Loading summary
Transcript2 lines
- [00:00]
A
The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Welcome back to Sunday Sports Club. I know you're used to Ali being on here, but today it's me and you better stay. This better not be a situation where you're like, oh, it's not Ali. So I'm going to switch because we're here to talk about the juiciest juicy from the NFL combine. You guys also have to realize, I just want to put this out there. When Allie comes on here and gives like super juicy information and she's like, over, oh, here's the tea of the NFL. She's getting that from me. I am the source. So fortunate for you, when I come on here and I chat and I just get Chatty Cathy, have a quick yap sesh, just know that that tea is coming. Also, it's 9:00 at night. I might have to sip on this accelerator. Don't judge me. Need a little boost, little pick me up. It's good. Reason that I need a little pick me up is because as you guys know, I played seven years in the NFL. In that time last last four years of my NFL career, we moved to the city that I was playing and then back in some cases multiple times. So basically we had all these apartments worth of stuff. Finally, now that I'm done all in this house that we're renting right now. And all the while, our house that we actually own and care a lot about is getting renovated. Now it's done. Done. So I've just been sorting through everything in the house, bringing it over to them now completed, renovated house. Also would like to point out Ally is down bad. She's got the flu and it's complicated. I, you know, I'm like, wait, I got the episode. Maybe I should just chat invent because it's been really challenging. Like, I'm definitely one of those dads. It's fully involved. Not a lazy dad like Scotty. I take as much responsibility as I possibly can. So in a situation like this, when Ally can't do anything, literally, I told her, close the door, quarantine yourself, get away from us. It's just your boy holding it down. So pretty much Scotty and I have just been trying to move. But like, I wish we could just like insert a video of me today if the garage trying to like organize it because I'm building a whole at home gym just trying to organize it. Scotty's like literally hanging on me because she's super like daddy's girl. She's also a stage five Clinger, which I love, and it's just a lot. So here we are. All that. All that said, here we are, it's 9:00 at night, and for my wonderful wife, I'm going to record this episode. So super glad that you guys are tuned in. And thank you for subscribing to Sunday Sports Club, because at the end of the day, Ali's paying bills too. So y'all can just keep on subscribing. All right, we're gonna yap a little bit. We're just gonna talk. Because the NFL Combine, which if you don't know what it is, basically you have college athletes and then you have NFL athletes. In order to become an NFL athlete, put pro scouts have to see you as a college player and want you. They have to sign you or draft you or whatever. So there's this in between period from being a college athlete to being a pro athlete, where you go through all these evaluation processes. You might get a call from a scout on the phone while you're eating lunch with your girl and he's randomly asking you questions that you don't feel like answering. Or you could go to a more formal setting, which would be the NFL Combine. Now, there's a few different things you can go to. NFL Combine is one, which we're going to talk about today, Senior bowl, which is an all star game. I went to that. I didn't enjoy it a ton. And then you have pro days. But we're going to focus simply on the meat market, AKA the combine. The reason I call it a meat market is because there is no other setting in the world where you can have guys. Just literally, it's a meat market. I mean, the way that they pick and product guys and look at them and make you walk across stages with no clothes on. You have spandex, but essentially no clothes on. It's a meat market. So we're going to talk about all that and talk about everything around it. So I think as a starter, I just want to talk generally about my interaction with this thing called the Combine. I am like a high stress guy. So, like, when I got in that environment where I have all these NFL scouts there, because again, keep in mind, at this, like, meeting place called the NFL Combine, every single NFL general manager, every owner, every head coach, every pro scout, all these people are just there to evaluate 300 guys and see if they are good enough, if they have the mental toughness, if they are physically good enough to be a part of their team. So when you take a high Stress guy. And you put him in that setting. Jim Kite. Good night. The kid was so stressed the entire time. And I just, like, I don't know, I just didn't deal with it very well. Also, there's a build up process. So I finished college at Notre Dame, got my degree in like December because I graduated early, and then trained for the combine until the end of February. So three months of rigorous training leading up to this one event. So I had a lot of stress, I had a lot of anxiety. I was the opposite mentally of what I needed to be. So I got to this thing and I really didn't enjoy it. I don't even know if Ally got a text message. Like, I was, I was like focused but stressed. Like, it was like the worst case scenario. So let's kind of get into what the combine is and what it looks like. I'm gonna go through the days now. This was eight years ago, so these are. I'm kind of summarizing the days, but this is juicy because when I say it's a meat market, like I mentioned, like, the things they do to you are crazy. So for instance, day one, medical. What is medical, you might ask? They're going to MRI, CT scan. Do see your whole body. There's not a square inch of your body that they are not evaluating. At the NFL combine, I did full body scans. I did like, I mean, again, CT scans are taking blood work. They're seeing what precursors you have. There's guys that go to the NFL combine and find out stuff about their body they never knew. They take the best doctors in the country and they make sure to pick you apart. For me, I had back issues coming out of college. I've never had surgery. Nothing intense, but it raised some red flags. So for instance, I didn't really talk about it. Got to that and they were like, ooh, back issues. So it just shows how intense it is. Again, I never missed a game or practice or anything. They're finding it. It's also crazy because, like, everything is a game. Like, everything is this mental game. So you might be talking to a scout and he goes, hey, do you have any, like, pre existing injuries? Have you ever had any surgery? Yada, yada, yada. You better answer that question right, because they're gonna find out. So then that's like the game within the game. So day one, medical, which is crazy again, just the beginning of the meat market. Day two, you're gonna essentially have like, kind of like a mental slash weigh in day. I want to give you some numbers here. I want. Then again, this is juicy. This is where the tea is piping hot. Because this is interesting. So I wanted to run my 40 yard dash, which is a running test that you do on day four, which we'll get to. I wanted to run it light for, for my natural body weight, but I wanted to weigh heavy because you weigh two days before. So it's like let me weigh as heavy as humanly possible and then run as light as humanly possible. Obviously to, I mean it's self explanatory. I drank a full gallon of water. Like I am not exaggerating. I weighed in at 2:70 in the morning and I stepped on the scale and I was 280. You don't know the level of needing to pee until you're nervous. You are, you drank a gallon of water. Like you don't know that level. So I was, I gained 10 pounds though. So I weighed in at 280. That's the lengths that you go. That's the psychopath that you, you do at the combine. I was, I don't know what I was thinking. You can die doing that. So I drank a gallon of water. That's day two. Weigh ins. 280. Oh, weigh ins. You might ask. Step on a scale. These weigh ins that I'm talking about, every NFL owner, every NFL gm, every head coach sits in a crowd. There's a stage and you walk across the stage with nothing but spandex on and weigh in scale in the very middle of the stage. That's how much of a meat market this is. It's crazy. These guys, again, it's all dudes. So you got a bunch of dudes sitting in the crowd just watching these, you know, freshly out of college young men walk across stage in spandex. That's crazy. So in that way in, they're evaluating your demeanor, they're. They're evaluating your body composition just off the eye test. They're evaluating your confidence. They're evaluating everything. So here I am, you know, walking across stage looking frumpy, just I got a gallon beer belly of water in my stomach. Probably looked like a scrub. Oh my God. Even thinking about it gives me anxiety. So day three then you have the bench test. So the first two days are not physical. The last two days are physical. So you, you have a bench test. If you don't know what bench press is, look it up on Google or ask ChatGPT because basically it that's disrespectful. Like I could have Tried to explain it, but basically what it is is they're seeing how strong you are. They take one weight that everybody in the combine does, all 300 guys, 225 pounds, and you just press it off your chest as many times as you can. It's a lot, you know, like physically it's a lot because you're going to failure. You're pushing your body to that point of failure. And again, that's where the physicality starts. So I also want to point out that you're. You're doing these tests, but before and after you might have more medical because maybe on day one they were like, oh, we got to redo a scan, so you might have to come back and do more medical. You have interviews. So like I had interviews with the Cowboys. So like they, they might grab me and say, hey, you got an interview in 30 minutes after your bench test. So you've got like this combinate conglomeration of events that they're just putting in one. But essentially there's themes for the day. So the theme for that day is the bench press. The last day. This is the most important day. So I mentioned that. Two months of rigorous training, two months of breaking up with your girlfriend because you're so focused on football. Don't let Ali hear that. It all comes down to this 12 hour segment where you got to show them everything you got. What do I do? I get so stressed that I pull my hamstring. So basically it's a series of tests on this last day. The vertical jump, you're running broad jump, you had all this boring stuff that, you know, who cares? But I go to run my 40, which is one of the first things, and pull my hamstring. I had an autoimmune issue with my eye. I took like 1,000 milligrams of ibuprofen right before I ran because my eye was inflammation. I was a mess. I was a wreck. Ended up pulling my hamstring and that's all she wrote. So did it help me? The combine didn't even help me. I think, you know, for some people it can be really beneficial. I think for me, it definitely hurt me. I think I walked across that meat market stage and I had a gallon beer belly and then I pulled my hammy and. And they weren't feeling it. So I was really projected pretty draft to probably go in a second or third round. Ended up going seventh round. Also, as I mentioned, I had pre existing back issues which I think resurfaced at the combine unfortunately. So it was just like a series of unfortunate events. Here's another piece of tea that I totally forgot to mention. So in these interviews, this is kind of fun. And I'm like, my ADD brain, like, I'm all over the place, but I'm kind of enjoying it. So again, juicy, juicy, T filled information I forgot to mention. When you're in the combine, they have the. They have the interview portion. These interviewers pull questions out of nowhere. I mean, they'll ask you anything. One guy, I sat down. One guy asked me, what? So when you go out, what are you drinking? Like, what's your go to drink? I was like, you know, like, think about that mind game. You're asking me what my go to drink is. I'm 21. I'm like, do I. Do I tell you I drink? Is that okay? Do I give you. I mean, what if I'm an espresso martini guy? Is that soft? What if I like tequila soda? Because I like to keep it lean, but does that mean I'm trying to get too drunk? Do I like beer? So I remember just saying, oh, I like beer. Another question that totally stumbled me. Oh, my God. Felt like I was in a movie when this guy asked me this question. So again, they got these interviews. You're getting these old school guys that come out of nowhere. This guy comes up to me, he's like, tell me a time when you got your ass kicked. What? I looked at this man, like, what do you mean? Tell me a time in a game where you got your ass kicked. And I'm like, what is this guy talking about? And I just literally, like, I. That's not something I sit there and think about. So again, I'm losing draft stock based on answering these questions for no reason. And I'm like, I don't. I don't know. I don't. I can't think of one. And he goes, you mean to tell me you can't think of one time you got your ass kicked? And I'm like, I mean, bro, you literally put me on the spot. Like, I do. I don't know. Of course I got b. Go watch my tape. You probably already watched it. So it's funny because this is really soft. Me, I, like, couldn't sleep that night. The next day I went and found this guy and I was. I mean, literally, it could have been a movie scene. I was like, 2013 Michigan State Titan. Like, went through the exact scenarios and. Yeah, and then another guy. So there's these things in the NFL called loafs. These interview stories. Actually, I should have just started off with that. There's these things called loafs in the NFL. So this is like, ladies, because this is all women who listen to this. This is like when you tell your man to pick to fill up your. Your hydro jug and he like, halfway puts ice in, like, that's a loaf. Stop being lazy. Or like, you know, like, bro, like, your clothes have been in the dryer for four days. Like, that's a loaf. So they have these things called loafs in the NFL. When you're jogging to the ball, you're not really running and putting in your full effort. So this guy's like, how many loafs would I find on your tape from last season again? What, bro? You think I've counted the loafs? I don't even know what you consider a loaf. And yeah, I mean, that guy, literally, I was like, I don't know. Like, I'm not really a big loaf guy. Like, I usually run to the ball. He's like, you mean to tell me you don't loaf? You know, there's. There's not one. Like, literally, this guy's like, spitting my. You mean to tell me you don't have one? And I'm like, bruh, take it. Take a deep breath like you have a family at home. Like, you don't need to be yelling in my face like that. So that's the kind of stuff that you're dealing with. And again, people are taking this information. They're going back because the. The combine is a big drinking fest for these owners gyms. Like, they really hang out and drink as they should. It's a long season. They're going back, and they're sitting, you know, killing time, drinking. Like, yeah, that Isaac Rochelle guy, you should have heard what he. What he said when I asked him if he got his ass kicked. And it's like, bro, come on. Winners don't make resolutions. Resolutions break. Instead, they just start and then maximize that momentum. When the goal is health span or being able to live better or longer, there are a few non negotiables. One of them is quality. And when it comes to supplements geared toward high performers, no one does it like momentous. They invest in NSF certification, meaning every batch is tested for heavy metals, harmful additives, and label claim accuracy and is the reason they're trusted by all 32 NFL teams and collegiate sports dietitians all over the country. Trusting research and their ecosystem of experts over fads means not offering every supplement on the market. Other brands can do that Momentous believes in nailing the basics with bone crushing consistency, then curating an intentional routine based on your individual goals. And by basics we mean protein and creatine. Momentous sources creapure, the purest form of creatine monohydrate available. And it's an absolute must for both men and women for peak physical and cognitive performance. And here's the deal. I I've taken over my wife's podcast and I use Momentous all the time. Honestly, just a quick specific thing that they have that I love. Their protein powder, they have this chocolate protein powder that is so good. So I'm all in on Momentous. And for the seven years that I play in the NFL, it was super important for me to make sure that I had clean products. So to be able to take a product like this, I know it's NSF certified, they have the best of the best. There's nothing like it. And I would highly recommend Momentous. Any smart man knows how to take advantage of all the knowledge that his wife has. And for me, the skin care knowledge is what I need because I'm constantly dry, ashy, everything. Yeah, like all the negatives that come with dry skin, I have those. But my wife, she's got OSEA body butter. And I'm telling you right now, it goes crazy. Their Undaria algae body butter is special. I mean, listen, I want to be very specific when I talk about this body butter because I need high powered moisturization. This body butter is luxurious, thick, unbelievably rich textured and it absorbs instantly. It feels fantastic. I'm telling you, I give my wife a hug. She knows immediately because I got that body butter on Treat yourself to clean clinically tested skin care from oia. And right now they have a special discount just for the listeners listening to this. Get 10% off your order sitewide using the code SSC Malibu.com I mean, can we just talk about the website name in general? OA Malibu.com. that just sounds luxurious. And I'm telling you this, and I'll say it one more time, take it from somebody who understands how important moisturization is. You're going to want to go get some of this body butter because it is extremely special. If you're not going to thank yourself, I promise you your significant other is going to thank you because your skin's going to be special. Again, go to o malibu.com all right, so we've got a beach trip coming up this spring, which means it's time to start Thinking about packing. And if I'm being honest, I'm usually the last one to do it. In fact, my wife kind of, you know, usually packs for me. I can't say that out loud, but whatever. I'm the type of person to just throw a bunch of random stuff in a big bag at the last second. But not this time. Luckily, Macy's makes it easy to grab everything I need. Swim trunks, flip flops, sunglasses, a couple of lightweight shirts. Basically all the stuff I'd forget until the night before I can get at Macy's. They've got all the good brands too. Nike, Mango Free People, Steve Madden. So whether you need resort wear, travel size, skincare, or even just a solid carry on bag, it's all in one place. And I want you to really, you know, lean in and listen to this. When you're traveling with a baby, being prepared is key. We're talking sun hats, extra swimsuits, all the spf. Because I already know I'll be the one carrying everything while Allison makes sure we have cute beach photos. But like I kind of want to be in those photos too and I want them so I can post them. So if you got a trip coming up, do yourself a Favor, head to Macy's.com or stop by in store and grab everything now at literally everything. Go in there and just fill up your cart, fill up your shopping bag, everything. That way when it's time to leave, you're not scrambling at the last minute like I do or my wife because again, she's taking the brunt of the packing. But go to Macy's.com or go in store and enjoy all that they have. All right, My wife has a basic question of what kind of people are at the NFL combine. But it's a good question. It's a good question. And here's why. It's the elite. It's the best of the best. The NFL combine is, is the literally like it's the top prospects from college that they want to evaluate. So if your guy that they're anticipating is going to be undrafted, you're going to be kind of like whatever we'll just bring into rookie minicamp. They're not bringing you to the combine. It's the guys that they're like, we need to see if this guy's going to go first round, if he's going to go second round, if he's going to go first round, or is he going to be our first overall pick, Is he going to. So they're trying to evaluate like those Specificities of, like, where a guy should be, like, the top guys. So for me, getting invited was, like, a really big deal. I mean, it's something. When you finish college, you're like, am I gonna get invited to the combine? Am I gonna get invited to the Senior Bowl? Because those are, like, stamps of approval for me. I would have gladly turned down my combine invite. Looking back, I know I wouldn't. I would do it. It was. It's, like, prestigious. So it's cool that I did it. So I had all this hype leading up to I'm talking posted on my Instagram. I'm, like, in it. I'm cool. Going to the combine. Like, I do this. What's up? And then, like, it didn't help me. I. I couldn't figure out what drink I drank when I went out, and so I lost drive stock. But this is the issue, and I'm going to vent a little bit. The biggest issue that I had in the NFL, though, was, like, the perception of me and how I talk and who I am versus what's on tape. And when I say tape, I'm referring to when you click play for my game film or my practice film. What they see, that's called the tape. What's on tape versus what you hear when you chat with me and we're yapping two different things. And I felt like that always hurt me, like, even in the combine, when they're like, hey, what do you drink when you go out? And I'm some corny Notre Dame guy who's literally never left South Bend, Indiana, or Georgia, and I'm like, I drink beer. Like, bro, that has nothing to do with how I can play. So it's just such an interesting dynamic there at the combine. So. And it's such a meat market. It's like, I mentioned, like, they're looking for a very specific thing. How long is the day? So the combine day is 24 hours. And so this is the issue with the combine, or. It's not the issue, but it's the thing that makes it uniquely challenging because you've got these four days that I mentioned, but in between these days, like, you're not sleeping a ton. So I mentioned that I had an interview with the Cowboys, and they grab you and say, hey, you got to interview with the Cowboys. They might tell you, hey, the only time that you could interview with The Cowboys is 11 o'clock at night. 11 o'clock at night. I got to be up at 5. I have. I have breakfast at 5am so that's why it's challenging. Also, you have a roommate, Elijah Qualls. Shout out to Elijah. My roommate. Your roommate. Which this wasn't my issue. But your roommate might be listening to music, trying to stretch. They might have a routine. So then you're not sleeping. So they really set you up for failure in the sleep category. So the day structure is very sporadic. You have your big themes of the day, which I mentioned, but you might have to go at 11 o'clock and answer what your favorite drink is. Who knows? It's crazy. That was the craziest question. I can't believe I got asked that. How do I feel at the end of the combine? It's a good question. I was like, so relieved that it was over. I also pulled my hamstrings. So, like, I was literally wobbling out. I remember I pulled my hamstring. They had me on the table. It's not like a team. So, like, they're like, there's nothing I can do for you. So the trainer literally gave me ice, sent me on my way, and I just hobbled out, literally to a side street and caught an Uber and left. Like it was that just savage. You got all this build up for the combine, pull your hamstring and you're literally on the street calling a cab. That was me, but I was, I was really happy at that point. You know, you're just, you're in this cycle of, did I help myself? Did I hurt myself? Did I help myself? Did I hurt myself? In my case, I definitely hurt myself, but whatever. But Ali put this question, could the combine hurt you as a player? Absolutely. It can hurt you as a player. It hurt me. Some guys, they may be no name guys, they go out, they run a 4:3, which is a super fast 40 yard dash time. For the gals that don't know or guys that don't know, they could pop up big time. That same guy, that they're expecting to run that fast, if he runs significantly slower, he could easily, easily, easily, easily drop in the combine. Two good questions to end. Do I have regrets from the combine? I think for me, I just wish I would have went in with more confidence. Like, I feel like now if I met an NFL coach or like a team called me and was like, hey, we're thinking about signing you. You want to come in? Like, I have a kid, I would talk to a coach like, hey, we're two adults having a conversation. And I got to that point in my career where I felt like I was a co worker with my coach, rather than like him being my coach who's going to yell at me. I wish I would approach the combine like that. Like, I wish I would have went into interviews and they asked me questions and I'm like talking to them like, as if I'm a mutual. I went in there with no confidence. I went in there soft, and it really was not a good mentality to dominate. I set myself up for failure in that sense. So I definitely regret that. I just wish I would have went in with a dog mentality, which this is probably. He should have asked me what I drank and I should have been like, I'm trying to think of like a really intense drink, but you know what I mean? Like, or even been like, what do you mean, what do I drink? Like, what do you drink when you go out? Like, that would have been a better response. And I drink beer. So that's just my. That's my. My regret with it. I think that's like one of my regrets with at least the beginning of my NFL career in general is I just wish I would have had more confidence. And then what improvements could the NFL make to the combine? To be honest with you, I don't think there's many improvements you can make. They're packing in as much as you possibly can in a four day period. I think the mental aspect of it, the challenging pieces that they have, even walking across that meat market stage, it does something to you. It really does. It does something to you. And again, you can see so much from something that simple. Somebody's confidence, demeanor, body structure. Like it matters to see all that stuff. If you're going to spend millions of dollars, number one draft pick will make 30, 30 million dollars in that contract. I need you to walk across that stage because I'm paying you because of your physical attributes and abilities. So I don't think they can make much changes. But here we go. I appreciate you guys listening to this episode. I hope all of you guys stayed for the entire episode. If you did, it means the world to me. And if you did, go comment on any of Ali's photos. Your husband loves you, because that'll be funny. But I thoroughly enjoy doing this. I just want to wish good luck to those who are doing the combine because it is super challenging. And if you're about to do the NFL combine, I just want to give you this piece of advice. You're the best player there. You're the best player there. That's the only way that you should approach the NFL combine. You walk on the field, or you walk in an interview room, or you walk in the medical evaluate, it doesn't matter. I'm the best player here. I don't care. It doesn't. Nothing else. I'm the best player. So that's my advice to guys, because I wish I had that. And if you have that mentality, shoot for the stars. So if you fall, you land on the clouds. I'm done. I'm not. Not trying to be that guy. Thank you so much and tun in next week for Sunday Sports Club. Appreciate you guys.
- [28:47]
B
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.