Turning Setbacks Into Startups with Debo Williams

Summary

Barely Famous Podcast

Episode: Turning Setbacks Into Startups with Debo Williams

Host: Kail Lowry
Guest: Debo Williams
Date: November 21, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Barely Famous, host Kail Lowry sits down with athlete-turned-entrepreneur Debo Williams. The conversation dives into Debo's journey from being an under-recruited football player in Delaware to playing at the University of South Carolina, his experiences navigating the college football recruitment system, the realities of going undrafted in the NFL, and his pivot to founding the "Spender Hotline" app. The interview is candid, motivational, and packed with insights on persistence, seizing opportunity, and redefining success after setbacks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Debo’s Background and Early Athletic Career

• Born and raised in Delaware, attended Smyrna High School.
• Nicknamed "Debo" after the intimidating character in the movie Friday, because of his aggressive playing style on the field (03:00).
• Youth sports were ingrained in his family—his dad, uncles, and many relatives played football.
• Early ambition: "I was just kind of always taught to be the best. So every single thing I try to do, just always try to dominate it." – Debo (03:00)

2. Navigating Youth Football and Recruitment

• Family wrestled with safety concerns surrounding tackle football, particularly CTE (03:49).
• Debo started as an inside linebacker at age 5 and played that position through college.
• Under-recruited in high school; lacked exposure and relied on self-promotion through platforms like Hudl, camps, and persistent outreach to coaches on social media (06:08).

"I was severely under recruited and severely doubted...so I didn't have much help. I was posting as much as I could, trying to get coaches to see it...sending them my highlights on Twitter, Instagram, wherever I could find them." – Debo (06:08)

• Most big schools want athletes with certain physical traits, which disadvantages those outside recruiting norms (07:48).
• Eventually accepted a full-ride scholarship to the University of Delaware.

3. Making "The Leap": From Delaware to South Carolina

• COVID canceled Delaware’s football season; meanwhile, bigger schools were still playing.
• Close friend Marshawn Lloyd, at South Carolina, put Debo in touch with coaches. Debo entered the transfer portal, risking his scholarship for a bigger opportunity (09:34).
• South Carolina offered him a full ride shortly after; family initially uncomfortable, but Debo trusted his intuition to chase his bigger goals (16:36).

“This is my first true grown man move. And it’s like, I seen something for myself that I got to take this opportunity now...” – Debo (17:06)
“Once they got to South Carolina, they fell in love... it was like, okay, he might have made the right decision.” – Debo (17:26)

4. Culture Shock & Competition at a Power Five School

• Noted huge leap in competitiveness and talent at South Carolina—“alpha on top of alpha” environment (15:30).
• Had to fight for starting time; made early impact on special teams by breaking a school record in his first game (19:45).
• Discussed the balancing act between brotherhood with teammates and fierce internal competition for NFL spots (20:16).

"Every year, them coaches are bringing in players to take your spot because their job is on the line. You gotta be at the best of your game at all times." – Debo (20:02)

5. Turning Point & NFL Aspirations

• Standout games against Missouri (10 tackles) and Florida (two sacks on Anthony Richardson, now with the Colts) boosted Debo’s NFL prospects (21:49).
• Transitioned from being a key college player to free agency after going undrafted, continuing to train and stay ready for opportunities (23:00).

6. Embracing Setbacks & Pivoting to Entrepreneurship

• Post-NFL draft, began focusing on entrepreneurship. Created Spender Hotline, inspired post-Steelers minicamp while sitting on his friend’s couch (28:07).

“I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I thought I would go into real estate...then ideas just started coming, as far as my logos, the name...It was like the Holy Spirit was over me.” – Debo (28:33)

• Spender Hotline aims to connect people seeking advice or knowledge to real people via paid consultations—“the biggest hotline in the world” (24:54, 62:37).
• Sees the app as a way to give jobs to people in all markets, foster entrepreneurship for himself and others, and offer a tech alternative to AI-generated advice (25:55, 64:09).

"This is for every market. When you think of Amazon, Amazon has every market on it. My app, my hotline, you can talk about anything on there." – Debo (25:55)

7. The Importance of Multiple Avenues and Financial Literacy

• Reflects on the pitfalls of professional sports: NFL can mean “Not For Long,” and financial windfalls don’t last without planning (31:19, 58:32).
• Highlights the double-edged sword of the new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals: helpful for some, dangerous without education and support (57:05).

“NFL truly stands for not for long. Yes, everybody can’t be Pat Mahomes...so you might make a mil or two, but that doesn't always last.” – Debo (31:19)

8. Youth Sports, Parenting, and the Drive to Succeed

• Candid discussion about the current culture of intensive youth sports and parental involvement; Debo credits his parents with balanced and motivational support (35:26).
• Emphasizes not all kids need early hyper-specialization; mentality and dedication are as important as natural gifts (41:51, 45:35).
• Shares background of being raised by teen parents who had to learn along the way alongside him (43:52), adding another layer to his perspective on opportunity and perseverance.

"If it was easy, everybody would do it." – Debo quoting his father’s favorite mantra (32:51)

9. Social Media’s Impact on College Sports

• Social media is a double-edged sword for athletes: opportunity to build a brand and generate new income, but also a source of pressure and potential negativity (61:14).

“You got kids that would be depressed...you’ll have fans going crazy on you, talking crazy. It can toughen you, or it can crumble you.” – Debo (61:14)

10. Future Plans & Final Takeaways

• Debo expresses faith and confidence in Spender Hotline’s growth and his ability to inspire young athletes—especially black and brown youth—that there are multiple paths to success, not just athletics (29:15, 62:37, 64:09).

“You just have to put the work in, the time, and the effort.” – Debo (64:39)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Believing in Yourself:
  “I believed in myself enough to do it, but most of the time, when people take that jump, they end up going back down because they just can’t handle it.” (19:45)

• On Entrepreneurship After Sports:
  “I feel like I got a chance to make such a bigger impact and change a lot of people’s lives...I could do that in coaching, but I’d rather do it worldwide to what I’m about to do right now.” (61:12)

• On Persistence & Asking For Help:
  “You can’t be afraid to just ask people...don’t ask for handouts, but ask for resources.” (30:58)

• On Accepting Setbacks:
  “As soon as you accept that life isn’t fair, the better off you’ll be.” (55:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:17] – How Debo got his nickname
• [06:08] – The recruiting process and being overlooked
• [09:34] – The leap from University of Delaware to South Carolina
• [15:30] – Adjusting to Power Five school culture
• [19:45] – First big college gameplay moments
• [23:49] – Introduction of Spender Hotline and its concept
• [28:07] – Birth of entrepreneurial focus post-NFL setback
• [35:26] – Parental involvement in youth sports
• [41:51] – Advice for parents of “mediocre” youth athletes
• [46:39] – The process of declaring for the NFL Draft
• [50:33] – Experience of going undrafted, dealing with NFL politics
• [57:05] – Discussion of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) and athlete compensation
• [61:14] – The complex impact of social media on athletes
• [62:37] – Debo’s vision for Spender Hotline & future plans

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Where to Find Debo Williams and Spender Hotline

• Instagram: @teamdebo0
• TikTok: @teamdebo0
• Twitter: @DeboWilliams
• Spender Hotline: [App Store] / spenderhotline.com

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a raw, motivational look at what it means to reinvent yourself after disappointment, the realities behind the glitz of student-athlete life, and the power of channeling setbacks into entrepreneurial impact. Debo’s perspective is a call to pursue your purpose boldly, ask for help and resources, and always keep creating new avenues—on or off the field.

Transcript

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[A]

Welcome to the show. Things are going to get weird. It's your fave villain, Kale, and you're listening to Barely Famous.

[B]

You.

[A]

All right, welcome back to the Barely Famous podcast. Today I'm sitting with Debo Williams. Thank you for joining us.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

So we met in 2021 through mutual friends in Delaware. You were born and raised in Delaware and then you started playing football for South Carolina.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, before that, where did you go to high school?

[B]

I went to Smyrna High School.

[A]

Oh, you did?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[B]

Born and raised in Delaware.

[A]

Okay. And you're. Everyone calls you Debo?

[B]

Yup.

[A]

But what is your real name?

[B]

Is Daryl.

[A]

Okay. And how did you get the nickname Debo?

[B]

So I don't know if you ever seen Friday. Friday is basically the guy Debo in the movie. He's a big bully. Always been a Bully on the field.

[A]

Were you a bully?

[B]

Big bully. On the field.

[A]

On the field.

[B]

Outside. Outside. Now I wasn't, but on the field, I was a big bully for sure. So I got that name when I was around, like, five or six years old.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Kind of stuck.

[A]

Like, your family even called you.

[B]

Everybody calls me Diva.

[A]

Wow, that's so funny. We were just talking about nicknames before you got here, and my kids have already three letter names, but somehow they have nicknames now. It's like, why are we calling Rio eo? You know what I mean? So I love that. So you. You were an athlete throughout your whole childhood into high school, and what was that like?

[B]

I was just kind of always taught to be the best. And so it started off with football. I played a little bit of basketball, but it was just, if you're going to do it, you're going to dominate in it, you know? So every single thing I try to do, just always try to dominate it.

[A]

Did you go to your parents one day and just say, I want to play football?

[B]

Nah, I started off with that. Like, my mom and dad put me into it, but dad always. He was real big in football. My uncles played, dad played, everybody played. And it was like, it's kind of just something we did, you know, And I was naturally good at it, you know, so he kind of just honed in on my. On me being better at it, you know, perfecting the craft.

[A]

I know that there's a little bit of controversy surrounding tackle football and youth and things like that. And so it's interesting when certain families, it's like all they know we're going to put our kids in football and there's no controversy for them. And then there are other families who are like, oh, I don't know, because of, you know, cte. Is it CTE and things like that. Was that ever a concern for your family?

[B]

Oh, yeah. Especially the way I played, too, because I'm very aggressive, very physical. But I came in at a time where nothing was banned yet, so it was a lot of. Even at an early age, it was smacking helmets, you know, so could have been a lot of CTE awareness.

[A]

It's interesting, though, because, I mean, you know, my son Lincoln, he's about to be 12, and he played football. I think he started when he was seven. And I. People ask me about it all the time, and I think that the hits at that age are sort of. They're all relative, right? So, like, the kids are not really huge. There's maybe one or two kids that's significantly bigger than the rest. So the hits are all relative. Not saying that there can't be any injuries at that time, but I do think that, you know, as you get older and then there's growth spurts and bigger kids for their ages, I think that's where it gets a little bit concerning. But I. I loved being a football mom like that. I think out of all the sports my kids have played, football parents are the craziest, the most.

[B]

Now, how old is Lincoln?

[A]

He'll be 12 next month.

[B]

Oh, yeah. It's just a beginner for you, though.

[A]

Well, he stopped playing football and now he's doing basketball and soccer. Okay. My other kids want to play football, and if I could put them all in football, I would because I loved it so much.

[B]

It's probably the best time because they're starting to change, especially NFL, you know, making it a little bit better. They got these padded helmets now and stuff, so they trying to definitely be protective.

[A]

I've seen like the. You can get your head scanned to have like the football helmet fit you better, and I think that's cool.

[B]

Yeah, they definitely making a lot of. To where you can not be as hurt or CC awareness.

[A]

So you go to Smyrna High, you play football. What position did you play? And did you keep that same position throughout your career?

[B]

It's crazy because when you start off young, you switch positions a lot. But I've always played inside linebackers since I was 5 years old, since I started football.

[A]

Oh, okay. So you played that even when you went to college?

[B]

Even when I went to college.

[A]

Oh, wow, that's crazy. So you go to. You went to South Carolina?

[B]

Yep. So crazy story. I started at the University of Delaware.

[A]

You did?

[B]

Yep, I did. I started there for a semester during.

[A]

COVID Did you get a scholarship or how did that work? Okay, because I wanted to ask you about that. I wanted to ask you about, you know, just the. The process, the scouting, all of that, because I think there are so many youth athletes who sort of don't know where to start or how to get looked at. So what was that like, that whole process in high school? Did people come find you?

[B]

And I was severely under recruited and severely doubted. And so during high school, I. I didn't have that much help. I didn't know a lot. Like you said, as kids, they don'. Know. So they got something called Huddle to where all the film is on for all the kids that's watching. And with that, I was posting as much as I could to Try to get coaches to see it. I'm sending them everything on Twitter, Instagram, wherever I could find coaches on social media, I'm sending them my highlights. And before you know it, I start going to a lot of camps and things of that nature. Different colleges, not getting the offers that I wanted. I end up getting some smaller school offers. I was getting like Villanova, Elon, Coastal.

[A]

Carolina, small school Villanova. What do you mean?

[B]

So they're as far as education, they might be good. Football a little bit smaller. And so I was trying to get to the bigger schools, like a South Carolina, like a Alabama, Georgia. I was trying to get to those schools and they just wasn't really seeing me because I wasn't the fastest, I wasn't the strongest, the quickest. I'm not that tall. I'm like 6 foot. But in their minds, they want the 6, 4, 65 guy that's super fast. And I was always up there mentally, I was always stronger, better than everybody else. I was willing to outwork you, but you can't see that on film necessarily. So that's why I went under, recruited. But I got the opportunity later on, which we'll get into that to how I got to South Carolina.

[A]

Yeah, well, no, help. Help me understand because I thought that it was kind of like a smooth.

[B]

I wish it was journey for you. I wish it was smooth. But it made me into who I am today.

[A]

What would be? I guess the process in order to be seen and to be scouted and to be recruited.

[B]

Honestly, it helps when you have somebody who's been through that process that can show you how to do it. But it starts with genetics. Like when they see your size and you coming in at an early age. When you come in at ninth grade, you got a great size already. You know, they should. They recruit that.

[A]

So they're already looking at. In ninth grade.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. If you have the size for it. If your size looks like something called FCSD1, I mean FBSD1, which is Power 5 schools, like all your big schools, like Mississippi, like Duke, all the schools that start with their state, if this state name starts with that, at that university of. It's probably a big school. And so they start early because they trying to find the next thing, the next big thing.

[A]

So if you're. If you already have the genetics stacked against you, like you're just not, you know, the height or the speed or whatever it is that they're looking for, you sort of are already getting overlooked.

[B]

You chop. That's what they say. You beat.

[A]

So how did you ultimately get South Carolina to be interested?

[B]

So I end up taking my offer to the University of Delaware. I'm there for about three or four months. During COVID they cancel our season. Covid shut everything down, but the bigger schools was still playing, so South Carolina was playing. So I technically got red shirted as a freshman. Never.

[A]

What is red shirting?

[B]

Red shirt means you're not really prepared to play. So you probably either they don't think you're ready to play college football, so you need to put some weight on, or your grades aren't that good. But with COVID happening, everybody got red shirt. You got another year added on to you because you didn't get a chance to play. So I wasn't really a red shirt because I was ready to play, but I got red shirted because they canceled our season. So I had a running back. His name is one of my closest friends, too. Grew up with him. His name is Marshawn Luig. He plays for the packers right now.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

He was at the University of South Carolina playing running back at the time, and they needed some linebackers, so it was the new coach. Hire Coach Beamer. He's there right now. They had a coach named Mus Champ, though that was there beforehand.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And so Beamer asks him. He's like, you know any linebackers? He was like, I may got somebody for you. So Marshawn's like, man, you got to take this jump.

[A]

You.

[B]

You feel me? I can't have the coaches talk to you. That's illegal. But if you go into the portal, they may take a chance on you. Now, I'm already on a full ride at University of Delaware, so.

[A]

So they University of Delaware offered you a full ride?

[B]

Yep. And I'm there at the school I'm already at. It's almost like, imagine you working for a podcast company, right? And you get there, you're there for a couple months. This podcast company took a chance on you, but now you got a bigger podcast company calling you, and this can change your life. And you kind of like, ah, do I owe them loyalty? Because if that company, if that owner had a chance to jump, they would jump instantly. Imagine your owner being one of my coaches. They would jump to take another job instantly if it's a bigger job. So I had to kind of think for myself, and I'm like, I want to go to a bigger school anyway. I gotta. I gotta take that jump.

[A]

So what happens to the full ride? Nothing.

[B]

It kind of technically transfers to South Carolina. They put me on full ride. Now once I got there, because I go, I went into the transfer portal and a couple days go by, I hear nothing from nobody. So now in my head I'm like, oh, what am I gonna do? I just made a dumb move. But a couple days go by and they end up contacting me. And that was on January 2nd of 2021. So I was at UD in 2020. From August to December, I go into the transfer portal. 2021 is here now. January 2nd, they offered me a full ride. I was moved in by January 7th.

[A]

Were you ever concerned about the financial aspect of it? Right? Because I mean, UD is such a good school. And you're like, I have a full ride. Right? Like to me, I don't ever hear about people getting full rides. You get a scholarship here and there, but a full ride to ud to me, if my one of my kids got that, I'd be like you. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah, definitely. It's just, it depends on what your goals are, you know, I wasn't necessarily using college for education purposes as far as what I was trying to do. What I was in school for was communications. You can get a communication degree in any school, you know. So I wasn't, I didn't necessarily need University of Delaware for education purposes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And my mind was on, I'm trying to get to the best type of football schools I can be in.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I had got given that opportunity so I was willing to take it.

[A]

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Store and let the games begin. So you get to University of South Carolina, and you're right, you were no longer red shirted at that point or you were red shirted.

[B]

So they would say I was a red shirt freshman. Like, it just continues on.

[A]

Okay, yeah. So tell me about how that experience was going there.

[B]

Yeah, so I get there and it's. It's a whole different nature. Everything is football. You know, you go from being at a smaller school, football wise. So you got guys that are. You maybe got 10 to 20 guys that's like, yo, I'm trying to go to the league. I'm trying to be the best, you know, to a school that is 100 guys saying that. So it's very competitive and everybody's trying to be the best at what they do in their sport, which is the same sport where y' all playing. So it's kind of alpha on top of alpha, you feel me? It's a dog eat dog world. So, yeah, I get there and at first it was kind of like uncomfortable, but then it's like, this is what I love to do. That's what I want. So I started to kind of thrive in that environment.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And before you know it, my confidence started growing. Once the confidence grew, it was over with.

[A]

And what was your family support throughout this whole process? Did they ever tell you, no, don't make that leap, don't go to University of South Carolina? Or were they always on board?

[B]

So I made the first couple of days, I told, I told my family, as soon as it happened, they were uncomfortable because like you said, I had a full ride to the University of Delaware. Yeah, they was uncomfortable. And so, yeah, I got my dad in the background's dad is here in.

[A]

The background shaking his head.

[B]

I told him, he was like, yo, son, give me a couple of days to think about it, man. Let me, let me, let me figure some stuff out. My mom and my grandma, they're like, do you. Short is what you want to do. You have a full ride to University of Delaware. So this, I'm 18 years old making this decision, and this is like, all on me. This is my first true grown man move. And it's like, I seen something for myself that I got to take this opportunity now because originally when I got the University of Delaware, I knew I wanted to go to a Bigger school. But I was. I'm gonna have to be here for a year or two, get some good film, and then transfer out.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

This opportunity came to me a lot faster than I expected. So I'm like, I gotta take this now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so, yeah, they were uncomfortable for sure. But once I brought them there to the school, they've seen University of Delaware before, and there's no knock that UD at all. Once they got to South Carolina, they fell in love. I brought them there, they seen all the facilities, they seen the culture, they seen everything. And it was like, okay, he might have made the right decision.

[A]

Well, I think too, like, football in the south is so much bigger anyway, so I feel like something like that makes this makes sense for anyone who's trying to go to the league or, you know, especially for football families. They're looking in the south, in the Midwest, like, I don't know, is Texas the Midwest? It's the South, Yeah.

[B]

They consider it the south still.

[A]

Yeah, People like to argue it.

[B]

So our conference is called the sec, which is a Southeastern Conference. And all the Texas schools are in there, all the big Texas schools.

[A]

So that makes sense. So I mean it, to me, it sounds like you made the move that was going to benefit whatever your goals were. And I think that is such a key point for young athletes. Anyone who's gonna watch this interview or small athlet are going to listen to what you have to say is like, you have to think about what the end goal is.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

If you were going for, for, you know, education purposes, UD probably would have been it for you.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

So you're at University of South Carolina. You're thriving. Do you get to play?

[B]

So at first I get there, and I don't know if you're familiar with, like, star rating systems, but I know that whoever's watching that's in high school, they'll be familiar with it and even college, because you get. You get stars, right? And so you got all these guys like a hotel. The best stars are five stars. That's the high highest it can go. So the school I'm at now, you're. It's full of five stars at UD type of school. It's no five stars that go to that type of school. No disrespect, D1. It's still D1, but it's a lower end. So you got levels. So this is UD at the lowest level, D1. Then you've got South Carolina at the highest level of D1. So I take that type of jump now. It's like, okay, I believed in myself and enough to do it, but most of the time, when people take that jump, they end up going back down because they just can't handle it. It's just too much. And me, I was kind of, like, thriving in it. I was getting better every single day. So eventually, first time playing, I wasn't starting at linebacker, but I played something special. It's called special teams, if you're familiar with that. That's a chance for me to get on the field. So you got offense, you got defense, and you got special teams. I made my way to special teams, and I was starting on special teams. I had broke a record in my first game playing. So now I have made a name for myself. That's what helped me. And I had blocked two punts in a game, broke a school record in my first game as a freshman. From there, they was like, okay, he got potential. So now I had kind of set a path for myself. So by my sophomore year, I was playing a lot more.

[A]

Okay, but were you starting or no?

[B]

I started a couple games. My sophomore year. Yes.

[A]

Is it typical for sophomores to start.

[B]

If you have a chance, a good chance of going to the NFL? Most likely, yes.

[A]

Okay, interesting. And what was the competition like while you were there? And by competition, I mean truly the peers on your teammate.

[B]

Yeah. On your team. It's. It's hectic because every single year, them coaches are bringing in players to take your spot because their job is on the line. So you got to be at the best of your game at all times. And if you're not, they have no problem putting somebody else in to get the job done.

[A]

But also, too, like, you're developing friendships with these people that ultimately become your competition if you're trying to get to the league. And so for that, I. I can't imagine, like, the internal conflict where you're like, I love this person like my brother. But now I gotta fight for, you know, whatever that looks like on the field so that I can get to the league. And if that means that I gotta brush him off like that, that's gotta be a really hard thing to deal with.

[B]

You get used to it. It's definitely at the end of the day, list. I got guys that's in the NFL right now that I had to compete with every single day. And I want the best for them. And it's really about that competition making everybody better. So it's. Nobody's hating, because if you a hating type of player, you're going to Going down levels and then you're not going to work out. When you want everybody to succeed, that's how it works out. Because now we're making every other better, everybody better. And it's like, best man may win.

[A]

You know who the ball brothers are. It's NBA, not football brothers. Like, I always think of LiAngelo because I'm like, how would that feel for your brothers to be in the NBA? And then you're just kind of not quite good enough. It's like the. The jealousy, but also loving that for your brothers and being so supportive, like, I would imagine it's kind of similar.

[B]

Yeah. So he. And he's a good player too, but he's. I see him making a way for himself now. He rapping and everything.

[A]

I don't know that a one hit wonder counts.

[B]

As I look at it like, man, they all even, like, they all. They all got a successful life now. So it's like, why even, you know, be jealous at that point?

[A]

What was the turning point, you know, in college for you on the field? Was there. Was there a turning point for you where you're like, I'm going to the league?

[B]

So I thought so where I had a game my sophomore year. It was my first game ever starting, and we played Missouri. Now we lost this game, but I had a really good game. I had 10 tackles, which is as a linebacker having anything over 10 tackles. That's like, yo, you're balling. Like, that's a real good game. That's gonna put the league on. Not. And that was my first time ever starting. And I'm like, I just did that. I was like, I got a lot of potential. And from there, my next game, I started again. I had two sacks against Florida. Mind you, the QB I had a sack on had just got drafted. First round, fourth pick is named Anthony Richardson, playing on the Colts right now, had two sacks on him. So I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm starting to heat up.

[A]

When you look at, you know, your. Your college career and then knowing that some of your friends went to the league, like, how do you feel like you played against these people?

[B]

Yeah, it's like, I know that everything in which we're going to get to more with like, all my apps and stuff that I'm doing, everything happens for a reason. Because I could very well be with them right now. I can get a call tomorrow and be like, all right, we need you on this team.

[A]

Is that like a free agent?

[B]

Free agency? Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I'm, I'm always Ready. But it just goes to show how never expect. Expect unexpected.

[A]

So when you say free agency, does that mean that you're actively training and doing football stuff even though you're not picked up currently? Yep. What does the training look like? I guess while you're a free agent?

[B]

Yeah. So it's. It's no different than what you did in college. It's like you just kind of perfecting everything at your position. You know, me playing linebacker, I'm doing a lot of drills regarding that, which is explosion. A lot of shuffles, sprints, tackling.

[A]

So. So. But where do you go do this?

[B]

So I'm in South Carolina a lot. I do it at my facility that the college is at, so I just train there all the time.

[A]

Oh, do you live there?

[B]

I'm kind of on a move. With me being an entrepreneur, I kind of, you know, I get a lot of Airbnbs.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. Well, and speaking of being an entrepreneur. And we'll go back to sports, obviously, this is. This podcast is all over the place, so there's no rhyme or reason. You. You are an entrepreneur and you had reached out to me about this app.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tell me about the app.

[B]

So it's called Spender Hotline out now on every app Store. And when you think a hotline, you think of something super serious, like a suicide prevention.

[A]

I was thinking of escorts, but same thing.

[B]

I hope not. Not on. So with a hotline, though, you've never seen anything on the app Store. When you search up hotline to just take you to everything, whatever you search up, it's like, oh, it's a hotline for this, a hotline for that. I made an app to where wherever you go, you can search up on my app, you got a customer side, you got an employee side. As an employee, they're self contractors, you know, so you work your own hours and you go in the bio and you put in what you want to talk about. So if you're an owner, you're a podcast host, you're a manager at McDonald's, you want to teach people how to learn how to tie ties. It could be any, anything. Those people can search it up like it's Google or Reddit, and you can pay people for the time to give you the information that you need. So if you need a mechanic and you don't want to search on YouTube, you want to talk to real people about it, because you can't just understand from a video. You need real information. You can go on my app and go get real people that's willing to talk about it to you.

[A]

Okay. So for example, if we needed help setting up the podcast, equipment could go on. Spend her. Yeah, and spend her. Or spend her.

[B]

Spender.

[A]

Spender. Okay, so go on the spender app. And we would be like, hey, I can't get this, you know, equipment to work, whatever. And they'll be able to like, talk about it and how it works.

[B]

So the only AI part I have on my app is just a search. So if you just search up podcasts, it'll be people willing to talk about that, anything that'll come up, you know, so this is my way of trying to give back to the world, you know, and this is why I say football. You know, obviously I'm a free agent right now, but the impact that I'm about to create, it had to happen this way. I couldn't go straight into the league like the rest of my teammates did because I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing right now to create this impact. You know, I'm giving people jobs. I'm. It's like it's. I'm about to change the world in a way, in a sense, because this is every market. When you think of Amazon, Amazon has every market on it. My app, my hotline. You can talk about anything on there. This is for every single market, anything you can think of.

[A]

Now I'm going to tell you guys about something that's going to help you or your mom friends out, okay? If you know anyone that has small children starting from two and up, up, you need to tell them about Haya vitamins because these are a game changer for me. I really pride myself on the fact that all of my kids have always taken multivitamins. But Haya made it even easier because they get shipped straight to your door. You don't have to add it to your grocery store list, you don't have to add it to your click list. You don't have to worry about ordering from Amazon or any other place. These are children's vitamins shipped straight to your door. Okay? But typical children's vitamins are basically candy in disguise. If you didn't already know that regular children's vitamins are filled with two teaspoons of sugar, unhealthy chemicals, and other gummy junk that growing kids shouldn't have. And that's why Haya was created. It's the pediatrician approved, super powered chewable vitamin. My kids think these are candy without the candy in disguise. Okay? They ask for these. Haya Fills in your most common gaps in modern children's diets to provide the full body nourishment that our kids need with a good taste. Okay, these are non gmo, vegan, dairy free, allergy free, gelatin free, nut free and everything else you can imagine. And my twins just turned two so they just recently started these vitamins and I love it. Again, high Haya is designed for kids two and up and sent straight to your door so parents have one less thing to worry about. My kids have also absolutely loved that the first order we ever got, they got to decorate their little Haya jars with stickers. That was a big personal experience that I feel like just created a good environment to know that okay, this is a good thing. We're going to decorate the little jars, we're going to take the vitamins and go on about our day. I absolutely loved it. I also recommend checking out their new kids probiotic and nighttime essentials. I have so many kids that I had to work these in into our routine. And I've worked out a special deal with Haya for their best selling children's vitamin. Receive 50% off your first order. But to claim this deal you have to go to haya health.com famous this deal is not available on their regular website so go to Haya H I Y A H a l t h.com famous to get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Where did the idea come from?

[B]

I truly say because I'm a God fearing man. It came from God. Like I'm, I get back from still as many camp. This was May 12th of this year, 2025, this is four months ago and I'm sitting on the couch because I'm like, is this it? Like no teams really hitting me up. I just got back from my minicamp and I'm sitting on the couch, sitting on my best friend couch and ideas start waving over me. Because I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I thought I would go into like real estate state.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

The plan was originally in my mind make it to the NFL, try to be the best player you can be, stack your money up and start making investments from there. I thought I would be franchising a Chipotle's and doing things of that nature. And so obviously that didn't happen at first. And so I'm like, okay, what are we going to do? Lock in Debo, let's figure it out. And ideas start coming up to me and I start thinking of apps and I'm like, okay, I can do this. I can do that. And ideas just started coming. Coming as far as, like, my logos, the name. It's. It was like the Holy Spirit was over top of me during this whole time because it just kept giving me ideas and ideas, and I kind of. Me going through this gave me the creativity I never knew I had.

[A]

Yeah, no, it's. And it's definitely an outlet, too, and it'll keep you busy until you get picked up. And I think, too, not to get, like, political or, you know, talk about race, but I do think that you are creating something for young black men to look up to, black and brown people to look up to. And I think that that's incredible because we need more. We need more of that. And especially I'm glad you said that. As a mom of biracial children. Like, I want them to look at people like you and say, okay, like, it doesn't have to be this way. We still can make this happen. And I think that's incredible, especially for youth, you know, and in your position, too, like wanting to go to the league and being a free agent. You have free time. You're not just sitting around waiting.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

You're not just hoping for the best. Like, you have to go create opportunities for yourself, and it's not easy. But so what. What were some of the roadblocks that you faced while you were trying. I know you reached out to me a bunch, and I tried to give you, you know, a connection with someone I knew. I don't know if that ever worked out, but what were some of the roadblocks that you sort of faced while you were coming up with this idea and launching that?

[B]

And I want to say thank you for that. You've always been there to help anytime I've asked. So Carol said, I met her back in 20. I met a friend of Kale's and got introduced to her because I was starting a podcast, and it was called the Deebo Williams Podcast. And I knew Kel was big time in it, and I wanted to learn. That's all I ever do was try to get education. And I ended up stopping the podcast so I could focus more on football. And so fast forward, I'm coming out with this app. I'm like, okay, Kel might know somebody. Let me just ask. And you can't be afraid to just ask people like I ask anybody I know that's doing big things. I'm like, what do you know about this? What do you know about that? Just getting an Education, you know, know, don't ask for handouts, but ask for resources. Exactly.

[A]

And I think that's the biggest thing. There's a huge difference between, you know, asking someone to do something for you and asking for the resources to help yourself.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

And I think that there is a huge difference. And I know, and I do feel like the. The relationship is mutually beneficial because not only do you ask me for resources, but you were willing to come on the podcast, so it helps both of us. And I think that there is a huge difference.

[B]

And I respect what you said about being able to know that that is. It's not just being an athlete, growing up, how I grew up, it's like it's the only way out. You feel me? Sports. And so everybody, you know, that I'm growing up with is putting everything into sports, giving everything to football, and it's like they don't work on nothing else. And I feel bad for a lot of these guys because NFL truly stands for not for long. And yes, everybody can't be Pat Mahomes. Everybody can't have a $500 million contract. You know, so you might make a mil or two, but that doesn't always last, especially when you get used to living the way you living. You have to figure out ways to make other avenues and other different ways. And so it kind of opened my creativity to show people that this is not the only way.

[A]

You know, I. I heard something about Marshawn lynch doing. Oh, Lynch, Yeah, yeah, Marshawn Lynch. He's, you know, when he retired from the league, he became a photographer for the league. And I just have so much respect for people that just. I mean, I. I get it. It can be hard, I know, like Allen Iverson in the NBA, like, filed bankruptcy a bunch or, you know, once don't happen. But, yeah, I mean, you just get comfortable living beyond your means, and then it can all be taken away. And you. Now what do I do just like that? So for you, like, creating other, you know, forms of revenue and income will help. And I just think that's so good for the. For young athletes. But it's so interesting because I think in Smyrna, too, like, the. What I see in youth athletes, I'm like, they will literally, families will change their entire lives for a child sport. How do you feel about that? Did that happen to you? Did your parents do that with you?

[B]

They tried their best. They definitely tried their best. But I. I will. Will commend my parents of showing me what it takes, the work ethic that it takes especially Pops are sitting here right now. Like, he. His quote, his favorite quote was, if it was easy, everybody would do it. And so I kind of always kept that in my head because if everybody was doing. I look at Tick Tock, everybody doing Tick Tock dances, you know, why they doing Tick Tock dances? Because it's easy. Feel me? It's not that hard to learn. Is everybody, you know, trying to make it to the NFL, owning three companies at the same time? I don't know anybody doing that. Yeah, I'm trying to do it right now as we speak. So it's like, I take the hard road. So the easy. It's going to be easy path later.

[A]

You know, so struggle now so you don't have to struggle later. So you created this app, the Spender Hotline. What has been the support or. Or not of your teammates and people that you've played football with? Have they been super supportive? Have they not really wanted to touch it? Have they promoted it for you?

[B]

Yeah, so it's been a good amount of help. But they are in season right now, so I don't even ask for any help as far as from my teammates or anything. But they have showed a lot of love fast as me being able to not necessarily move on, but create another avenue for myself. They kind of proud of me in a sense, because we know how it is growing up. It's like all it is is football in our mind. It's the only way out. So for me to make another avenue, literally in two, three months, it's kind of like, whoa, bro, I know you had that in you.

[A]

Your dad's here with you today. What was his reaction to you wanting to do this app?

[B]

So at first he was kind of like, I'm. I'm mentioning interested, but my dad is always like, show me. Make it happen. And so that pushes me in a way. You know, I feel like a lot of kids, they might be discouraged, but growing up, my dad has always been like, you're gonna show me. You know, you say you're the best on the field. Show me.

[A]

Right. You know, and you have.

[B]

Yeah, I continue to every second. So it works for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know if it works for everybody else, but it works for me.

[A]

Right. No, I think people are motivated differently. But I think that's cool, though, that you have your parents support and, you know.

[B]

Yeah, they know me. So that he probably knew that already. That's the only way.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Love it. But going back to the topic of youth athletics today, and you were saying, you know, sports is the only way out. I, I, On Tik Tok, I see a lot of parents talk about there's controversy surrounding youth sports, right? Like, on one hand they're like, oh, we do too much. We need to let the kids relax. And then on the other hand, you have parents who are like, no. Like, if they're going to take this seriously and do something with it and get a scholarship or a full ride or GoPro, like, we have, have to, you know, essentially uproot our entire lives to make this work. Right? So how do you feel about that, looking back on your childhood and what your parents did for you in sports? Like, do you think it was beneficial or do you think it, it hurt you?

[B]

Very beneficial. Because it's been times where I feel like my parents knew when to push me and then when to stop. Because growing up, I feel like at an early age you don't know what you're going to do, you know, so your parents have to steer you, you know. And I did enjoy football. A lot of people looking at me where people say, my dad was tough on me, maybe it was a different world then too, but that pushed me to be greater. I, I genuinely enjoyed that and the way my peoples raised me. I want to raise my kids the same exact way because you can do whatever you want in life. But I want you to be great at it, though. Don't, don't half ass it. I just want you to be great at it. You feel me? It don't matter what you do. You want to be the best doctor you can. You can, you want to be the best mechanic you can, right? Be the best, though I will say.

[A]

Day that, you know, as, you know, Lincoln played football and some of my other kids are interested. Six days a week at five years old is, it's a lot.

[B]

What they doing now is a lot. I, I will admit that it doesn't need to be that much. Four or five days a week, practice. That's good. You know, they still like, growing.

[A]

Like, I mean, like I look at my, my middle son, right? He's five and we had soccer last night and I'm like, okay, he finally, he's getting it now. Yeah, two years ago. A year ago. Hell no, I can't. And Lincoln started football around seven. I could not imagine him starting football at five or six years old. Six days a week. When we started at seven years old, it was two days a week for practice, one day a week for a game, which I think was manageable. Now the kids are playing specifically football and I can't speak to other sports because we haven't done all year round. But football, there are kids that play.

[B]

All year long and it. You definitely need a break. That's why even in NFL they get chances for a break. College, you get chances for a break. Work workouts, cool, keep the workouts going. But as far as practice, you hitting all the time, they gotta chill on that. That's why you see even NBA players now, you got all this AAU games leading up to college because they do it in high school, middle school and there's so many games on their legs and then by the time they get to the NBA, they all tearing their Achilles, they ACLs, because they've been doing genuinely too much.

[A]

Ah, okay. I, I could definitely see that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What was it like going to classes and being a student athlete? Because I feel like if I remember correctly, I went to dsu.

[B]

Yeah, I did not know that. Okay.

[A]

Yeah, I graduated in 2017. Took me a long time to get my degree, but.

[B]

Are you from Delaware?

[A]

No, I'm from Pennsylvania.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I remember like the athletes, they were all mass calm, they were all communication.

[B]

That's what I was in. I was, I end up switching to broadcast journalism though.

[A]

Okay, well that's a little bit. You could do this.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Do a sports podcast.

[B]

So I'm already, I'm doing some stuff for South Carolina right now, but with me being an entrepreneur, I, I just don't necessarily have the time to pull it off.

[A]

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[B]

Oh, for sure.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So you get a lot more help too.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But it's harder. Imagine you got all the time in the world to do school because you're just there as a student, right? But then you got, you leave on a Friday for games, you don't get back till Sunday and, and you. So you go on the whole weekend, it's film, film, film, film, film all week, during the week, practice. So, you know, you kind of need help. So we get like study hall and things of that nature. And people can say it's special treatment, but it's like we getting the school paid off our sports, you know, so we have to hone in on this or my scholarship not getting paid for. If I'm not good at my sport, my scholarship not getting paid for. So I have to give my everything to this sport. But I also have to give time to class too, you know, so.

[A]

So it e to be just for people who are listening, who don't understand. I think it's more for clarity. Your scholarship is essentially you getting paid to play football, but then the school is benefiting off of your athleticism. So it has to be mutually beneficial.

[B]

I'm going to keep it real because especially the school I'm at or the bigger schools that we at, those kids grades aren't the best. They need help, but they're savages on that field. They're savages on the court. So the, the best players that y' all are seeing the same way, y' all being entertained. The reason y' all being entertained because those players are great at what they do. So yeah, they might need help in school to play, but that's why you're entertained. Imagine it's just a bunch of guys that got great grades, but they're not good on the the court. And you watching them play, you're not entertained.

[A]

But then what happens when they graduate and they don't make it to the league?

[B]

That's life.

[A]

And now you have a degree and you barely made it by that's life.

[B]

You better figure out it out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Nobody. Nobody had could help me when the Steelers was like, bye, see you.

[A]

Well, let's talk about that. I have. There's so many other questions I have about being. We'll jump around and we'll figure it out. Okay, so let's talk about youth athletes again, though, because there are a lot of children who are maybe good at sports, but maybe they are the short kid on the field or they're the short kid on the court. They're okay, but their parents are. Us as parents, we have to dedicate our time and our money into this sport. What do you do when the kid is mediocre? He's okay. Yeah. What do you do then?

[B]

I would definitely say at an early age, you have to steer them into what they want to do, figure out what they want to do. But as they get older, that 10 to 13 range, see how bad they want it. And depending on how bad they want it, that's how bad you want it for them. That's how much energy you put into it on them. You know, at a. At a 12, 13, I wanted to be great at football, so my family was helping me. I was going to all American games in Texas, Jersey, going to different states to figure it out and dominate, you know, because I wanted it that bad. And you could see the potential. Even as a kid, though, even if you're not genetically the best, if you're practicing the most, you're still gonna be the best on the court or on the field. So if they wanted that bad, you kind of go off of how they want it, you know? But I would definitely say a certain age, though, when they're younger, you kind of got to steer them in the right direction first.

[A]

I want you to like something and love it, but I. I don't want to put thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars into something that you're not going anywhere with this. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that what it is.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, they. They'll catch on. You can do what you want to do as a parent. Like, I had a best friend back in high school, and he didn't start playing football till eighth grade.

[A]

How'd that work out for him?

[B]

He. He ended up going D1 with me because he was with me every day because he wanted it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

His. His mom never put no money into him playing sports.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

At least maybe not until high school, but he was with me every day because he wanted it. And just him being around me made him that much better. And I was able to help him perfect his craft. So if a kid was want it, they going to figure it out, you know, definitely from the younger ages, you definitely got to support them and give them the time, the energy. But I wouldn't say you got to spend necessarily thousands on them all the time until they get a little older. You know, you just got to kind of help them perfect the craft.

[A]

Well, I started hyper fixating. I started putting thousands of dollars into my son playing soccer. And then I was like, you know what? You're eight, so you should probably try everything and figure out what you want before I sink more money into this. Because I'm like, you might change your mind and want to do football or basketball in five years from now. And so it's just like sort of letting him play whatever he wants right now and then focus once we figure out what it is that you're good at and you also want to play.

[B]

And I'll say this because I know I haven't told you. My mom had me at 14.

[A]

I didn't know that.

[B]

My dad was 15.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

Teen parents. So I kind of. My mom don't know any better at that age. Dad don't know any better. You know, I kind of.

[A]

You guys look like brothers, to be honest.

[B]

They seen I had to potential and from there they went with it and gradually kept pushing me. You know, I don't think my parents pushing me that, that hard at a young age. I think it got harder the older I got. And they was like, okay, you want to be great? You say this is what you want. All right, show me. You know.

[A]

Well, dad, how did you get there when you were so young? Like, how did you know what to do?

[B]

So for my father dying at an early age, it was a lot of missed opportunities that I had. So I knew immediately the day he was born, and it's finally sinked into me. I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. So I. I knew I wanted to make the next generation stronger and not go through what I had to go through. And I put my all into it.

[A]

Are you an only child?

[B]

Yep. And then my mom. My mom got four, including a stepsister. So I. I'm the oldest of 11.

[A]

That's crazy. I did not know that about you.

[B]

I had no idea. For you as a teenage mom, it was rough.

[A]

It was rough. Had to go to. I lived in a homeless shelter for a little while and then I got into this program for housing and I could not make My tuition payments to go to community college. So that's why it took me seven years. I transferred to dsu, finally got my, you know, got my life together, but it was rough. Do you think it matters what age you start a sport at? In order to be great and to get a potential opportunity to hit the league? Like is, do you think that it matters if someone starts at 5 or someone starts at 15?

[B]

Yeah. So if you don't have genetics, you definitely need to start early. If you got great genetics, they'll work with you. I've seen guys come From Africa at 15, 16 years old, don't know how to play the sport, but they see his potential because of his size, and they'll work with him.

[A]

Okay, so my weird maybe TMI question for you then is, are you going to seek out a woman who, genetically speaking, would be beneficial to your offspring?

[B]

It's crazy because I didn't seek out who I'm with right now, but she is a genetic phenomenon and it just.

[A]

Just happen, you know, like she's also athletically inclined.

[B]

Yeah, she went to the University of Delaware. She almost six foot like me, you know, and fast, beautiful, strong, you know, so she got it all. Full package for sure.

[A]

Okay, so you were talking about the Steelers. So how, first of all, for people who are listening to this podcast, if you're a woman, tag your husband, your brother, your son, whoever is a male, they need to listen to this. When you are trying to go to the league, what does that process look like? Because I just got the rundown on how you get to the NFL. But for those of you listening, what, what is the process?

[B]

Yep. Well, depending on the division you win and the conference you win, if you in D3, D2, low D1, you gonna have to be the best person in your, your conference, damn near the division you got. If you in D3, you got to be the best player in D3 because you're not going to get an opportunity. They really.

[A]

But do you have to sign up for like a conference to go like to the NFL? Yes.

[B]

So you. It's called a declaration. And it's just you got to have your school or whatever make a post and you kind of, kind of like you're signing off on you being done with college football. Like it's nothing really special. You just kind of putting a declaration, a post out there. And then once you sign a contract, then it's like, okay, college football is done for sure. You know, so once you go into that world, once you start signing contracts with agents and stuff, which is you getting ready to do like the combine and get ready for the NFL. Now you're done with college football, so.

[A]

You have to give up college to.

[B]

To go to pro sport. Yes.

[A]

I did not know that.

[B]

Yep. Because you. You can't go back. It's kind of like cheating. You learn.

[A]

Why can't you go back?

[B]

Because you're learning stuff on a pro level and then trying to go back to college. It's just not fair, you know?

[A]

What do you mean?

[B]

So it's like, how do I explain it? If you go.

[A]

So, like, you're. We'll. We'll take it back to University of South Carolina. You go. And you're like, okay, I want to go to the league.

[B]

Y.

[A]

At what point do you make that decision? Decision.

[B]

So you'll. If you're good enough, you will be hearing from agents, and those agents hear from NFL scouts, and NFL scouts will tell those agents that, hey, he should go to the NFL. He can make a. He can get drafted. And so the agents will come back to you and start telling you, and then you'll pick an agent that you like.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And go from there.

[A]

Interesting. I did not know that.

[B]

It's so much in this football world, basketball or sports world, you know, like, it's me, it's me trying to go to the boxing world. I don't know the. That much. I just started boxing a couple months ago, you know, so if I was to go professional in boxing, it's so much I gotta learn, you know?

[A]

So would you consider that?

[B]

Nah, that's a different type of hunger, you know, And I don't necessarily have that hunger. I might be good technique wise, but as far as you got guys that's growing up boxing and they hungry, they sleeping on mattresses. Like, they got a different type of hunger for that, you know, so I'm not about to go in there, get my head knocked off because you feel me, I could protect myself. But you. Yeah, they just got a different type of hunger. Go for that.

[A]

Now we're going to talk about hers really quick because the holiday season is coming up. But I want to remind you that hers is transforming women's healthc care by providing access to weight loss treatment plans for every budget. They connect you with a medical provider who will work with you to determine the best treatment option for you. And if you're prescribed, you get medication as part of the Dr. Developed weight loss program, complete with ongoing care check ins, dosage and medication adjustments, and access to 24. 7 online support at no additional cost. There are no hidden fees and no membership fees. But the what I love about this is hers is realistic. Non restrictive. Hers provides access to affordable weight loss plans built around oral medication kits and GLP1 injectable options with oral medication kits starting at just 69 per month with a 10 month plan when paid upfront in full. So if you've been struggling with your weight loss journey or you just don't know where to start, it's time for you to find the best option that works for you through her Hers. Whether you want to lose weight, grow thicker, fuller hair or find relief for anxiety, hers has you covered. Visit for hers.com famous to get a personalized affordable plan that gets you that's f o r h e-r s.com famous for hers.com famous weight loss by hers is not available everywhere. Compounded drug products are not approved or evaluated for safety effectiveness or quality by the fda. Prescription required. See website for full details, important safety information and restrictions. Actual price Price depends on product and plan purchased. So you are at the University of South Carolina and then get a call from the Steelers or what?

[B]

So you go into the draft. I go undrafted.

[A]

What does that mean?

[B]

Undrafted means no team selected you.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So going into the draft though, I had over probably it's 32 teams in NFL I had over 23 teams hit me. So that's probably like 75% of the NFL or contacted me before the draft at making sure, hey, this is your number. Debo this and the third, we're going to call you on draft day. We're very interested in you. So imagine that's happening. Draft day comes, you get no calls from anyone. All you hear is crickets. It's like, yo, what happened? What's going on? That happens. I don't hear nothing for two weeks. Now you got something called once you get drafted or you don't get drafted, you become. What do they call it? It's, it's like as soon as free agency comes, like immediate free agency. So they would pick you right away, right after the draft. If you don't get drafted, they calling you right away. I didn't get any calls at all. So I'm like, oh, I was projected to go like fifth, seventh round. You got first round through seven rounds. I was projected to go around like fifth through seventh. And as an inside linebacker they usually go a little bit later around like second round, third round, fourth round. Usually don't go in first because they want those quarterbacks, they want like offensive line in certain Positions they want and so end up not getting any questions, calls. Two weeks go by and I get a call from the Steelers and they're like, hey, we're going to fly you out. You come out for our rookie mini camp, come check us out. I'm like, okay, cool. I make my way out there and this is where the, the politics come in. Because you're already paying a lot of guys at my position, so you're most likely not going to get picked up.

[A]

What do you mean? Why are they paying a lot of guys in your position?

[B]

Because how many strings are there?

[A]

What is it? Is it strings? Strings like how like starters, second string.

[B]

Usually you got a 53 man roster, right? So for NFL, you're probably going to have about four or five inside linebackers.

[A]

Got it.

[B]

So you're like, only two can start at one time. Only two could be on the field.

[A]

So you're like, we're already, you're already paying whoever you are, you're already paying.

[B]

Those four or five guys.

[A]

Right. But they wouldn't have called you if they weren't interested.

[B]

Yeah, but maybe they just needed some bodies. This is, it's very business oriented. You never know the reason of why they doing something.

[A]

Okay, so was that hard for you?

[B]

I mean, you play a game for 20 years and it just comes to a rough ending like that? Obviously it's not an ending because I'm in free agency. I can get a call any moment.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But if I didn't get a call for the rest of my life, this would be the end of football. Right. If I didn't get a call tomorrow or it would have just stopped back in May. And fast forward, I had a couple workouts with a couple teams this past summer, but Stillers were the ones that kind of went mainstream with a team I was with. And so, so I get back to Delaware, it's May 12th. I'll never forget it because my birthday, May 13th, so I never forget it. And I'm sitting on my best friend couch and I'm like, all right, what you going to do now, man? You go your whole life playing a sport and this is where guys, they guys really don't talk about it. But most of the time, and women too. You play a whole sport your whole life and then you finish college and it's like, what I'm going to do? What am I going to do now? My whole life I've been working on this one thing, thing. And it didn't go the way I thought it was going to go. What are you going to do now? And that. That kind of created me into a monster. Not a bad monster, but a monster of. I'm figuring out things in my brain that I didn't know I could figure out.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I started creating things, and that's how I started coming out with my apps.

[A]

Is there more than one app?

[B]

I got another one coming out.

[A]

What is it?

[B]

I can't tell you that yet because it will be hitting mainstream soon and it'll be a big surprise.

[A]

Well, while we're still on the subject of the NFL, there is an NFL player that I know of whose girlfriend is extremely famous. I don't think he's that good of a player. And so I really think that he's only in the NFL because of the fandom that comes with him because of his girlfriend. How does that make you feel when you're like, okay, I have the talent and the dedication, and this is just some guy who has a famous girlfriend.

[B]

Yeah. So, I mean, at the end of the day, it's all about growing up. Because NFL is a business. They're going to do what brings business. Okay, now me, myself, you never know. They may bring me in because I am about to bring a lot of business to them. You know, I'm building my name up, and I'm going to continue to become something that hasn't been done before. I have a chance to be in the NFL as a tech owner. That's never been done before. So that could bring them a lot of business. They could be using me as a business partner, you know, you never know. So you have people, a lot of people in the NFL. You look at Travis Kelce, for instance, great player, but Taylor Swift definitely just boosted him a lot. So that might have added five years to his life in the NFL. You never know. So he can retire on his own terms. He's made enough money, he's done enough to be in the hall of Fame. But imagine if he wasn't that good. That might have just boosted his career in the NFL, you know, so NFL is definitely, definitely going to make more business with the players they can.

[A]

So you don't get pissed off by stuff like that.

[B]

No, because I could be on the other end.

[A]

You know, if it's mutually beneficial, then you see nothing wrong with it. Like, the NFL is gaining something from this player. This player is gaining something from the NFL.

[B]

I'm not saying what goes on with that is right, but it's life. And as soon as you accept that, the better off you'll Be, you know, I don't think it was fair that I play football for 20 years straight and it's just done like that, you know. But as soon as you accept it, it's like, okay, it's time to make moves. And then before you know it, I'm not even paying attention, they start calling my phone again and it's like, oh, it's time to go.

[A]

Media trained you the politically correct answers that came out.

[B]

So a fun fact. My freshman year, I was in an interview and I, I go on an interview and they like, they asked me a question like, how you got your name Debo this. And the third, I'm just like, yeah, when I'm on the field, I just to want. Want to kill. And I'm kind of like. And kill as in I want to hurt people on the field and in nature. I don't, I don't want them coming back on the field. And I didn't get another interview for like a year. My, my head coach, he was in them back doors, like, yeah, don't interview him no more. And so I was like, you know what? Let me learn how to talk. So I switched, I switched from communications. I went to broadcast journalism because I knew I could. My best skill is making people believe.

[A]

But I just feel like. But you're the type of. Most people don't like male hosted podcasts, but I feel like you could have one. So when I was in college and fresh. I graduated high school in 2010. What year did you graduate?

[B]

I just graduated in 25.

[A]

No high school.

[B]

Oh, 2020.

[A]

Okay. So when you were, When I was in high school, there was no nil deals in college. Like you got scholarship or you didn't period.

[B]

Well, when I first got there, it wasn't no nil either.

[A]

And you couldn't do like brand deals or anything. Essentially my thought was that it's because the college is not making on that. So, like, you can't do it. Is that sort of the gist of it? So how do you feel about that? But also, how do you feel about college athletes getting paid, like essentially a salary on top of whatever scholarship it is that they may have gotten?

[B]

Yeah, I think it's about time, honestly, because NCAA is making money off of players for so long and so much, making billions. And I, I definitely think they could spread that around for sure. But as far as the salary and everything, I think they need to lessen it because you got guys, guys that aren't ready for it, you know, and it's going to Hurt them later. Nil just came out, came out. So it hasn't hit yet. But when these guys are making all this money and they don't make the league and they live the life they once lived and now they didn't focus on school at all, but it didn't go how they thought it was going to go. In a professional world, they are going to suffer. And I feel bad for what's to come, you know, because I was able to figure it out fast.

[A]

Everybody is that way.

[B]

99 ain't gonna be able to figure it out at all. And they're gonna be stuck and they had to go. They're going to have to start from rock bottom and even worse from where they would have been at just coming out of college because they might be in debt, they might have got themselves in stuff they shouldn't have got themselves into. But on the flip side, Nil is great because you got guys that are making a lot and it has changed their lives. It's changed their family lives, especially if they made enough. But like, even my situation, you know, I was able to save and be able to NFL didn't go the way I thought it was going to go at first. And I was able to invest in things that I'm doing right now. I can't imagine me coming out of college, college with no Nil and having to figure out a way because I always wanted to get in like real estate or stuff of that nature and create. I wouldn't be able to do that. It takes money to make money. So Nil is great in a way, but as something is great, it's going to be bad size to it too as well.

[A]

Well, it's kind of like what we talked about before when we weren't rolling is like without the financial literacy, it all sounds good, but unless you understand and are able to actually apply it, it's not helpful at all. So, like, you could give people large sums of money, whatever that looks like, salary, Nil, schol, whatever, if you do not do it properly and have the right people around you. I mean, I can speak for myself. When I first started reality TV was like, okay, I'm getting these large sums of money blew. It had no, nothing. It. It was only the last, I don't know, five to seven years. I got a financial advisor, I got life insurance. I did. But what happened to the first 10 years?

[B]

Exactly?

[A]

Do you know what I mean? So like I. I came from poverty.

[B]

And I didn't know anything better. And I appreciate you keeping it real. Because a lot of people won't.

[A]

No, I mean I, yeah, I got it out the mud for real though. But so what I guess my biggest question is what is the controversy surrounding the salary though? Because at the end of the day like such a small percentage of college athletes are going to go to the league, whether it's NBA or football or whatever. Yeah, baseball, anything. That money might be the only money that they ever make and they might.

[B]

That's what I think is good about it though because you are making a lot of money and, and it's pretty much professional now. You get paid. So it is, you are a professional at a big D1 because you're getting paid now. And so for guys that don't get to go to that next level that is good and I hope they taking care of their money because that's going to be the last they get for sport wise unless they go football. In my world you got something called CFL XFL that's under the NFL and you get, you don't get paid nowhere near. You got guys nil college wise getting paid more than CFL and xfl. So it's like you're not going to get that, that type of money again. So hopefully you take care of it, you know. So in that sense I would greatly appreciate that. But you know, and especially if you go to the NFL too, it's just building you, it's teaching you, you know. So maybe you do learn how to use your money before you even get to the NFL.

[A]

Would you ever do like a different position? Not doing like an actual player on the field, but would you ever look into like photography or anything like that?

[B]

Like coaching?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I, I get asked to coach all the time because that was my strength on the field. I wasn't the fastest, the strongest, the quickest, but my mind, I knew play was going to happen before it even happened because of how much film I would watch and things of that nature. So I could always coach, but I kind of, when guys don't make the NFL, when guys don't make the NBA or soccer or whatever they doing in their profession, they always go to being a trainer or being a coach. And I just felt like that was me giving up in a way. I feel like I got a chance to make such a bigger impact and change a lot of people's lives. And I could do that in coaching, but I'd rather do it worldwide to what I'm about to do right now.

[A]

How has social media impacted college?

[B]

So sports, it's impacted in great ways. And it's impacted in bad ways because it will go to kids head. I do see that. And you got kids that would be depressed. Say you have a great season and then you got a bad season the next season you'll have fans going crazy on you, just talking crazy. Say you missed a game winning field goal or you dropped the game with an interception. They are talking crazy. And you got to deal with that at a young age, you know, so it can stiffen you and it can toughen you in a way or it can crumble you, you know, so. But it can also be great too because a lot of guys, they don't even make to the professional sports but they might have blew up in college and now they were able to make a name for themselves. Somebody like a Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow was in the league for maybe a year or two, a couple years. But he made such of a big name in college, he can kind of live off of that now.

[A]

It was only one or two years.

[B]

Tim Tebow, I don't think he was in the league that long.

[A]

Are you serious?

[B]

But he made such of a big impact in college that you know him from college.

[A]

And it could generate another stream of income.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

For people who.

[B]

That was all social media. If you don't have social media, Tim Tebow wouldn't be as big as he is. You know, he'd be famous is from his plan days. But social media carries that out.

[A]

That's such a good point. I never thought about it. Okay, well I guess just to end it on your app and we'll put the link in the description so people will know where to like download. What are your future plans for your app? Obviously you have another project happening in the near future, but for Spender specifically, what are your, what are your plans for that app?

[B]

So I'm saying this right now, Spender will be top five, if not number one apps out in the next five years because it will be the biggest hotline in the world because it has everything that you can think of. It's every single market and it's my job to get it out. And for people to see it right now it's going to be hard to understand because it's never been done before. But once I get it out more, it'll be the biggest thing out you can literally whatever you want to talk about, whatever you want to figure out instead of going on Google or Reddit because you don't want to see, it's not giving you a good enough explanation through AI. You can get it from real life people. You get paid if you want to, if you just need some money or, or maybe you do have a profession, you literally go on there. On the employee side, you can pay for your phone calls, the audio calls, you get paid for the facetimes and the pictures and videos with the information you give them. So if you don't have enough time to do a call, I can send you a video about how to be a podcast host. So that's on the employee side. On the customer side, you have monthly subscriptions. You got three months, six months, you got one week and you got a year. That's five different subscriptions you can do. And you go in there and you pay people for the time with the information they get, give you.

[A]

So this essentially is. What is the word I'm looking for? Not going against what is the word? Countering. Counter. Countering. AI. AI is very controversial. It takes a lot of money, a lot of water, a lot of things, resources. Right. This sort of gives the jobs back to human beings and is giving real people the opportunity to answer real life questions versus using AI, which is is all auto generated.

[B]

I'm here to change the world and that's what I'm saying. Like I could do coaching all day, but I would feel like that'd be me tapping out. Like ah. But I feel like I have such a bigger purpose. That's why I was telling you the holy spirit has been over me giving me all these answers. You hear the way I'm talking? It's not me talking like this. This is literally God giving me the answers to give the camera and show people, especially people that look like me. I'm 23 years old, I own three companies. I was a college all American doing things that I never thought I'd be able to do. But a possible. You just have to put the work in, the time and the effort.

[A]

Where can people find you on social media?

[B]

Instagram. Team Debo 0 Team Debo on Tik Tok Twitter is Debo Williams Spender hotline. You can just look up spender. Spenderhotline.com Perfect.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you for coming on Barely Famous.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

Sam. This November action is free on Pluto tv. Go on the run with Jack Reacher Every suspect was a train killer Then buckle up for drive World War Z.

[A]

Every human being we save Just one.

[B]

Less fight and Charlie's Angels.

[A]

Damn, I hate to fly.

[B]

Launch into sci fi adventure with the fifth Element and laugh through the mayhem in Tropic Thunder.

[A]

What is going on here.

[B]

All the thrills, all for free. Pluto TV Stream now Pay Never. I'm Justin Sylvester. And I'm Blakely Thornton. Join us for Yesterday's the Podcast where we break down the most pivotal pop culture moments in history and give them the queer love that they deserve. The things that got us riled up during dial up, those makeouts that should have been breakouts and the drops that were cemented in pop. I'm talking Benifer, Tyra versus Naomi, Tom Cruise jumping on that couch, and so much more. So please rate us, subscribe to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you get audio related content. We also take Venmo and Cash, app ach or credit card number as well. We're malleable. We're gay today.