Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A = KELLY WALKER: Welcome to episode 214 of Hustle and Pro. I'm Kelly Walker and we hope you enjoy this episode with football player and strongman extraordinaire, Devon Doggett.
All right, thank you for joining us today, Devon.
[00:00:16] Speaker B = Devon Doggett: Yeah, thank you for having me.
[00:00:17] Speaker A: Tell me, what, what is your sport nowadays?
[00:00:20] Speaker B: So my sport nowadays is I am a professional strongman. So if you ever watched on ESPN, you see these 6 foot 5, 300 pound guys lifting boulders on the platforms and pressing giant dumbbells over their head. That, that's what I do now. So I got my pro card in September of this year.
Was kind of on the amateur circuit for a little while and then just 2025, things just started taking off.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Strongman wise, amateur circuit for a little while.
Was this a hobby that has been a year in the making? 2, 3. Like how long did you pick this up? I mean, I assume you've been lifting weights for a while as an athlete, but then how, how long has it been since you're like, okay, I'm going to focus on these skills.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: So I started strongman after lockdown ended due to Covid.
It was also around the time my football career ended and I started training at a gym in Fort Worth called Metro Flex the Castle. And the owner saw me training one day and he goes, hey, you ever thought about doing strongman? Because he said I was a big athletic guy.
I was like, I mean, no, not really. I'm not like a 400 pound dude. He's like, no, they have weight classes for you? And I'm like, oh, okay, okay, let's, let's see where this goes. So I was asked him, I said, hey, so do I pay you for training or how does this work? And he said, just work out with me and the crew on Saturday and if you make it, we'll go from there.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: Make it through the workout.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Through the workout. So that's how I knew I was.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: In for a doozy. Accepted.
[00:01:44] Speaker B: And I'll tell you what, Kelly, that workout was harder than any football practice ever had in my life. Really?
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Yes. One strongman workout.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Yes. And I think it was due to the fact it was in the summer. The gym is like a giant warehouse. And I think part of Metro Flex is that they don't believe in air conditioning.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: So they sweat it out.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: Oh my goodness. I think I lost about 8 pounds of sweat.
[00:02:04] Speaker A: Is it? Well, I mean, Strongman, right, alludes to the strength and the weights. Is there cardio involved too?
[00:02:10] Speaker B: There is a cardio element added to it because some of the events there, what's called, referred to as a dynamic event. So you know, you're carrying a heavy sandbag for max distance or you're carrying a heavy keg and loading it over a bar. So you're doing that, you know, repeatedly.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: So you got to be able to breathe.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Oh yeah. While there's a 300 pound object kind of constricting your airflow while you're huffing and puffing, darting 50 meters down a course.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: Okay, so that workout in what, 2020, 2021 or something like that?
Nowadays, if you do that exact workout today, would it, would it even bother you?
[00:02:42] Speaker B: It would not bother me at all. Just because, you know, my body's used to it. It' you know, going out and running a mile every day. The first time you go run a mile, you're gonna, you know, be huffing and puffing and be like, why am I doing this?
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: But you know, after a few times you're like, oh my God.
[00:02:55] Speaker A: It's like riding a bike called conditioning for a reason. You condition your body to do it. Okay, you mentioned two of the events. Do you call them events when you go to a competition?
So these are fascinating, right? When I see them on TV or when I see you posting about them. So gigantic barbells.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: But.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: Okay, tell me, walk me through like a normal competition, the last one you did, how many events do you compete at and what are they called or what are they doing?
[00:03:20] Speaker B: Yeah, so usually in a strongman competition, there's always one overhead press event. There's always one deadlift event.
There's always what's referred to as a loading event. So taking an object and loading it over a bar for either maximum amount of weight or maximum amount of reps in a minute.
[00:03:35] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:36] Speaker B: And then there's always a dynamic or moving event. So carrying something, you know, whether for speed or distance.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: Is that one of the ones when you lift up that looks like a mini car or something, whatever, it goes around you and you walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Yes, that's. So that's a dynamic event.
[00:03:51] Speaker A: Oh, dynamic, okay. Yeah, yeah. So they have those categories. When you go into the competition, do you know exactly what the thing is you're going to be doing? Or you just know it falls into that category.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: So usually we know what the exact event is and all the parameters, rules, things of that sort, how the scores are going to be measured.
Every so often there will be one mystery event that's thrown into, that's usually for the bigger events. I have not done one yet. That's had a mystery event, so.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: I'm kind of hoping, because I'm also going to compete in Virginia beach in May. I'm hoping that that'll have a mystery event just so I can see, you know, can I handle a mystery event? You know, just testing my general physical preparedness.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: That's cool. All right, so those events, what is your best.
Like, what are you best at or what is your favorite?
[00:04:36] Speaker B: I am best at anything dynamic. So, you know, the, the frame carries what you referring to earlier or a sandbag. Anything that involves moving, I'm good at. Because I was a hurdler. I made it to State in the 110 hurdles in high school. Yeah.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Yeah. So I've always been just a naturally fast person. Anything that involves moving, I know I'm either going to place among the top not event or win it.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: How far are you moving? Like 20 yards back and forth.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: So it's usually 100ft in increments of 50. 50ft. So 50 foot down, 50 foot back is usually standard for strongman.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: So you tend to like pull away from the crowd in those. Yes, because you're just. You can pick up the thing. They can all pick up the thing, but you get there back and forth.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Exactly. Just my foot speed is a lot faster than these guys because some of them, you know, I. I'm a rarity in the sense that I have a track and field background, which some of them may, but it's like, oh, they were all throwers.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Right, right, right. So what is your. What is the event you have the most room to be better at?
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Overhead pressing? Because I have a legitimate 6 foot 11 wingspan. And so it takes a little while for me to get an object all the way above my head. And then I've also had a couple shoulder surgeries due to football.
So just naturally I've, you know, I'm kind of behind the eight ball in that sense.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: Like, there could be like some kind of weakness in those for sure. Overhead press. So you're pressing the dumbbell up, like up over for a ball or something.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: It's either a dumbbell or some sort of barbell.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: Barbell.
How much weight is that that you're doing in a competition?
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Oh, it varies. So. And we'll.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: I've seen these barbells that you work out with and I'm like, I feel like that's heavier than me. Yeah. How much is this barbell you're putting over your head?
[00:06:11] Speaker B: So the barbell. So like taking a standard barbell so the most weight I put over my head with that is 395 pounds.
And then the giant dumbbell, which I actually. I hit a personal record a couple days ago, and that's with one arm. I did 280.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. One arm. 280 over your head.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Sure did.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: Wow, that's crazy. Is one arm better than the other?
[00:06:37] Speaker B: Because you're my right arm. That's my good one. Because my left shoulder, I had three surgeries in it post football.
Me and the surgeon in Wichita Falls, we got really close. He's like, back again, huh?
[00:06:48] Speaker A: I'm sure. Unfortunately for you, yes.
Oh, that's too bad. Okay, before we scooch over to your football career, I want to see what you've won.
I asked you to bring some show and tell. I don't normally have guests. Of course bring show and tell, but I know I'm proud of you, and you should be proud of your stuff, so I want to see what you got.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: So this was a medal that I got in the Ultimate Strongman World Championship in full the Germany last summer, 2024.
So I place fourth out of 25 people from, you know, all over the world.
Yeah. So this is very cool. This is one of my favorites. Yes, you sure can.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: Okay. This is awesome.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: I like the German ribbon so that you can really remember instantly what this.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: And then there's a design on the back, too, as the. The flag on and everything.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Oh, it's in Roman numerals.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Oh, look, it's a guy holding up a barbell.
[00:07:41] Speaker B: Yeah, that's me.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: That's awesome. What a cool commemoration or memory from.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: Absolutely. It's very, you know, it'll be a fun story, you know, to tell, you know, the kids and grandkids, like, hey, back in. Back in granddad's day, he was doing.
[00:07:56] Speaker A: This and doing that in Germany, of all things.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: And then this one's a little bigger. It's reset.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: So we had the official straw man games World Championship in Arlington, Texas. So I had a little bit of home field advantage.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: So I was very fortunate enough to play second in the world. So that's my current ranking as we stand. So got this nice little trophy, and then also the people that finish in top 10 get medals as well. I didn't bring that because my wife made a shadow box with my competition from that competition and then the medal, so. But I was able to bring this.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: Scooch him over here.
[00:08:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: That's great. Yeah, he looks tough.
That's awesome.
So you've already got a little trophy case going?
[00:08:35] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: A little bit.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: A little bit.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: That's so cool.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Yay.
What is this word? Subert.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: So Cerberus Strike. So they're the, they were the title.
[00:08:44] Speaker A: Sponsor for the World Strong Man Games. Strongest man.
What is the 105kg?
[00:08:50] Speaker B: So that's the weight category.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: So it's not what you're lifting, it's what you are.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Exactly. So strongman and powerlifting, it's like boxing. You know, there's weight classes like there's.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Heavyweights, middleweights, so that you're not competing against like tiny guys. Like they're there. They have their own set of competition.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: And then I have my own. I've competed in the open weight, which are the big, big guys before, and I've done pretty well.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: So at your weight class there's weights higher, there's bigger guys, there are wider guys.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Because I'm considered a rarity for my weight class because I'm, I'm 6 foot 4 and a lot of guys in my weight class, they top out at like six foot.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Okay, so you got height on everybody? Yes, absolutely.
You said there's bigger weight class, heavier.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Yes, but they're, but they're, you know, they're wider. Kind of your short stock. You're looking guys.
[00:09:36] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Okay. So you've gone in the open category before where you are competing against, against those guys.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: 300 plus pounds easy.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: And how's that go?
[00:09:47] Speaker B: I've podium at a lot of those shows. Yeah.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: Okay.
And you can't go up to them. You can't because of your weight. Like you're, you're where you at.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: I have no desire to get that big.
[00:09:57] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: And I think my wife appreciates the fact that I don't want to get that big because our grocery bill would be through the.
[00:10:01] Speaker A: That's like a whole lifestyle thing. Are those guys full timers?
[00:10:05] Speaker B: A lot of those guys are full time. Like this is what they do. And then again, another thing that I'm kind of a rarity is that I have a 8 to 5 job that I love and this is honestly a hobby that I just like can't be.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: In the gym as much as gym owner or trainer. Like they live and breathe it.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:10:22] Speaker A: And you have this, you know, full time thing you got to work on.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: And your full time thing also happens to bleed over into mains and travel and weekends and you know, fun stuff sometimes. But that takes away from it. Does you getting to be like in the gym all the time.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: Yeah, but I do well without it.
[00:10:41] Speaker A: When you travel for work, do you. Does it. Does a hotel gym? Can you even use that?
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Not really.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: I mean, it's like, what, £50 or something?
[00:10:49] Speaker B: £50 to £60 maximum. I mean, when I travel for work, I'll get on a treadmill just to get some cardio in. Then I'll do, you know, some standard dumbbell work. But I mean, there's only so much I can do in a hotel.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: You need to be in, like, a special gym for sure, for strong guys.
And there's probably strong gals, right?
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Do all your competitions have a female side?
[00:11:10] Speaker B: Every single one of them has a female.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Okay, so switching gears. Yes, because all that's fascinating and different, but I also want to know.
You mentioned hurdling, but I want to know what got you to the, you know, physique and strength and all the pieces that got you to be able to be strong. Man. So what was your childhood sport look like going into, you know, high school, college.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: So childhood. I started out like everybody else. I was a baseball player. I loved. I loved playing shortstop.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: Here in Texas.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Here in Texas? Yes. At west side lines. Little League out in Fort Worth.
[00:11:43] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: Is where I played.
And then I played Until I was 10 years old, I think. And then I didn't play organized sports until I got to high school, actually. I mean, I would be out playing with neighborhood kids, playing football, basketball, baseball, all that.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: You didn't start Pee Wee football?
[00:11:59] Speaker B: No.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: You were peewee baseball?
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:03] Speaker A: And then.
So even in middle school, you weren't playing? Nope. You jumped in in high school?
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Yep. I started playing football in high school.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: And track. Yeah. Both not so high school.
That's great, because that just means you don't have to start at age 5 to be good at something. Right.
You have a natural ability. Sport ability. Is that a family thing?
[00:12:26] Speaker B: It is 100% a family thing. My father was a heck of an athlete in his own right. He was an all American up in New Jersey. Football and basketball.
And then my grandfather was an amazing soccer player.
[00:12:38] Speaker A: No way.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: He was a crazy soccer player. You know, he. Yeah, he had trophies galore from his soccer days. When he was in high school, they would scrimmage because from New Jersey, they would scrimmage. Princeton.
[00:12:50] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: And he would just annihilate those guys. Like, my grandfather was an amazing athlete. So it was.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: Do you ever dabble in soccer?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: No, never tried. Yeah, too much running for me.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: Were you big? And before high, like, were you always bigger, taller?
[00:13:06] Speaker B: I was always amongst the taller kids. I was also a little. A little chunky when I was in middle school. You know, I hadn't, you know, grown out of my baby fat just yet.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Soccer wasn't the build. People probably told you you didn't have the build for soccer. You thought you didn't.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: I'd have to be either a goalkeeper or center back and play soccer.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: Which nowadays, like, there are really.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a lot of taller, bigger guys.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: Yeah. These days in the back there. Absolutely. Even some forwards. But you have to be able to move, you know, and want to run a lot. For sure. I think that's changed over the years.
[00:13:34] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, if I started now, I'd probably. Yeah, I'd probably dabble in soccer maybe.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. So, grandpa, soccer, dad, basketball, football.
So then you tried football in high school.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: I did.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: How did that go?
[00:13:48] Speaker B: Oh, my word. So I always, as a kid, I loved football. I just love the game. And I had a very pretty solid football IQ going in because I watch NFL, college religiously. I have still little journals of me drawing up my own offensive plays like I was a football nerd through and through.
And my little brain decided that, hey, I'm going to try to play quarterback. I can throw the ball far, sure. So why not go play one of the hardest positions ever? And you've never played football.
That also was around the time that I had my first growth spurt. And so I kind of had, you know, the little baby deer thing going on. Like I was long, gangly.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: Fill it all in yet.
[00:14:23] Speaker B: Exactly. I didn't know how to use my body right. So my first year, my freshman year was a little rough for me because I.
[00:14:28] Speaker A: Again, most freshmen are shaped and are probably in that same boat, but yeah.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I was on the freshman B team, actually.
[00:14:36] Speaker A: Starting just like Jack.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: There's hope.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Exactly. And then. Just kidding, There is hope. You're going to be all right, Jack. Trust me.
And then, so, yeah, after my freshman year, got used to my body and then just again, my natural athletic ability just took over from there.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Did you ever get to JV or did you skip up to varsity or.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: So I started out my sophomore year on jv. So sophomore year is also interesting because I played just about every position under the sun. So I was quarterback and then I played outside linebacker and then both sides.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: Of the ball during the game.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And then I played tight end and wide receiver for a few games there, too. And towards the end of my sophomore year, I got moved up to Varsity.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: I think, I think week six.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: Oh, that's early. Yeah. So varsity most of the time then?
[00:15:26] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:15:26] Speaker A: And then at what point were you like, I think I could keep playing into college?
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Yeah. I will say probably my.
I think my junior year. Middle of my junior year.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: By then, had you outlined a primary position or were you like, I'm versatile, I can play whatever college needs me?
[00:15:45] Speaker B: At that. Yeah. At that point I was like, hey, if you say, we need you to play this, I guarantee I could figure it out because of my. Thankfully was blessed with a lot of natural athletic ability and just, I just wanted to be good at whatever.
[00:15:56] Speaker A: Was that part of the recruiting conversation.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: A little bit dependent? It just depended on the school that I was talking to.
[00:16:03] Speaker A: Right. Because I mean, there's some schools that are like, we only need this. Right. But then there's probably some coaches that are like, hey, versatility is a. Is a factor.
[00:16:10] Speaker B: Exactly. If you could do this, then, yeah, we'll have you do it. And so I think it wasn't until my senior year, well, not even my senior year, that I had a position nailed down because I started my senior year as a slot wide receiver.
And then, like, I'm a big body guy for a slot receiver.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: And then our starting tight end broke his ankle.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: I was gonna say naturally. It just seems like more of a tight end too, but yeah.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: And then so the remainder of my senior year, I played tight end. And then that's what I got my scholarship for, to play it.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: And where were you?
[00:16:40] Speaker B: So I played my first two years at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas. It's okay if you haven't heard, of course, Cannes, Texas, because nobody else has either.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: I know. Of course I cannot because I'm from Waco. So I think we played Corsicana team at some point growing up, maybe like, playoff situation. And I also know Navarro because of cheer.
Sorry.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: But it's okay. Phenomenal.
[00:17:02] Speaker A: You know, I have a daughter who loves cheer, so we watch that together.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Everyone that I come across, they're like, oh, the cheer school.
[00:17:08] Speaker A: I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So two years there.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: Yeah, so he was there.
So I played tight end the first two games. And then our starting fullback broke his ankle.
[00:17:21] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:17:21] Speaker B: Coach looks at me and says, hey, dog, it. You ever played fullback?
Said, no, but I could probably figure it out. He's like, well, good, you're going to start at fullback next week.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: So my freshman year I played fullback.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: Good thing you're smart and can take it out and, like, probably new playbooks and all that stuff. You could just figure it out.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: Yeah. All that was thankfully fostered from an early age. So.
[00:17:41] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Okay, so then what?
[00:17:44] Speaker B: So then sophomore year rolls around. I'm finally able to play tight end for most of the year.
[00:17:50] Speaker A: Natural thing.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: Exactly. And then once again, the guy that was. So we kind of switched up our offense my sophomore year at Navarro. We had, like, a fullback slash h back type of position.
That guy quit.
And so they're like, opportunity. Hey, dog it. Like, yep, we need you to step fill in and play this position. I'm like, sure. Why don't you have me kick at this point?
[00:18:13] Speaker A: Right, right. That's funny. Yeah. So you played a different.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: I did. I did. And then after that, I got my scholarship offer from Midwestern State University to play tight end. So I'm like, all right, awesome. I finally get to play tight end for an entire season.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Right. Okay.
[00:18:30] Speaker B: Didn't quite work out that way in the end, but.
[00:18:34] Speaker A: That's funny.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So just about, I think, unusual, but I don't know.
[00:18:37] Speaker A: I mean, I'm guessing that's unusual, but doesn't happen often. Yeah.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: I had a very. It was, again, very fun time in my football career, but.
So I'll never forget the fall before or the day before fall camp, my junior year in Midwestern State.
Head coach calls me in the office, and I'm like, okay, what's going on? Because, you know, never got in trouble, always good.
He's like, I gotta ask you a question. I'm like, all right. What's up? Coach Maskill? He says, we're low on quality defensive ends.
[00:19:08] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:19:09] Speaker B: We know you're a freak athlete. Would you be willing to switch sides?
[00:19:13] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:19:14] Speaker B: And the only thing that I asked him, I said, will I start?
He said, probably okay.
[00:19:19] Speaker A: I said, okay, you just want to play Start.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: Yeah. And then I played defensive end for the remainder of my college career.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: And you hadn't played a defensive position probably since, like, 10th grade.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: Yeah, not since 10th grade.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: Wow.
All right, so then I know you played a little more after college. Right. So what was. Yeah. How did that work out? Or how did that come about?
[00:19:38] Speaker B: Yeah. So after my. My senior year, I knew that, like, I was a great athlete. I knew that I could at least warrant a look or two from a pro day.
And so I moved from Wichita Falls back to Fort Worth, and then I started training out at Driven Elite out in Grapevine, Texas, which was attached to Grapevine Mills Mall.
[00:19:56] Speaker A: Which.
[00:19:57] Speaker B: Which is ran by Donald Driver, which I didn't realize until I got there. And I just saw him walking about and I kind of fanboyed a little bit. Donald Driver, what's he doing here? And then the guy that trained all the D line linebackers, he's like, names on the building, bud.
[00:20:08] Speaker A: It's his gym.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So I got to train under Donald Driver. And then a guy by the name of Noel Scarlett, God rest his soul, he played defensive tackle for the Vikings and the Cowboys for a little bit.
And so going through the training process, you know, for pro days, you do your 40 yard dashes, your 225 bench press for max reps, your pro agility, and then your position drill. So I'm training all of that for seven hours a day.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Whoa.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: You know, leading up to my pro day and about two and a half, three weeks into training, a guy, I think he was a scout. I want to say it was the Vikings that came up because Noel played for the Vikings. He came in, you know, so he.
[00:20:51] Speaker A: Had the connections and probably came and looked at guys.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: Exactly. Seeing who's there. It was myself. And then a linebacker from Tarleton State was our rival.
And then a linebacker from Texas A and M Kingsville, and then a defensive lineman that played at Texas Tech.
And so those. Those his guys.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: I love that school. For sure.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: Just a little bit. You might know a thing or two.
[00:21:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So he came to look at all of you guys.
[00:21:13] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And then he saw me working out. He pulled me to the side. He was like, what position did you play, man? I was like, I was a defensive vet. He was like, no, no, you're an outside linebacker now. What? I was like, what? He's like, you. Your body type gear sued for an outside linebacker.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: You'd never done that?
[00:21:29] Speaker B: I did for a little bit again in 10th grade. But that.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: That's different world. It's 10th grade.
[00:21:34] Speaker B: This is not NFL.
[00:21:35] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: And then Noel looked at him, he looked at me. He's like, well, that's what we're gonna work on.
[00:21:40] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
That's crazy. Because if it was some other NFL team, they could have seen you some other way.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:21:47] Speaker B: Yeah. And so from then on, the ran in, my training was training as an outside linebacker, which there's some crossover between playing defensive end and playing outside linebacker depending upon the defense. Sometimes it's just a matter of if your hands down or your hands up. So. So yeah, started training as an outside linebacker. And then we had Our pro day.
So it was Tarleton State's pro day because they were the bigger program and they had more, I guess, NFL prospects, because for us, it was myself, our quarterback, Leighton Rabbit, and then our two running backs that we're getting.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:22:19] Speaker A: Carlton had more.
[00:22:20] Speaker B: They had a lot. They had a really good team that year. And then.
[00:22:22] Speaker A: What conference is that?
[00:22:23] Speaker B: That's the Lone Star Conference, whose basketball tournament we host here. Yeah, you know them just a little.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Bit, which is also interesting because now, you know, through work, there's something to be said for having a pro day.
[00:22:34] Speaker B: For the whole conference. The whole conference.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: You can see all the guys. Even if there's a school that only has, you know, two guys. Yeah, you can still get the full look.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: But that wasn't happening back then, I'm sure.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: Not quite.
[00:22:46] Speaker A: I mean, it's not like it's that long ago. You're young, but.
All right. So did the Vikings let you come work out with them, or was it someone else?
[00:22:53] Speaker B: So I wound up being someone else. So at Pro Day, and Tarleton's Pro Day, the Vikings, the Browns, the Patriots, Rams, Broncos, Lions, a couple Canadian League teams, and then the. You remember the old aaf, the league that went belly up in seven weeks? So a couple teams from there came to the pro. So we had a good amount of scouts in front of us, and I initially was going to work out as both the defensive end and linebacker.
And the guy that was running the linebacker drills was a scout from the Cowboys named Henry Sroka, and he'd been a scout with the Cowboys for a very long time. And then a Ram scout by the name of Steve Kaser. So they ran the linebacker drills, and then some ran through the linebacker drills, did fantastic. And then the defensive line is their turn to go. So I step up, and I'll never forget Steve Kaser with the Rams. He goes, dog it. You're good.
[00:23:48] Speaker A: You're good.
[00:23:48] Speaker B: Like, we. We've seen what we want to see.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:23:50] Speaker B: You did well. Okay, you can stop. And I'm like, oh, hopefully that's a good thing. Yeah. Yeah. I'm assuming it's good. Either real good or real bad.
[00:23:58] Speaker A: It could go either way. We don't need to see any more.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, hey, we don't want to see. It's time for you to do something else.
[00:24:04] Speaker A: But that's good, though.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: Yeah. No, it was a good sign.
And then, so fast forward to draft day, I was well aware that I probably wouldn't get drafted because Midwestern state's a Small school.
[00:24:14] Speaker A: Right.
[00:24:14] Speaker B: Like, I had that expectation going in, and so, you know, go through, obviously, Duncan drafted and then get a call from Denver Broncos, said they want to bring me in for rookie minicamp. And then so I spent a little bit with them.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: That's cool.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:28] Speaker A: I bet that was a fun experience that you didn't even expect to happen a few years before that.
[00:24:33] Speaker B: No, no, no. If you'd asked me, I'd, you know, be in the same, you know, meeting room as Von Miller. I probably would get out of here.
[00:24:39] Speaker A: Seriously. He was there. He was there.
[00:24:41] Speaker B: I was there.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Just being exposed to guys like Von Miller. Like, that's a cool life experience.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Yeah. And also Peyton Manning, he came to practice one day and I met Peyton Manning, the legend, the sheriff.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's very cool. So then, like, at some point, you realize, okay, I'm not going to end up, like, on a roster. And then.
[00:25:02] Speaker B: Yeah, so it was a fun story with that. So. So after I was released from Denver, I got a physical done and found out that I had two herniated discs in my neck.
[00:25:12] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: And that was causing some pretty bad nerve damage and nerve pain to the point where sometimes I'd wake up and I couldn't feel my arm.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: So you knew there was something off.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Yeah. And I remember they officially told you. Yes.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: They were like, hey, but this isn't for you.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: You should shut it down. Yeah. And I remember the exact play it had happened to.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: Oh, really? There was a moment.
[00:25:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: I mean, over time, I would assume.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: It just got worse.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: Right, right, right. But something injured you for sure. Yeah.
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Yeah. So it was senior year. We were playing Western New Mexico up in Silver City, New Mexico.
And I was playing defensive end. I shut a blocker, and I go to make a tackle, and my head was too far down, and then, boom, made the tackle, but my neck compressed. And then I'm kind of sitting there, and then my arms are like this weird tingling. I'm like, oh, no, I can't feel my arms. What's happening to me? I'm like, oh, it's just a stinger. Whatever. And so I just. I got feeling back in my right arm. My left arm was still kind of late to the party.
[00:26:13] Speaker A: I guess that's why they do the physicals, so that they catch it.
[00:26:16] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: Even if you didn't say anything for your own good, for their good. So they're not investing in somebody who can't.
[00:26:22] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:26:23] Speaker A: Can't.
[00:26:23] Speaker B: Long term, you don't want to invest in damaged goods. For lack of that. Better terms, which is understandable.
[00:26:27] Speaker A: So that was it.
[00:26:28] Speaker B: That was it.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: Wow.
All that. And then, I mean, that's. That's. That's any sport, right?
An accident, any off. Off sport accident can, like, just derail the plan, no matter what the talent is on the field.
[00:26:44] Speaker B: Right, Exactly.
[00:26:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
So then you. You still managed to. Just quickly, I just want to mention that you still get to be around sports a lot.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: I do, yeah.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: I work with you here at Visit Frisco, and you still get to be around all kinds of sports, around sports leadership.
[00:27:00] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:27:01] Speaker A: Yeah. So tell me how, like, I'm assuming that at least fills that. That bucket a little.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Really does. It really does. So I got my. My degree. My master's degree in sports administration. Like, I knew if I wasn't going to play professionally, I had to be around sports somehow some way.
And so I originally started out working Parks and Recreation, which was fine. You know, it served its purpose and all that. And it got me a pretty solid knowledge base for how city government works. And so when the position here at Visit Frisco opened, it was the sports and event services coordinator. And so I saw that, I immediately went for it because I knew what Frisco was, the sports destination was having grown up just down the street in Fort Worth, Texas, and was fortunate enough to have been given the role. And so I've been almost three years now.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, it's fun working alongside you and you get to do all these sports things because I know it's, you know, what you're passionate about. And so getting to work with and have clients that are all your, you know, sports leadership and teams and conferences, it's. It's fun. It's great.
[00:28:07] Speaker B: Yeah. In work heaven. Yeah, definitely.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: So congrats on getting to stay in the biz.
[00:28:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:12] Speaker A: And obviously congrats on all your strong man.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:28:16] Speaker A: Winnings and success. It's very cool to have a coworker that is off doing those cool things and winning all the things.
[00:28:22] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it.
[00:28:24] Speaker A: So I'll put your Instagram handle on here so people can go find you. Is that where people would see your stuff? Instagram?
[00:28:31] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. Mostly.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Okay. I'll put it out there so people can go check you out.
[00:28:34] Speaker B: Oh, thank you.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Thank you for taking time.
[00:28:36] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. This is so fun.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: Chat with us. Yeah.
Thanks for joining us for this episode of Hustle and Pro. Subscribe on YouTube and check us out on Instagram and we'll see you next episode.
