All right, let's start from the
beginning. When did you first fall in
love with football?
>> When I first fell in love with football,
I remember I was like probably 6 years
old and one day I was just at the house
just chilling and I know my dad came to
me and he was like, [music] "We're going
to go to the field today." And we went
out went to the field and spent some
time just getting clothes together and I
was just like, "Where are we Where are
we possibly going?" [music] And he
actually took me out to play flag
football. When I was running around just
scoring touchdowns and everybody was
like, "This kid's actually pretty good."
So, that's kind of when I explored like
my love for the game.
>> And when did it occur to you that maybe
your height was going to be an issue or
maybe even an advantage?
>> Uh definitely I'd say getting into high
school because, you know, you have some
people out here who's getting heavy
looks just because or maybe [music] they
might be 6'5". They look the part from
everybody, but I definitely had to
figure out like early on that I can
control the controllable. There are
things that you can't control.
>> [music]
>> Your height is not something you really
can't control. It's genetics, really.
>> When those thoughts came to you like,
"Man, maybe I'm not cut out for this.
Maybe I'm not tall enough." What did you
say to that voice?
>> Uh that voice it definitely gets to you
for a second, but at some point you
realize if you want to be successful,
you really you're going to have to make
a way or find a way. Like one of the
biggest things I know is like for me out
of my book, I know that one of the
biggest things is the will principle.
That's actually a principle explaining
like the people you have around you.
That's something I can't control and one
of the biggest quotes I go by is "Show
me your friends, I'll show you your
future."
>> You had higher standards for yourself.
You are a full-time student athlete
[music] in college. So, you have your
classes, you have your tests, you have
your projects, you have your studying,
then you have your practice, you have
your games, you have your travel for
games. What in the world make you want
to write a book on top of all that?
>> I I feel like it was really important
because I know as I said earlier, my
father was definitely a coach when I was
younger and I looked up to him [music]
like as he was inspiring kids to be able
to go outside their comfort zone maybe
whether that's in the classroom. [music]
Maybe you might not have everything just
made out for you, but basically just my
passion for giving back. So, that's
That's my biggest reason for writing the
book.
>> What's your message out there? Athlete,
non-athlete, just anyone out there who
feels they have [music]
a disadvantage, maybe not physically,
but they can still find their success.
>> My biggest [music] message is just stay
the path you're on, to be honest. If you
Like even in the book, there's even
parts where [music] you actually have
questions, so you can self-reflect on
making sure that you're actually being
honest with yourself and letting
yourself know like if I'm trying to do
what I want [music] to do. If I really
say I really want to do that, am I
putting as much work in as I'm saying I
am?
>> The most important question I ask you
today, is there any [music] school you
want to give a shoutout to out there?
>> I'm going to start at Ron Clark Academy.
They built my whole foundation, [music]
just being able to develop social
skills. Woodward Academy, that was the
first high school I went to and I had an
amazing experience with them. Went to
Walker in my last [music] senior year. I
enjoyed that experience and met a lot of
great people. Now, I'm at Jacksonville
State University [music] and now that's
where I'm starting my college journey,
so every place I actually took my
journey is where I want to shoutout.