom of this list
when I finish here as this camp. But that's what
I was saying to myself. But I was determined not
to be on that bottom of that list when it
was all said and done. And so that's, yeah, that's
(27:22):
what you're up against. You got to find something that says, hey,
I belong here, I can play here, I can do this,
But you also have to execute what you're doing because
it could have verily gone the other way.
Speaker 9 (27:37):
Oh well, take hertis Lisa again.
Speaker 8 (27:40):
So we're gonna keep going down this this memory memory
trip here, and we're going to take you back to
the summer of seventy nine.
Speaker 9 (27:48):
You at that time, you were the Kennedy.
Speaker 8 (27:50):
Award winner, and you were also a guest of honor
at a fundraiser at that time called the Run for Thad.
Speaker 9 (27:56):
You were the honor honoree of that.
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Of that event, and that event was to help establish
a memorial scholarship fund for it was in memory of
Thad Snagris, who was a DuPont High School student athlete
that was killed by a drunk driver in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 9 (28:13):
And just to give you an update.
Speaker 8 (28:15):
That year that you were the guest of honor, they
had raised five hundred dollars and were able to give
away one single scholarship.
Speaker 9 (28:22):
But now it I just wanted to give you an
update to.
Speaker 8 (28:25):
Now that they're giving out this same organization is still
is still in working and they give out at least
six scholarships a year at six sixty eight hundred dollars each.
Speaker 9 (28:35):
So just wanted to let.
Speaker 8 (28:37):
You know you were a part of something that has
really grown and helped a lot of the students at
the Riverside area of the east end of eastern end
of Kannall County.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
Thank you much.
Speaker 6 (28:46):
Yeah, I was a part of.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
Yeah, So knowing that what are some other charitable you know,
causes that you're a part of. Now, are there any
you know near and dear to your heart that you'd
like to help with?
Speaker 4 (29:01):
No?
Speaker 6 (29:01):
You know what, I've got a couple of guys that
are on the Aufie in stec frum. Okay, so I
kind of that's spent a lot of I spend a
lot of time in that arena, sure, working with them
and making you know, making sure that they're you know.
Speaker 9 (29:19):
Well, that's a charitable cause for for sure.
Speaker 8 (29:21):
I mean you're you're a part of something that that's very,
very you know needed.
Speaker 5 (29:25):
So for sure, all right, kats the kittens, have you heard?
Speaker 10 (29:29):
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Speaker 3 (30:27):
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(30:47):
at seven or Sunday nights at eight for Let's Talk
with Carl Lee. This is Let's Talk with Carl Lee.
Now back into the conversation.
Speaker 5 (30:56):
We're going to jump to the NFL.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
So, okay, okay, you get drafted. You're the third pick.
Do you know the two guys that were ahead of you?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (31:05):
I know?
Speaker 5 (31:10):
Okay, all right, how did so when you get drafted?
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Now, Now remember now you're talking to a dude who
came into seventh round, right, sixth big seventh round, so
so and was happy. So when you when you got
picked on the day that they picked you, and as
quick as you went, did it bother you that you
didn't go in one of.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Those first two picks or did it matter at.
Speaker 6 (31:37):
All to you? Okay, not at all? You know what,
I had, no idea that's the when I was gonna
get picked. Okay, no idea.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
What.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Yeah, they didn't tell you that back then. They didn't
really they.
Speaker 6 (31:50):
Didn't tell anybody.
Speaker 8 (31:51):
No.
Speaker 6 (31:51):
No, we didn't have the ESCN thing right right, you know,
you know, hugging on the commissioner and all the other staff. No,
So that that's another story for another day. Uh, it was,
you know. My agent was Marvin dam Off, and I
(32:15):
had talked with coach Knox, Chuck Knock. He and his
wife Shirley came up to Pennsylvania as he was the
new coach of the Seattle Seahawks at that time. They
were picked number nine. They had a ninth pick, and
I remember talking to Gosh, what's the guy's name? The
the Uh it wasn't the recruiter he was the uh,
(32:37):
the guy who was the talent scout for the Seattle
Ralph gold Steam.
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Now you remember Ralph.
Speaker 6 (32:43):
You never see him round I've heard.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Why do I know that name?
Speaker 6 (32:48):
Because he was he he was all in the NFL
around quite a bit with the Seattle Seahouse. He was
the guy that went out and do the scouting thing.
So he had come up to Penn State and uh,
we we were doing the forties and all the other stuff.
Because now you were doing it on campus back then,
right and now you can pretty much, you know, do
it wherever. But so, uh so he he had mentioned
(33:11):
the fact that you know they're number nine, and then
he said you're going to be gone before then. Well, okay,
that's fine, But I still had no idea as to
where I was going or what was going to happen.
So knock them up. And I talked to him in
his wife and he was the coach with the Seattle Seahawks.
And then one thing kind of let or another, and
(33:34):
I didn't really know what the situation was probably until
maybe a day before uh the actual draft, where I'd
gotten a call from my agent, Marvin Demo, and he said, hey,
I need you to come out to cut up to
La because you're gonna you're gonna you're gonna be headed
north up to Seattle. I'm like, Okay, that works for me, Okay,
(33:58):
was it? Uh So that's kind of how I knew
about it, and that's that's kind of what happened on
my end. But yeah, I knew l Way was gonna
go number one, and I knew Eric Differson was gonna
go number two, and then I was gonna go number.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
And again.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Man, that's that's huge, and that's behind you know, Eric Dickerson,
you know what I'm saying, and and and and to me.
And when I and again, I can I go back
to I go back to the game and us laying
on the on the turf laughing because I'm laying on
top of you, and all of a sudden there's two
(34:39):
West Virginia guys from the North South game who are buddies,
who are laying on the turf, just absolutely like laughing
because we can't we you know, it's just unbelievable that
this is actually happening. I can remember that. I can
I can remember that playing as day man, and I may.
Speaker 6 (34:55):
Have said a few other words, well, I would.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
I'm gonna I'm gonna try to take some credit like
I did tackle you, so you know, so tell me
a little bit more accurt about like, Okay, so when
you go when you're the first pick to a team,
(35:22):
and you go to this team, and obviously me like you,
like anybody who's coming, everybody wants to play, everybody wants
to start. Yeah, I remember going in and checking, you know,
looking at at my position. I'm moving from safety to corner.
So I'm now I'm checking out the corners. I'm kind
of looking to see, Okay, who can I go after?
(35:44):
Do you remember your process of trying to figure out
like who you had to get past?
Speaker 5 (35:51):
How did you think that you were going to get him?
Speaker 6 (35:54):
Or you just on the top of the When I
walked in there, I was on the top of the board.
Speaker 5 (35:57):
There you go, what's just a bottom?
Speaker 6 (36:00):
I was at the top, and they're like, let's see
what you can do.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
So so they put you, they put you in the
eye right now.
Speaker 6 (36:09):
Let me tell you something. You're the number one guy.
You've got all the other stuff that there's no hiding you.
You can't hide. You gotta play. So what are you
gonna do? You're gonna play. You're gonna play. What what's
going on here? Well, you know what, you gotta bring it.
I can't hide. I an say I can hide, you know,
(36:30):
back in the weeds in the wood.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
But you got to get there. You gotta go.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
It's exposed. And I'm like, oh man, so you know,
and you gotta show up. Because you don't show up,
they got no use for you. You gotta go. Yeah,
you don't want to bus So so that was that.
That's that's what I did not want to be, was
a bust bring it. I had the right guy had
(37:00):
ground Chuck, and you know what he said to me was, hey,
the ball ain't heavy. The ball ain't heavy. I'm not
having the ball not heavy?
Speaker 5 (37:12):
When the daylight.
Speaker 6 (37:13):
That was the second thing he said, run the daylight
and run with he ain't so.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
Like.
Speaker 6 (37:19):
That was my instruction from Chuck knock and I just
s I still remember it heavy. You're gonna be running
that football. She's a ball right here. It ain't heavy.
Let's go.
Speaker 9 (37:34):
Love that phrase.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
That's what he did. He had a lot of phrase
they called them. Go not today, not today.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
That's awesome And I think that what that does is
sort of display the attitude that you had coming in
at you know, particularly at various levels, because you had
to take on one sort of role coming into Penn State.
Then when you go to the NFL, it's it's another
as far as being on the top of the list.
So what I want to ask is, like a lot
of times when you have guys and athletes coming from
(38:05):
small towns and going to you know, bigger, bigger cities,
and then obviously being on the top of your field
of endeavor, which was football, a lot of them subscribe
to a lot of the trappings that are around.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
Particularly being the number one, you know, p of a team.
Speaker 4 (38:21):
So how did you avoid that during particularly that mid
eighties when you know kind of we all know what
was going on at that time.
Speaker 6 (38:29):
You know what it wasn't I think it's just your upbringing,
your friends, your family and the values that they instilled
in you. You don't. I didn't very too much off
of that, so I was able to kind of keep
(38:49):
the focus on what I needed to do. As far
as as far as I was concerned, I was well
ahead of the game. I wasn't in the coal mines
of That's Virginia, remember that, right, right, and was a
great experience, so I would what I got no complaint.
(39:10):
I'm okay. So now you've got to go out here
and and and uh and play at another level, which
is Carl, you know that the NFL level that that
that is the whole different level within itself. You can't
you can't duplicate that. You can't go out and practice
that these are the best of the best. You can't
(39:31):
fake it. You can't fake no new dude.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
And and and to that at all, and to that, Kurt,
there has to be you have to have not I'm
not gonna say it can't be an arrogance, because arrogance
can can cost you. But you've got to have the
confidence to know one, I've done everything I can do
working out.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
You know, I'm gonna work as.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Hard as I possibly can. I'm all out work anybody
that's in the position that I'm those when when when
you get people who focus on a dream, something that
they want and you don't, you don't veer off of that,
and you're not gonna let.
Speaker 5 (40:12):
Anybody take you from that. I didn't care who was
playing corner.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
I just wanted to know which one was gonna be
the first one I could get, you know, and as
soon as I walked in, I'm trying.
Speaker 5 (40:24):
I'm trying to get you. I'm sorry, I don't know,
I don't really know you. I'm sure we'll get to
know each other.
Speaker 4 (40:29):
But but you and my spot and and and as
arrogant as that sounds, you're not gonna make it, and
you're not gonna make it at that point.
Speaker 5 (40:39):
If you're not thinking.
Speaker 6 (40:40):
That way, I would call it a quiet confidence. You
don't go out and talking, you know, you do it,
you execute it because I don't want to hear you talking.
Do something, just be quiet and play. And that is
the mindset. That was my mindset. I don't I don't
need to talk. We'll speak, you know, for itself. And
(41:03):
that that's that was my mindset. Uh, that was my
attitude with regards to playing in the NFL, because I mean,
you got guy, you got guys that are like Lawrence Taylor.
I mean that guy was. Youre talking about men, the
men amongst the men. That guy was. He was crazy.
He was crazy. He was the craziest guy I've ever seen,
(41:26):
and I mean good crazy. He could play, he could
scare your you know, he's like the guy you don't
want to mess around with him. Uh, let's run to
the other side. Let's let's let's not let's not run
at this guy.
Speaker 4 (41:35):
You come in eighty three, when we came in in
eighty three. But there were some dogs in the league.
Speaker 6 (41:40):
Oh, there were some crazy people out there. They were
all crazy. You gotta get crazy right along with them.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (41:49):
I don't know why you do it. You you got
to about the third or fourth quarter you just say, Okay,
you know what, I don't care anymore. I just don't care.
Let's just play.
Speaker 8 (41:58):
So yeah, yeah, Hey, Kurt, So I'm going to talk
a little bit about a career changing moment, probably probably
not one of your fondest memories of your NFL experiences,
but Week one of nineteen eighty four when you injured
your right ACL and you missed the rest of this season.
We've talked on here. I know Carl's had some of
his former teammates from the Vikings talk about their own injury,
(42:21):
you know, detrimental injury experiences with the team doctors, and
how was that for you whenever you found out that
your ACL was injured, and it was you know, it
could be a career changing type of injury. How did
the Seahawks handle that injury with you and how did
you overcome all that controversy.
Speaker 6 (42:41):
Doctor Scranton, who was our orthopedic surgeon, I specifically him
remember him coming into my to the hospital room bed
saying after the surgery, he says, I have fixed your
knee accordingly. Now it's up to you to do something
(43:02):
about it. Right, And because I had no idea, you
know just how how significant that was with regards to
the injury. You know, I didn't think that I wasn't
ever going to play again. I figured, hey, it's another
obstacle you got to overcome. But he did fix my
(43:22):
knee accordingly, and I didn't have any issues with it.
So it's just a manner of you know, getting you know,
nine months of rehab right, pretty much every day, eight
hours a day of rehab. I mean not literally, that's
how much time I spent to get back, you know,
on track. And I and my knee was healthy. It
(43:44):
wasn't you know, it was it was stable.
Speaker 9 (43:47):
It was.
Speaker 6 (43:50):
It wasn't like, Okay, I'm running and all of a
sudden I can't run or it pops or it clicks
or something like that. I didn't have that that that issue. Well,
I you know, I fortunately enough to have a great
doctor who actually mean he went in and did what
he said he was going to do. Uh and uh,
you know, I had to, you know, work at it
(44:11):
quite a bit for a long time. And I appreciate
our trainers because they did a great job as well.
And then I wore a knee brace for my first
year or so, and then it broke and fell apart
my second year or so, and I just I didn't
even put it back on. I said, I'm done. I
don't need it's.
Speaker 8 (44:33):
An amazing and that was an amazing you know, overcoming
that that that's pretty pretty special.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
And I'm shocked, I guess I'm shocked that you you
would take that brace off.
Speaker 6 (44:45):
I broke it. It broke, and and I'm like, what
they don't break And I don't, you know, I'm talking
about the breaks. I don't talking about people. I'm just
I just don't like that bake on my knee. And
then it broke and I I went to the sidelines
and I just said, you know what, I'm done. I'm
not I'm not wearing a stick. And then two plays
(45:06):
later I got hit I got hit on the knee.
I got hit, and then I got up and.
Speaker 5 (45:12):
I was like, oh, now it's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 6 (45:15):
You know what, Now it's okay. And then I proceeded
to just go after it from that time all so
it was a little you know, there's there's somehow it
just clicked. It was like, okay, I got ninety nine
point five and then all of a sudden, the brace
went away and then I got hit, and it's like, okay,
just I think about it. I just started playing again
(45:38):
right now.
Speaker 4 (45:39):
Not only because we talked. Coachly talked about you guys
playing in the North South Game together during high school,
but I also believe you guys played in the Pro
Bowl together. Yes, in my correct eighty seven. Yes, Now,
how was that kind of reconnecting? You know, playing in
the All Star game in high school? Now you know
you meet each other back in the league.
Speaker 6 (46:00):
You know, did I play that year? I don't know
if I played.
Speaker 4 (46:05):
You know what now that I think, yeah, you were selected,
but I don't I don't think that you don't think
that you play.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
I don't think that you didn't show up.
Speaker 6 (46:13):
I said, you know what, my my knee still hurts
and I'm not gonna play. No, I wasn't. I didn't
want to play person.
Speaker 4 (46:31):
I just know.
Speaker 6 (46:34):
I just like you know what, I don't want to play.
Uh because Carl, if you know that game over there,
they didn't really do anything until maybe the fourth quarter,
where when you start kicking in who's gonna get paid?
What the first couple of quarters, I mean we we
were taking it easy on each other because you don't
want to see anybody get hurt. And uh so.
Speaker 4 (46:57):
When you look at it to pretty interesting when you
look at it today, what does it even look like
to you today? Because it's not even a game anymore.
Like that's just why that's.
Speaker 6 (47:07):
You know what I say, You know what I say.
I'm like, why why you're not doing anything? So you
know they're playing playing.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
Football now with exactly and you know what, you know
what bothers me? And I'm curious about how you how
what you think about this? And Hollis and Lisa, you
you all can chime in real quick too, like why
even so, why don't you just have like, you know,
an all pro team, all this whatever whatever you want
(47:36):
to call it, and just erase all of the games
and just let it be like like all State, all conference.
Speaker 5 (47:43):
Why not just make it that and then and don't
put no game with its no game, no more.
Speaker 4 (47:49):
Yeah, but I mean don't even do don't do nothing.
Speaker 5 (47:53):
Just just give you the honor and move on and
move on. I mean they got to feel the gap
between the playoffs and no, they got to make money. Well,
they're gonna make money. You gotta feel that weekend. And
you know, so what don't.
Speaker 6 (48:08):
They Why don't they blame Well, you couldn't because he
couldn't bring college kids in there and let them play
and do it that way. Because I don't I think
they're in the it's isn't it during that? Uh? Isn't
it during the bowl games? Which these kids don't play
any longer in the bowl games anyway?
Speaker 4 (48:23):
Right the national championship, the championship, I think, right like
right after.
Speaker 6 (48:30):
But okay, so yeah, I don't I don't know why.
It's like, why play in it? Because it's just the
gal you to a certain degree. And I don't blame
the guys for not playing. It's you know, it's like, hey,
I don't want to go there and get hurt and
then all of a sudden you're done and you don't
you don't want to career any injury out there playing
(48:52):
that area because you're not really focused on it. It's
not a game game. You're just kind of going through
the motions, which I hate say, but you know you're
trying to protect your yourself and others as well as you.
Speaker 9 (49:06):
Should, right, I mean as you should?
Speaker 6 (49:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (49:08):
Yeah, all right, So I have one more question.
Speaker 8 (49:10):
I'm going back to your Nitney Lion days and I'm
going to kind of throw in a little Mountaineer Nitney
Lion rivalry discussion here. So I think you've been you
were a part of that, correct, some of the games
that were played between WU and Penn State, and so
out of the sixties sixty previous meetings, I think the
Nitney Lions led the series forty nine to nine and two.
(49:33):
So what are your thoughts on do you feel like
the WVU Penn State rivalry over the years?
Speaker 9 (49:38):
Was it really truly a robbery?
Speaker 8 (49:40):
I know some of the arguments are when there's a
rivalry that it's not as lopsided with wins and losses.
Speaker 9 (49:46):
How does Penn State.
Speaker 8 (49:47):
Look or view the WVU rivalry Do they feel like
it's a rivalry?
Speaker 9 (49:53):
Yes, okay we did okay, without it out, Okay.
Speaker 6 (49:55):
Got it out. We put that game very seriously. And
if you don't take it seriously, you're good. That's when
you're gonna get beat. It didn't matter to us what
the record was there was want to oh, we weren't gonna,
you know, let up on them because we had won
who knows how many more games than so nothing, but
(50:17):
we were able to focus in on what we needed
to do that week and knowingly that West Virginia you know,
could beat us at any given time, you can lose,
so we uh, we took it very seriously for gun concerts.
Speaker 5 (50:31):
Well, anybody got anything anything else?
Speaker 4 (50:34):
Kurt uh Hollis, Yeah, just again you you were tired
in the nineties, so just like post football, what has
life been like and kind of what have you been
up to since your playing days have been done?
Speaker 6 (50:46):
Business asopreneur guy uh had was in the auto indust
for for a number of years, in the insurance industry
and so on and so forth, So I have no
I have no complaints, uh, just taking care of the
kids in the family and so on and so forth.
So I'd love to get back there every so often.
But uh, it's been a while.
Speaker 5 (51:07):
Yeah, we would love to have you back.
Speaker 4 (51:09):
Hey, And I was gonna say, I was gonna say,
if you come back and you don't contact me, just
so that if you don't, if you're not if you're
not too busy, right, if you don't call me, we're
gonna have a problem.
Speaker 5 (51:27):
I'm you again.
Speaker 9 (51:29):
That sounds a bit threatening, Kurt, I don't know about that.
Take that.
Speaker 7 (51:35):
Now, I'm getting the I'm getting the true clar that
high school day, that high school day.
Speaker 6 (51:50):
I got play bro.
Speaker 5 (51:52):
We you didn't.
Speaker 4 (51:54):
You didn't get play. You didn't get played. We just
needed to verify how good you were.
Speaker 5 (51:59):
We didn't.
Speaker 6 (52:00):
You're in the booty. Yeah, I know. I know exactly
what I was getting myself. And then I figured out
that they played me. I'm like, win this game. Let's
go win the game that has some fun.
Speaker 4 (52:20):
Let me ask let me ask this question, let me
ask you this question. And I hate and I hate
to kind of I hate to compare players in different generations.
But when you when you when you go, when you
reflect back on how you ran, and maybe you didn't,
(52:41):
never really reflect on it, because it's just who you
were and what what you knew.
Speaker 5 (52:46):
Did you ever consider like who who you look like
or who don't?
Speaker 4 (52:51):
Okay, so you wouldn't know. I always say that you
who reminds me of yeah, Gale sayrs.
Speaker 6 (53:03):
I can't argue with you. I'm not going to protest
on nothing.
Speaker 4 (53:09):
And I hate to give it to you because we're friends,
and I hate for you to, you know, walk off
the show with with with too much confidence in you.
But Bron, that's when I go back and and and
you know, had seen clips and stuff like that, like
man like I'm like like, I'm like I would watch
you like in the North South when I and and
of course, just so you you all know, the person
(53:30):
who got the front the front cover of the newspaper
after we won the North South game was me.
Speaker 2 (53:37):
I read them what time my drip drop?
Speaker 4 (53:46):
I had one run and they caught that one and
put it in the front.
Speaker 5 (53:50):
Page in the paper. I might have been a bit
of running back to you. That's got the home cooking
on that one.
Speaker 6 (54:06):
Lson, the big Charlton there, Charleston.
Speaker 5 (54:12):
Maybe maybe I was meant to be a running back.
Maybe that's what they were trying to promote. Maybe, So
I don't know, my brother, we got to get out
of here.
Speaker 4 (54:25):
I appreciate it, and I, like I said, I'm gonna
keep working on trying to get you back here soon.
Speaker 5 (54:30):
So we'll talk about that again.
Speaker 9 (54:32):
It's been great to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 6 (54:35):
Thank you, Kirk, thank you, thank you all right, man,
you take care well, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 5 (54:41):
I hope you enjoyed the show. And we ran our
time all the way.
Speaker 4 (54:45):
To the limit, so we got to get out of here,
so we will get you again soon.
Speaker 5 (54:51):
We're out of here.
Speaker 3 (54:52):
Let's Talk with Carl Lee is presented by Attorney Frank
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(55:12):
at seven or Sunday nights at eight for Let's Talk
with Carl Lee.
Speaker 12 (55:16):
If you fall, doesn't don't for get back up for
your feet. Anything will be a win, yup, even defeat.
They say, shugar bath for you wise Vineary Sweet couldn't
play with big kids. I had to sit in the
street and watch from a distance. But over time I grew.
If I put in the work, in no time, I'm
doing everything that I worked and prayed the moka. If
you ask me how did I do it, I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (55:37):
You gotta work, ry Shine, it's.
Speaker 12 (55:40):
Mine gotta show everybody is my time here.
Speaker 2 (55:43):
You gotta work, cry Shine.
Speaker 12 (55:45):
Love a mind who talking dies this day line, don't talk.
Speaker 2 (55:48):
You gotta work. You gotta work. You gotta work. You
gotta work, You gotta work. You gotta work.
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