Click here to subscribe directly to the Lights Out with Shawne Merriman podcast! The record-breaking kick returner that broke the ankles of special teams across the NFL Devin Hester joins the Lights Out Podcast with Shawne Merriman to discuss how it felt to break Deion Sanders' record. Hester then describes the feeling he felt when he was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team. And has Hester done enough to get into the Hall Of Fame? And "Awe Hell"; Shawne then has some fun as he tells Devin that his son, who is breaking ankles of his own in viral videos, is going to be another Hester out there causing headaches in the coming years.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:46):
girls in the forest, our imagination and our family bonds.
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count Though. Are you ready for this? Jean Merriman a
one hand ef back Boom boom, boom, out go the light.
(01:10):
This is lights out with Sean Merriman. What's up, guys?
Welcome to another lights Out Podcast with me Seawan Merriman,
and uh, we got a great one today. When I
mean great, one of the greatest guys who's ever done it.
Um punt return to kickoff return to specialists. Throw him
on the offense side of the ball. I hate it.
I mean any defensive player let me tell you if
(01:31):
you don't hate this dude, to play against him because
he's so damn dynamic. Um he's had so explosive, so
creative and just make you know something from nothing. Devin
Hester Man one of the best kickoff return specialists, best
special teams guys ever. Uh, definitely is a Hall of
Famer when it's when it comes in time broke Dion
(01:53):
Sander's record. Uh, just so many different things and anyway
it's gonna be a good one. Devin Hester, Yo, what
what school? What part of the what part of the
world are you in right now? Man? I'm in Orlando.
You're on the Lando Which what you got going on
down there? Um? Man, you gotta stay in Orlando now,
so you know, just kind of just located here, settled
(02:15):
down man, got kids going and school and all that,
so making it my home now, I would you know,
what's funny. I was in Orlando probably about six months ago.
Well my boy Mojo, who uh who's in the w
W E. And so we're out there going around and
everything was wide open. This is like five is this
like five almost five months ago? Yeah? Yeah, that side
(02:39):
isn't that pretty much? This one open? Now? Hey? So
so that's so you're down there for like permanently, right
because I saw your kid. You were just telling your
kids when I when I seen that, the first post
that social media, uh video your son going viral, the
first thing got I saw my it's probably a couple
of years ago. I think it was. When I saw it,
(03:00):
I said, man, this world got another another. Devin Hester
like like, come on, it can't be no more. You
around like so many. I'll tell you that's when when
we used to watch film and do all this and
week you always you always gonna try to, you know,
play your best against the best. Right, so you're like, okay,
you told what he did the week before. You're sitting
(03:21):
there watching like, okay, he ain't doing that, So this
is what we're gonna do. Man, we go out there
and still do this. Man, I ain't nobody got no
nobody got nothing to say with what man, what kind
of stuff do you hear like over over the course,
like when you came in uh in No. Six you
had I mean you bawled out your rookie year. How
did how do people start looking at you and like
(03:42):
preparing for you now? Because then you already was on
the map, So at first no one knows about you.
Then you know that you kind of get put on
the map, right man, I mean to prepare like like
what we did. Man, it it's went like film. Film
tells a lot, you know. And when you watch film
and then you see the guy guy is that you
know what I mean? Hit him for twenty thirty yard
(04:04):
point return? And then you look at the speed team unit.
You black man, those guys you're hit him for twenty
third yards they didn't even have as good as we are.
We're gonna kill them. And so with that right there,
it really really motivated us when we play against because
you at the end of the day, when you watched you,
you can tell who has a good special team unit
and who has a terrible spead team unit. So I
think that right there alone, my my Speed team coach
(04:26):
Day told, man, you did a hell of a job
man preparing us man weekend and week out for that situation,
because you know you appreciate that respect, because I know
we hadn't respected just watching you. But you know, I
go into games, I'm looking like, man, this this dude
is on another level. And I remember when you when
you broke Dion's record. Was he? Let me ask you,
(04:47):
because I always always say this, was he somebody that
you you like you wanted to breaking record? Did you
ever have it known I was a person like when
I played ball, I didn't really look into a ruggers
until somebody mentioned it to me, like it was of somewhere.
I googled every week, okay, let's best most return yards?
Who has the most kickoff return touchdown? It was always
brought to me, so you know what I mean, Like
(05:08):
we have like you know, the guys that sold that
work in the office. They will come up to me
and say, hey, you know you four yards away shot
from moving up to the fifth place, and most yards
are this week coming up? You know if you have
you know what I mean, physticide yards you break somebody
else work. So I never really looked into it until
somebody brought it to my attention. So when it got
(05:29):
closer that time for the record for Den, it was
more so okay you three now you three tonsdowns away
from it. So when they told me that, that's when
it it starts settling. Okay, man, I'm getting closer and closer. Yeah, no, dude, No,
the thing is, no one really want to talk about
it and be saying, Okay, that's that's the guy looked
at and I want to break his record. And even
(05:51):
though it's not all about records, but I tell you
when I my first year, when I got to the
charges to know five, all I heard is about Junior say,
you know I just heard about and I was like, man,
if I can do and break any kind of record
of Junior say I'll have around here, then I know
that's how I'm how I'm gonna be judged and looked at.
So you know what I mean, Like you don't want
to go out and intentionally just say I'm trying to
(06:12):
break this d record but you couldn't help me. I
got close. You're like, man, this Dion Sanders, you know
what I mean? Like, that's that's for us. Man. You know,
at the end of the thing, you know, you as
Flair's like Flairs, that lovely game of football. Guys to
him that that set the temple. Like we honored up
to those guys. Those guys are like the Chilles and
(06:33):
the choices of the ancient world, you know what I mean.
So we we admire those type of guys. So and
your sister, your situation with Julia said, so when you
get closer, you know what I mean, accompanying something that
he had, it's amazing, it's big, you know what I mean.
So for me and in that situation of breaking man,
it was more so of the relationship that we dealt
(06:54):
that man, we did it, you know what I mean.
We put these these stats up on the map, you
know what I mean. And have players coming in at
a young age trying to strive to achieve these these
type of working but the NY day as a unit, men,
you are trying together as as as one and said, hey,
we did it, you know what I mean, not know
how to percent And then the next step to be
to be honest since we on that we're talking about
(07:17):
it is that is that jacket, you know what I'm saying.
Like the next thing is that And for me, what
grows in the forest, trees. Sure you know what else
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and our family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect
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(07:42):
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(08:05):
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(08:48):
you by the U S Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, and the ad Council. You know,
when I retired and I got a chance to work
in our NFL networks, my first like broadcasting gig when
I when I was all and I remember sitting up there.
I was up there with Dion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Marshall
Falk and uh and the l T and the l
T at the time didn't have it, you know, he
(09:10):
wasn't up for his jacket yet. But I was like
I was sitting up in the company like, damn, you know,
I'm the only one sitting up here without a jacket.
And I went to uh La Damien's Hall of Fame speech,
I went to Ray Lewis's and I'll probably be going
to Antonio Gates and possibly Philip Rivers if you know,
if it's up that time, does that ever click to
you at some point? Now, like it's that part of
(09:31):
it is right around the corner. And what's that gonna mean.
It's it's uh, it's it's it's so over women. I
got an opportunity to uh exparents and close close like
that situation. Uh. We had the ceremony um and Miami
with the Super Bowl when they announced the Top one
hundreds and so making that list, we uh had like
(09:56):
pretty much a whole week prior to the Super Bowl.
We come to the Super Bowl where we had seminars
and banquets and stuff like that where it was presenting
our jackets and getting out when they meet a lot
of guys. So sitting in that room a month, all
those guys man that made the Top one hundred and
all along with Hall of famers, you know, and then
(10:16):
it was like, Wow, I'm in that situation that where
all these guys right here a Hall of famous you
know what I mean. And now we're talking about the
Top one greatest with all the time and I'm in
the room right now and I don't even have I
don't even I didn't I'm the only one that didn't
made the Hall of Fame year and I'm sitting in
the room amongst the greatest Top one NFL history, and
(10:37):
it was like I felt like a rookie all over again. Man.
To be honest with you, no, I know what, let
me tell you I was. I was in the um.
I was in the room with Ray Lewis while they
knocked on the door and your your your time coming up.
So I'm gonna go ahead and break. I'm gonna be
a little spoiler. Man, that knocked. That knock is different
(10:58):
that you know, like you get a regular snock at
the door, like somebody coming to you know, you know,
turn your bed over and clean your room. You might
get somebody to come up. But that knock, man, when
they coming knock on that door, dude, is next level.
It's one of them. It's almost I think that that
right there is almost a knocker. Getting that phone call draft,
(11:18):
it feels like that's high phone be that that phone
call you get when you're sitting there way in the
room for your drugs and then you get called for draft.
That's like I would say, ten times more extreme and
more pressure. And the draft with just up, the draft
with just up, you know what I mean. So I
got a great story, man. I remember when your name
came up and I was with the Chargers, and obviously
(11:41):
we got you know, we had during spros there with
episode I knew that I was when I was in
the draft room and they were talking about you your name,
it came up. But they were also talking about different
positions too, So what what what what was that like
when you kind of were you always asking to get
on the other side of the ball and play, you know,
play different positions and stuff too. Well, that's something they
just that kind of came along, because I don't think
(12:02):
it would have came along moved me to the offense
side of the if I didn't do what I did
my first year at kickoff and return um aspect. It
was it got to the point where it was like that,
like you said, coaches, coaches read by into like new stuff,
like they what they here, like like all coaches doing
they see something the newspaper people talking about why this
(12:24):
is the best weapon they got on offense, you know
what I mean, on the offense side of the ball.
This is the best birth. So it started feeding. They
start feeding Tuo and say, hey man, we gotta moved
it got the offense. You know, it was something that
I didn't want to do. I didn't want to move
the offense. I wanted to DV you know what I mean,
and setil and make a name for myself at dB.
But when teams started kicking the ball away from me
(12:45):
and taking me out of the game for us me
getting my hands on the ball, the coaches said, we
don't have no choice but to move your offense. And
so that's why I got pushed the offense out of
the ball. That's always crazy to me, Like I would
sit back and why the Hill teams are still kicking
to this dude? That that was the That was the
first thing that came to my head, like this, these
people are crazy. They still kicking and you already took
(13:06):
one or two to the crib. There's no way you're
touching that ball again from the rest of the game,
right man. I mean that's and that we we kind
of deal with, you know. And then the more we
get talked about, I guess teams started realized the name, man,
we gotta to kick it out of We gotta kick
this ball away from this guy. Man, It's no it's
(13:26):
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(13:47):
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(14:11):
And and last thing though, before we go, because I
got I got an eleven year old son because I
always asked other other guys that I either play with
the played against. And then my son played quarterback and
they play safety, right and what? And I saw the
social media post that went viral on your son? Does
he do you? How much pressure? Because you obviously played
(14:32):
at the highest level possible, You're gonna, you know, Hall
of Famer. You know you've you've done your thing. How
much pressure do you put on your because and I'm
curious because I don't you know some of these cases
like I don't know. I don't know whether to stay
back and you know, let the coach door to step
in there and sometimes his coaches black Man Sean go
you know, do you know do you think go go
talk to the team and coach. And I kind of
wanted to sit back because I already know the pressure
(14:53):
is there for him to go out and do what
I did on the football field. Do you do you
know your son ever had that conversational just like, yo,
he's a freak athlete. Let him go and do his thing.
To my son, he was, he was. I got three boys, right,
so my oldest son, I don't want to do anything
with the ball, nothing with anything with the ball. He
(15:15):
don't want to do it. And you know, I said,
you know, I'm not gonna be that that father that
because I grew up with kids a lot of friends
that fathered pressing him into doing this and being trying
to be like they wanted to be in life. Say
you know, I'm not gonna do that, because I've seen
the relationship those kids built with their father in their dad.
But my middle one was he was just he was
(15:36):
just specially like for Christmas at the age of two
or three, years old, like all his gifts from Christmas
came from Dick's, Dick's and sports Cada stores. That's all
he wanted. That's all he wanted. He don't want to
a no trains, no trucks, no car. He didn't want
to watch, no TV, none of that. All he wanted
to do and play with balls and go outside and play.
(15:57):
That's all he wanted to do. And so he got
to the point where we were side. If I would
find myself now outside just playing kiss with him, start
coaching him up on you know, shape moves and how
to do the cone drives and how to do the
lodder drills and stuff like that. So I I stepped
from one day and I say, hey, man, if you
really want to be special you know what I mean,
(16:19):
let me know and I can coach you. Because I was.
I was, I'm in his coach, so I always was
his coaching every sport he played for him. And so
I actually, like men and him were driving home one
day for practice and I say, um, do you feel
like i'd be hard on you like when I'm coaching you?
He said, I feel like you don't when when when
I make mistakes, you you you're more and more mad,
(16:43):
and you get more louder than I for another kid
beside me do the same thing. You don't really ask,
you know, you don't really really get on him like that.
But when every time I make a mistake you get
on me. I say, man, it's a point. It's a
time and the point where coaching has to decide who
to get on you know what I mean, who can
hand it or at the end of the day, that's
really not my kids. So I can't really get hard
on him, I say, but you know what you still
(17:05):
you are right now, right so you let me know,
and I promise you I won't be mad. I'll back
away a little bit. I stepped back a little bit
if you want me to back away from you, but
if you want me to, if you want to be great,
I gotta continue to coach you like this. And I said,
you make it to say. I say, listen, this is
a dad. Is this a dad and sign talk? It's
not a coach coach? Coach has and drake and talk
this right now, it's it's a dead and father sign
(17:26):
talk right now? Okay, So I promise you I won't
be mad as I if you want me to just
come down a little bit back away, because I understand
you still young. He looked me in my eye and said, Daddy,
I want you to coach me hard. I want you.
I said, this is how you really really won't dred.
I promise you I won't be mad. He said, Dad,
(17:47):
continue to coach me this way. And tears ran from
the top of my head all the way to the
tip of my pinky toe. And he looked, Man, his
eyes got watery. That's when I knew here for real.
He said, don't let up on me. Do not let
up on the coach me the way you've been coaching me,
because I want to be great. Yea, I got I
(18:11):
got chills right now, man. That because that you know, honestly, man,
and you know it too when you when you hear that,
that's different, because that's that's not talent no more, that's
not him being a freakish athlete. That's him actually wanting
to be really like wanting to be wanting to be great,
wanting to be great. Man, I I do. I have
a quarterback coach that comes trained him once a week, um,
just to work on his fundamental is a little bit
(18:32):
and um, the guy that does it. He does like
the top top ten. I think they have like an
episode every year for the top ten quarterbacks, and he going,
he does training for all the quarterback and he goes
around to a couple of colleges and work out with
some of the kids. But he's actually training my my son,
like once a week. And he said, you know what,
he said, you're a son. I only coach two kids
(18:56):
that's under eight, your son and another son because he's
my close friend. He said, it it's hard to coach
eight years because the way I coach. After the first
day they break down crime and they said they don't
want to do it no more. It's too much precious,
too much thinking. He said. I was so shocked. He said,
I did all I can to break your son to
make your son said he's not ready for it, and
he didn't. He said, all your son did with pout,
(19:19):
but he never quit. He said, that's that's that's shocking
right there, that he really really wants to do it
at the early age. And you know early too, man,
because that because because that you can't teach them that
there there's no way for you to make him tough.
No made no way to make them want to go
out and do that. So if he got if he
had that mentality now and that when he was, you know,
eight years old, yeah yeah, man, Hey, So so what else, Man?
(19:42):
What else you got going? You're coaching, you got you know,
some business, some businesses going. Uh. Man, I'm really really
like you. We both know when you play in the
game of sports, man, it's really no faminize. So the
minute I returned, man, I said, you know what it's
is for me the fartherest time for me to have
makeup time. This is all I wanna makeup time, Like
(20:03):
I want to really really be able to see my
kids go to school like when I played ball. I've
never seen my kids go to school on the first
dale school. I never seen him get dressed for school,
you know what I mean, only little school classes and
little shows that I devil got a chance to attend. It.
I say, no, for me, it's more makeup time. And
I just had another one. He's three now. But I'm
at the point right now where I'm just it's it's
(20:24):
it's all that that, It's all about the kids now.
So I'm more relaxed. I got to own a couple
of commercial spots, a couple of running properly home. But
other than that, I'm just shipping back. Man, just and
join my family. Do do a my dude. Man, appreciate
you for coming on. I'm gonna be out there too
that when that jackets, so look in the crowd, I
come find you, Okay. Man, appreciate you, guys, have me man,
(20:45):
my dog man appreciate you. Okay, y'all gotta take it easy.
Thanks guys for listening. Then to another lights Out podcast
with me Sean Merriman. Uh, and that was dope. Man.
You're a couple of things right. So the cool thing
about me doing this podcast is, you know, you you
play with a lot of guys. You play against a
lot of guys and some some guys here and there.
(21:07):
You don't get a chance to be around that much
because you'll get a chance to talk to him and
you see what they're doing a football field, You see
how great they are and what they do in their craft.
But to hear what they got going on and and uh,
Devin Heston has a ton of going on, and I'm
glad he's getting that chance to spend with his kids. Uh,
right after they finished going FIRA mean he he has
(21:27):
some explosive athletic kid. Man, it's all in the gene,
So defensive players. Ten fifteen years from now, you're gonna
be hating another Haster out there in the field. So
I appreciate Devin Haster for coming on. Thank you guys
for listening. Then to another Lights out of podcast, Meet
Sean Merriman, uh and keep turning in UH leaving these
great reviews. Subscribing I get a chance to read them
(21:49):
here and there. I try to comment, but most important
lead Bell's reviews. Man, it helps out a lot. Thanks
for following us. Next week we're back again. Northern Ireland
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(22:12):
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Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told
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(22:34):
Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or subscribe
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(00:22):
and adapts to your lifestyle, head to Amazon dot com
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(00:46):
girls in the forest, our imagination and our family bonds.
The forest is closer than you think. Find a fourth
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count Though. Are you ready for this? Jean Merriman a
one hand ef back Boom boom, boom, out go the light.
(01:10):
This is lights out with Sean Merriman. What's up, guys?
Welcome to another lights Out Podcast with me Seawan Merriman,
and uh, we got a great one today. When I
mean great, one of the greatest guys who's ever done it.
Um punt return to kickoff return to specialists. Throw him
on the offense side of the ball. I hate it.
I mean any defensive player let me tell you if
(01:31):
you don't hate this dude, to play against him because
he's so damn dynamic. Um he's had so explosive, so
creative and just make you know something from nothing. Devin
Hester Man one of the best kickoff return specialists, best
special teams guys ever. Uh, definitely is a Hall of
Famer when it's when it comes in time broke Dion
(01:53):
Sander's record. Uh, just so many different things and anyway
it's gonna be a good one. Devin Hester, Yo, what
what school? What part of the what part of the
world are you in right now? Man? I'm in Orlando.
You're on the Lando Which what you got going on
down there? Um? Man, you gotta stay in Orlando now,
so you know, just kind of just located here, settled
(02:15):
down man, got kids going and school and all that,
so making it my home now, I would you know,
what's funny. I was in Orlando probably about six months ago.
Well my boy Mojo, who uh who's in the w
W E. And so we're out there going around and
everything was wide open. This is like five is this
like five almost five months ago? Yeah? Yeah, that side
(02:39):
isn't that pretty much? This one open? Now? Hey? So
so that's so you're down there for like permanently, right
because I saw your kid. You were just telling your
kids when I when I seen that, the first post
that social media, uh video your son going viral, the
first thing got I saw my it's probably a couple
of years ago. I think it was. When I saw it,
(03:00):
I said, man, this world got another another. Devin Hester
like like, come on, it can't be no more. You
around like so many. I'll tell you that's when when
we used to watch film and do all this and
week you always you always gonna try to, you know,
play your best against the best. Right, so you're like, okay,
you told what he did the week before. You're sitting
(03:21):
there watching like, okay, he ain't doing that, So this
is what we're gonna do. Man, we go out there
and still do this. Man, I ain't nobody got no
nobody got nothing to say with what man, what kind
of stuff do you hear like over over the course,
like when you came in uh in No. Six you
had I mean you bawled out your rookie year. How
did how do people start looking at you and like
(03:42):
preparing for you now? Because then you already was on
the map, So at first no one knows about you.
Then you know that you kind of get put on
the map, right man, I mean to prepare like like
what we did. Man, it it's went like film. Film
tells a lot, you know. And when you watch film
and then you see the guy guy is that you
know what I mean? Hit him for twenty thirty yard
(04:04):
point return? And then you look at the speed team unit.
You black man, those guys you're hit him for twenty
third yards they didn't even have as good as we are.
We're gonna kill them. And so with that right there,
it really really motivated us when we play against because
you at the end of the day, when you watched you,
you can tell who has a good special team unit
and who has a terrible spead team unit. So I
think that right there alone, my my Speed team coach
(04:26):
Day told, man, you did a hell of a job
man preparing us man weekend and week out for that situation,
because you know you appreciate that respect, because I know
we hadn't respected just watching you. But you know, I
go into games, I'm looking like, man, this this dude
is on another level. And I remember when you when
you broke Dion's record. Was he? Let me ask you,
(04:47):
because I always always say this, was he somebody that
you you like you wanted to breaking record? Did you
ever have it known I was a person like when
I played ball, I didn't really look into a ruggers
until somebody mentioned it to me, like it was of somewhere.
I googled every week, okay, let's best most return yards?
Who has the most kickoff return touchdown? It was always
brought to me, so you know what I mean, Like
(05:08):
we have like you know, the guys that sold that
work in the office. They will come up to me
and say, hey, you know you four yards away shot
from moving up to the fifth place, and most yards
are this week coming up? You know if you have
you know what I mean, physticide yards you break somebody
else work. So I never really looked into it until
somebody brought it to my attention. So when it got
(05:29):
closer that time for the record for Den, it was
more so okay you three now you three tonsdowns away
from it. So when they told me that, that's when
it it starts settling. Okay, man, I'm getting closer and closer. Yeah, no, dude, No,
the thing is, no one really want to talk about
it and be saying, Okay, that's that's the guy looked
at and I want to break his record. And even
(05:51):
though it's not all about records, but I tell you
when I my first year, when I got to the
charges to know five, all I heard is about Junior say,
you know I just heard about and I was like, man,
if I can do and break any kind of record
of Junior say I'll have around here, then I know
that's how I'm how I'm gonna be judged and looked at.
So you know what I mean, Like you don't want
to go out and intentionally just say I'm trying to
(06:12):
break this d record but you couldn't help me. I
got close. You're like, man, this Dion Sanders, you know
what I mean? Like, that's that's for us. Man. You know,
at the end of the thing, you know, you as
Flair's like Flairs, that lovely game of football. Guys to
him that that set the temple. Like we honored up
to those guys. Those guys are like the Chilles and
(06:33):
the choices of the ancient world, you know what I mean.
So we we admire those type of guys. So and
your sister, your situation with Julia said, so when you
get closer, you know what I mean, accompanying something that
he had, it's amazing, it's big, you know what I mean.
So for me and in that situation of breaking man,
it was more so of the relationship that we dealt
(06:54):
that man, we did it, you know what I mean.
We put these these stats up on the map, you
know what I mean. And have players coming in at
a young age trying to strive to achieve these these
type of working but the NY day as a unit, men,
you are trying together as as as one and said, hey,
we did it, you know what I mean, not know
how to percent And then the next step to be
to be honest since we on that we're talking about
(07:17):
it is that is that jacket, you know what I'm saying.
Like the next thing is that And for me, what
grows in the forest, trees. Sure you know what else
grows in the forest. Our imagination, our sense of wonder,
and our family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect
from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other.
(07:42):
The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest
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(08:05):
to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see
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(08:28):
and we're here to change that. I'm April Denuity, host
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(08:48):
you by the U S Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, and the ad Council. You know,
when I retired and I got a chance to work
in our NFL networks, my first like broadcasting gig when
I when I was all and I remember sitting up there.
I was up there with Dion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Marshall
Falk and uh and the l T and the l
T at the time didn't have it, you know, he
(09:10):
wasn't up for his jacket yet. But I was like
I was sitting up in the company like, damn, you know,
I'm the only one sitting up here without a jacket.
And I went to uh La Damien's Hall of Fame speech,
I went to Ray Lewis's and I'll probably be going
to Antonio Gates and possibly Philip Rivers if you know,
if it's up that time, does that ever click to
you at some point? Now, like it's that part of
(09:31):
it is right around the corner. And what's that gonna mean.
It's it's uh, it's it's it's so over women. I
got an opportunity to uh exparents and close close like
that situation. Uh. We had the ceremony um and Miami
with the Super Bowl when they announced the Top one
hundreds and so making that list, we uh had like
(09:56):
pretty much a whole week prior to the Super Bowl.
We come to the Super Bowl where we had seminars
and banquets and stuff like that where it was presenting
our jackets and getting out when they meet a lot
of guys. So sitting in that room a month, all
those guys man that made the Top one hundred and
all along with Hall of famers, you know, and then
(10:16):
it was like, Wow, I'm in that situation that where
all these guys right here a Hall of famous you
know what I mean. And now we're talking about the
Top one greatest with all the time and I'm in
the room right now and I don't even have I
don't even I didn't I'm the only one that didn't
made the Hall of Fame year and I'm sitting in
the room amongst the greatest Top one NFL history, and
(10:37):
it was like I felt like a rookie all over again. Man.
To be honest with you, no, I know what, let
me tell you I was. I was in the um.
I was in the room with Ray Lewis while they
knocked on the door and your your your time coming up.
So I'm gonna go ahead and break. I'm gonna be
a little spoiler. Man, that knocked. That knock is different
(10:58):
that you know, like you get a regular snock at
the door, like somebody coming to you know, you know,
turn your bed over and clean your room. You might
get somebody to come up. But that knock, man, when
they coming knock on that door, dude, is next level.
It's one of them. It's almost I think that that
right there is almost a knocker. Getting that phone call draft,
(11:18):
it feels like that's high phone be that that phone
call you get when you're sitting there way in the
room for your drugs and then you get called for draft.
That's like I would say, ten times more extreme and
more pressure. And the draft with just up, the draft
with just up, you know what I mean. So I
got a great story, man. I remember when your name
came up and I was with the Chargers, and obviously
(11:41):
we got you know, we had during spros there with
episode I knew that I was when I was in
the draft room and they were talking about you your name,
it came up. But they were also talking about different
positions too, So what what what what was that like
when you kind of were you always asking to get
on the other side of the ball and play, you know,
play different positions and stuff too. Well, that's something they
just that kind of came along, because I don't think
(12:02):
it would have came along moved me to the offense
side of the if I didn't do what I did
my first year at kickoff and return um aspect. It
was it got to the point where it was like that,
like you said, coaches, coaches read by into like new stuff,
like they what they here, like like all coaches doing
they see something the newspaper people talking about why this
(12:24):
is the best weapon they got on offense, you know
what I mean, on the offense side of the ball.
This is the best birth. So it started feeding. They
start feeding Tuo and say, hey man, we gotta moved
it got the offense. You know, it was something that
I didn't want to do. I didn't want to move
the offense. I wanted to DV you know what I mean,
and setil and make a name for myself at dB.
But when teams started kicking the ball away from me
(12:45):
and taking me out of the game for us me
getting my hands on the ball, the coaches said, we
don't have no choice but to move your offense. And
so that's why I got pushed the offense out of
the ball. That's always crazy to me, Like I would
sit back and why the Hill teams are still kicking
to this dude? That that was the That was the
first thing that came to my head, like this, these
people are crazy. They still kicking and you already took
(13:06):
one or two to the crib. There's no way you're
touching that ball again from the rest of the game,
right man. I mean that's and that we we kind
of deal with, you know. And then the more we
get talked about, I guess teams started realized the name, man,
we gotta to kick it out of We gotta kick
this ball away from this guy. Man, It's no it's
(13:26):
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(14:11):
And and last thing though, before we go, because I
got I got an eleven year old son because I
always asked other other guys that I either play with
the played against. And then my son played quarterback and
they play safety, right and what? And I saw the
social media post that went viral on your son? Does
he do you? How much pressure? Because you obviously played
(14:32):
at the highest level possible, You're gonna, you know, Hall
of Famer. You know you've you've done your thing. How
much pressure do you put on your because and I'm
curious because I don't you know some of these cases
like I don't know. I don't know whether to stay
back and you know, let the coach door to step
in there and sometimes his coaches black Man Sean go
you know, do you know do you think go go
talk to the team and coach. And I kind of
wanted to sit back because I already know the pressure
(14:53):
is there for him to go out and do what
I did on the football field. Do you do you
know your son ever had that conversational just like, yo,
he's a freak athlete. Let him go and do his thing.
To my son, he was, he was. I got three boys, right,
so my oldest son, I don't want to do anything
with the ball, nothing with anything with the ball. He
(15:15):
don't want to do it. And you know, I said,
you know, I'm not gonna be that that father that
because I grew up with kids a lot of friends
that fathered pressing him into doing this and being trying
to be like they wanted to be in life. Say
you know, I'm not gonna do that, because I've seen
the relationship those kids built with their father in their dad.
But my middle one was he was just he was
(15:36):
just specially like for Christmas at the age of two
or three, years old, like all his gifts from Christmas
came from Dick's, Dick's and sports Cada stores. That's all
he wanted. That's all he wanted. He don't want to
a no trains, no trucks, no car. He didn't want
to watch, no TV, none of that. All he wanted
to do and play with balls and go outside and play.
(15:57):
That's all he wanted to do. And so he got
to the point where we were side. If I would
find myself now outside just playing kiss with him, start
coaching him up on you know, shape moves and how
to do the cone drives and how to do the
lodder drills and stuff like that. So I I stepped
from one day and I say, hey, man, if you
really want to be special you know what I mean,
(16:19):
let me know and I can coach you. Because I was.
I was, I'm in his coach, so I always was
his coaching every sport he played for him. And so
I actually, like men and him were driving home one
day for practice and I say, um, do you feel
like i'd be hard on you like when I'm coaching you?
He said, I feel like you don't when when when
I make mistakes, you you you're more and more mad,
(16:43):
and you get more louder than I for another kid
beside me do the same thing. You don't really ask,
you know, you don't really really get on him like that.
But when every time I make a mistake you get
on me. I say, man, it's a point. It's a
time and the point where coaching has to decide who
to get on you know what I mean, who can
hand it or at the end of the day, that's
really not my kids. So I can't really get hard
on him, I say, but you know what you still
(17:05):
you are right now, right so you let me know,
and I promise you I won't be mad. I'll back
away a little bit. I stepped back a little bit
if you want me to back away from you, but
if you want me to, if you want to be great,
I gotta continue to coach you like this. And I said,
you make it to say. I say, listen, this is
a dad. Is this a dad and sign talk? It's
not a coach coach? Coach has and drake and talk
this right now, it's it's a dead and father sign
(17:26):
talk right now? Okay, So I promise you I won't
be mad as I if you want me to just
come down a little bit back away, because I understand
you still young. He looked me in my eye and said, Daddy,
I want you to coach me hard. I want you.
I said, this is how you really really won't dred.
I promise you I won't be mad. He said, Dad,
(17:47):
continue to coach me this way. And tears ran from
the top of my head all the way to the
tip of my pinky toe. And he looked, Man, his
eyes got watery. That's when I knew here for real.
He said, don't let up on me. Do not let
up on the coach me the way you've been coaching me,
because I want to be great. Yea, I got I
(18:11):
got chills right now, man. That because that you know, honestly, man,
and you know it too when you when you hear that,
that's different, because that's that's not talent no more, that's
not him being a freakish athlete. That's him actually wanting
to be really like wanting to be wanting to be great,
wanting to be great. Man, I I do. I have
a quarterback coach that comes trained him once a week, um,
just to work on his fundamental is a little bit
(18:32):
and um, the guy that does it. He does like
the top top ten. I think they have like an
episode every year for the top ten quarterbacks, and he going,
he does training for all the quarterback and he goes
around to a couple of colleges and work out with
some of the kids. But he's actually training my my son,
like once a week. And he said, you know what,
he said, you're a son. I only coach two kids
(18:56):
that's under eight, your son and another son because he's
my close friend. He said, it it's hard to coach
eight years because the way I coach. After the first
day they break down crime and they said they don't
want to do it no more. It's too much precious,
too much thinking. He said. I was so shocked. He said,
I did all I can to break your son to
make your son said he's not ready for it, and
he didn't. He said, all your son did with pout,
(19:19):
but he never quit. He said, that's that's that's shocking
right there, that he really really wants to do it
at the early age. And you know early too, man,
because that because because that you can't teach them that
there there's no way for you to make him tough.
No made no way to make them want to go
out and do that. So if he got if he
had that mentality now and that when he was, you know,
eight years old, yeah yeah, man, Hey, So so what else, Man?
(19:42):
What else you got going? You're coaching, you got you know,
some business, some businesses going. Uh. Man, I'm really really
like you. We both know when you play in the
game of sports, man, it's really no faminize. So the
minute I returned, man, I said, you know what it's
is for me the fartherest time for me to have
makeup time. This is all I wanna makeup time, Like
(20:03):
I want to really really be able to see my
kids go to school like when I played ball. I've
never seen my kids go to school on the first
dale school. I never seen him get dressed for school,
you know what I mean, only little school classes and
little shows that I devil got a chance to attend. It.
I say, no, for me, it's more makeup time. And
I just had another one. He's three now. But I'm
at the point right now where I'm just it's it's
(20:24):
it's all that that, It's all about the kids now.
So I'm more relaxed. I got to own a couple
of commercial spots, a couple of running properly home. But
other than that, I'm just shipping back. Man, just and
join my family. Do do a my dude. Man, appreciate
you for coming on. I'm gonna be out there too
that when that jackets, so look in the crowd, I
come find you, Okay. Man, appreciate you, guys, have me man,
(20:45):
my dog man appreciate you. Okay, y'all gotta take it easy.
Thanks guys for listening. Then to another lights Out podcast
with me Sean Merriman. Uh, and that was dope. Man.
You're a couple of things right. So the cool thing
about me doing this podcast is, you know, you you
play with a lot of guys. You play against a
lot of guys and some some guys here and there.
(21:07):
You don't get a chance to be around that much
because you'll get a chance to talk to him and
you see what they're doing a football field, You see
how great they are and what they do in their craft.
But to hear what they got going on and and uh,
Devin Heston has a ton of going on, and I'm
glad he's getting that chance to spend with his kids. Uh,
right after they finished going FIRA mean he he has
(21:27):
some explosive athletic kid. Man, it's all in the gene,
So defensive players. Ten fifteen years from now, you're gonna
be hating another Haster out there in the field. So
I appreciate Devin Haster for coming on. Thank you guys
for listening. Then to another Lights out of podcast, Meet
Sean Merriman, uh and keep turning in UH leaving these
great reviews. Subscribing I get a chance to read them
(21:49):
here and there. I try to comment, but most important
lead Bell's reviews. Man, it helps out a lot. Thanks
for following us. Next week we're back again. Northern Ireland
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(22:12):
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and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinuity, host
of the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt Us Kids.
Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told
by the families that lived them. With commentary from experts.
(22:34):
Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or subscribe
to Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt us Kids, brought to
you by the U. S Department of Health, that Human
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(22:55):
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