Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: For this episode of hustle and pro.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: We'Re talking to some local high school football players who went on to play in college and are back for the east West Shrine bowl.
We pulled them aside at media day for the Shrine bowl, and we talked to Ryan Watts from little l, Tyler Owens from Plano east, and Willis Patrick from Mansfield. Enjoy the show.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: All right, we're talking to Ryan Watts. You are from little elm and are finishing up your time at UT, right?
[00:00:30] Speaker C: Yes, ma'am.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: All right, so tell me, when you were here in this area. I know you're not from Frisco, but it's really close, right? The borders are a little gray sometimes. Tell me what your football career looked like in high school.
[00:00:42] Speaker C: Well, in high school, I was playing football, basketball, running track.
I was playing for high school, Littleham High School, playing varsity since my sophomore year. My junior year, I had my breakout, my breakout games. I ended up exploding in the recruiting scene. I had about, like 40 offers that year, and I originally committed to Ohio State, and I went to Ohio State.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: So that's coming from. What size is little elm High school?
[00:01:09] Speaker C: At that time, it was five a, and that was six a.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Okay. So sizable. I was going to say that sounds little for getting recruited for such big schools.
[00:01:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: So you must have been definitely a standout. You didn't have a lot of teammates getting the same recruiting.
[00:01:24] Speaker C: No, I was really the first one. Well, we had a teammate, Brandon Crosley. He had went to Colorado State, and now he's at SMU. So it was him. And then I got my offers, and then after that, we had Keyshawn Mills, who went to Colorado. Now he's at SMU. And Terrence Brooks, who's at Texas now.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: That's a lot.
[00:01:42] Speaker C: We had a basketball player, too, RJ Hampton. He's in the NBA right now, like, his fourth year.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:01:47] Speaker C: Just recently, we blew up a little.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Bit in the sports. That's great. So you didn't. Did you ever do any time at Ohio State, or you went straight to Austin?
[00:01:55] Speaker C: I went to Ohio State for two years, and I transferred to Texas. University of Texas at Austin for two years.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: Okay. And obviously finished up there, and now you are done with that time and moving on. So a lot of people talk about this East West Shrine bowl as like a week long interview for the NFL. Right. So how do you see this week? How do you see this game?
[00:02:14] Speaker C: Definitely opportunity to showcase your skills in front for scouts if they got any questions. And you believe in yourself? I'm confident in my game. I know I'm going to do fine, so just be able to play the game and another week at it, too. So the season just ended, having another week to play the game that you love. And it's definitely something like, I've been looking up to this since I was young. I've been a football fanatic. I watched the shrine bowl. I watched the senior bow when I was younger in high school, I've been always in football. So now that I'm in it and getting these interviews from scouts, it's definitely surreal just being in this time, experiencing this.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: And are you looking forward to NFLPA being involved in some education and just sort of seeing what that looks like?
[00:02:55] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, most definitely. We already had a seminar this morning. We had, I forgot his name. He played in the league and his most important message to us was.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: At.
[00:03:05] Speaker C: The end of your football career, make more than you earned while playing football. So basically be intentional in what you do off the field, like investing and real estate and all that more than spending because taxes takes a lot of your money, too. So just educating stuff on stuff like that because that's something you never really think about on the outside. So just hearing all those stories in person, that's key.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Are there, you know, former players, not that maybe you look forward to seeing who is going to be here, but names that you looked up to that, you know, played in this game.
[00:03:40] Speaker C: I know Steve Smith played in this game. And coach Sark, I didn't even know he played in this game. He's going to be here this week.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: Yeah, they're big.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: I don't know about Zay Flowers. Guys from the last couple of years, Isaiah Pacheco and Brock Purdy, all the big names recently. So just being able to have the opportunity to lead on that and just have a big influence in the league, too.
[00:04:05] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. And you mentioned earlier you're confident in your game and this is what you've been looking forward to.
They're going to be talking to you all week and all these interviews you're doing, where does the confidence come from?
[00:04:17] Speaker C: Confidence come from just my love for the game, really. Just having it since I was a kid, man. Just playing it since a kid and just dominating. I know I'm a great player. I'm educated. I feel like I could be a scout myself when I'm older. I know how to value game and I could be realistic about things. I'm confident in what I can do with my speed, my size and my smarts, too. I feel like I have a long future in the game, I could play special teams and play anything on the back end because I'm a smart and athletic player.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Did you play more than safety positions through high school or were you in high school?
[00:04:48] Speaker C: High school.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: My first route. Anytime.
[00:04:49] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. So in high school I played quarterback.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: I didn't know that.
[00:04:54] Speaker C: Yeah. So then sophomore and junior year, I played corner and safety, and then senior year I played corner and receiver.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: So when you were getting the heavily scouted year, what was it for?
[00:05:05] Speaker C: It was for cornerback.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: That was the year I played strictly corner. And in my senior year, they needed more help, so I played receiver and corner. I had some of that receiver, too, but I didn't want to play offense. I want to be the one to hit somebody.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Okay. So then when you're at this stage, and obviously that's the high school to college jump, and you can be flexible and position flexible. Right. What about from this jump, from college to pro? Is that a common thing where they could ask you to have some flexibility with your speed and some of the different skills you have?
[00:05:36] Speaker C: Oh, yes, ma'am. Definitely. I feel like they're going to ask me to play safety and I'll play safety, too. I have a love for safety, but I think where people get it, they say because somebody has good size and speed, they like a corner at corner that everybody can play safety. I don't believe everybody can play safety with size and speed. Like, you got to have smarts to play safety. And I know that I'm a smart athlete, so I'm confident I could play the corner or safety. I could do both.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: I love it. Okay, so last thing. When you walk away from this experience of this whole six, seven days of this, what's your goal?
[00:06:08] Speaker C: Just be able to soak up as much information as I can and just being blessed to learn from the NFL coaches right now, just being able to soak up as much information as I can because it's going to be important later in the road. And some coaches might have some great tips for you on how to fix your game, too, and they might not be your coach in the NFL. Just be able to continue to carry that with me having my notes and always work on that. So just having that extra knowledge, I think that's important. And also just the lesson that you learned from having the seminar with NFL PA is definitely important. And it's for life, man, because football, as much as you want to play, it only lasts like ten years. It's a short window. So it's definitely things.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: It's not everything right. You got to have. It seems like you have that already, that natural skill of looking at the next step. He talked about scouting and those kind of things. So that's awesome that you have the plans to soak it all in and use it, right?
[00:06:59] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, because I definitely want to be in football all my life, even after the career is all said and done. Go into scout and be a coach, do something. Do something with football because it's like a great game and be able to do it all your life.
It doesn't feel like you're working. So I feel like it's a blessing to be able to be in that all your life.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: I love it. Well, I wish you luck this week. Have fun meeting all the people, talking to all the people that you want to meet and learn from, and good luck in all the practices and, of course, that game, and hopefully we'll see you at the next stage.
[00:07:30] Speaker C: Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Thank you, Brian.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: All right, we got Tyler Owens.
You're a safety?
[00:07:38] Speaker D: Yes, ma'am.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: And you're from Plano?
[00:07:40] Speaker D: I am.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: Did you go to Plano East?
[00:07:42] Speaker E: I did.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: All high school I did. You grow up in Plano?
[00:07:45] Speaker D: I grew up, like, in different spots.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: I moved around a little bit, but in this area.
[00:07:49] Speaker D: I lived in Dallas and I lived in Plano.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: I lived in the DFW area. The DFW area?
[00:07:56] Speaker D: Yeah, DFW area.
[00:07:57] Speaker A: So, yeah, kind of from all around here.
And then you are finishing up your time at Texas Tech?
[00:08:03] Speaker D: I am.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Did you go straight from Plano to Tech?
[00:08:05] Speaker D: No, I went to Ut, and then I was there for two and a half years, and I went to state for the last two.
[00:08:10] Speaker A: I'm a red raider, so I was excited when I saw you on the list. Definitely talk to you. Did you enjoy your time there under that coaching staff and that program?
[00:08:19] Speaker D: Yeah, I definitely did. I liked the coaches. I feel like that was a good vibe for me. It was a good environment. I feel like it helped people grow over there.
[00:08:27] Speaker F: Definitely.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: So when you get invited to come to this game and say, yeah, I'm going to come do this, what are your expectations of this week? What do you want to get out of this?
[00:08:38] Speaker D: I just want to go show everybody what I'm capable of.
That's basically all it is.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: What are you capable of?
[00:08:47] Speaker D: I'm capable of. I just want to show them how versatile I am, how many different positions I can play, and my athletic ability.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: You're listed as a safety, but what else?
[00:08:56] Speaker D: I play nickel and corner.
I can play linebacker, too. You're the best at probably, like, corner or nickel. I play safety mostly, but I feel like I'm coding nickel, too.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: So when you're looking at players that are in the NFL right now, who do you watch that? You think you either like the way they play or you feel like you're the most close to.
[00:09:22] Speaker D: I like Dermot James. I like how he plays, and I like Jenna Ramsey or Jair Alexander.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: When you were growing up, since you're in the Dallas area, what NFL teams were you written for?
[00:09:35] Speaker D: Cowboys.
[00:09:36] Speaker A: Awesome. Me, too. I'm from Frisco, so Always cowboys.
[00:09:44] Speaker D: So you weren't a Texas fan?
[00:09:45] Speaker E: You could have been.
[00:09:46] Speaker C: No.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: Didn't want to go to Baylor, and I didn't ever know. Never. Texans? No, always up here. Everything we did was come up north for Texas Rangers or Cowboys or Mavs. All the Dallas stuff. Yeah.
[00:10:00] Speaker F: Good.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: Yeah, you can hop in there.
You got a friend over here.
[00:10:05] Speaker D: I know.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Who is this?
[00:10:07] Speaker F: Rabbit?
[00:10:08] Speaker D: My son.
[00:10:08] Speaker F: Come here.
[00:10:09] Speaker E: I'm going to let him do his thing, but. Hello.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: What's your name? You're not Mike, so you just got to tell me. I'm Mike.
[00:10:16] Speaker F: Oh.
[00:10:16] Speaker E: My name's Daedrin Taylor Dimmerson.
[00:10:17] Speaker C: Nice to meet you.
[00:10:18] Speaker E: Also known as rabbit.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: Rabbit. Where are you from?
[00:10:23] Speaker C: That's my. My friend.
[00:10:25] Speaker E: Yeah, I'm from Oklahoma City, though, so not too far from here, so I'm home.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: Okay, well, that's why I was talking to him, because he's home. I'm here from Frisco. I went to tech also, so I just wanted to talk to him, so I talked to you.
And what position do you play?
[00:10:37] Speaker E: I play safety. Nickel.
[00:10:39] Speaker A: Okay. You guys are buds, then? You really are.
[00:10:41] Speaker C: You're roommates?
[00:10:42] Speaker A: No roommates out there.
[00:10:46] Speaker E: Yeah, he wish he's my roommate back in Lubbock. He wish he was.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Y'all are funny. Okay, let's see. One last thing. I'll let you ask him a question for me.
[00:10:57] Speaker E: Tyler Owens.
[00:10:58] Speaker D: What's up?
[00:11:00] Speaker E: I do got a really good question for you, man, if you could.
Okay.
[00:11:09] Speaker C: Bet not.
[00:11:09] Speaker E: Do I know. Look off the dome. Look off the dome. Off the dome.
What's your dream car? Tell us a lot about a man.
[00:11:16] Speaker D: My dream car probably be that.
I don't know. I got a lot of dream cars.
[00:11:21] Speaker E: You get one, though. I asked you one car. Not cars. Cars.
[00:11:25] Speaker D: One car.
I like cars.
[00:11:28] Speaker E: We'll see if you're a classy man, if you're like one of those young.
[00:11:33] Speaker D: Wild guys, that new Hummer, that ev.
[00:11:38] Speaker E: So he drives a Hummer. So I could see him getting that. He drives a Hummer. He drive a big old hummer. But I was expecting more of like, I'm a Bentley kind of guy. I'm a classy. I'm going to pull up, get a Rollsroyce. Classy.
[00:11:52] Speaker D: A ghost.
[00:11:53] Speaker E: But you said a Hummer, though. That's not, you know what I'm saying? That's nice, though.
[00:11:56] Speaker D: Yeah, the Hummer. You ain't seen it, though. You probably ain't seen it.
[00:11:59] Speaker E: I wouldn't drive one.
[00:12:00] Speaker D: So I haven't seen like if Hummer see this.
[00:12:05] Speaker E: Okay, one question, man. Last question.
Go ahead and tell them what these teams are going to get out of talents, man.
[00:12:11] Speaker D: They won't get a dog.
[00:12:12] Speaker E: That's what I said. That's what I said. I just said the same thing just a minute ago when I asked him.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: He gave me like a proper.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, you asked me. Well, I hope to show these guys, but yeah.
[00:12:26] Speaker C: All right, bet.
[00:12:27] Speaker E: Last question. She already asked you that one. I'll tell you this, man, besides me, not for real, though. Besides me. It's a good question, though. If you could bring anybody on our team right now at back at tech, here in this moment, right now, who you bringing with us on this journey?
[00:12:44] Speaker C: With us?
[00:12:45] Speaker E: It's still there. That ain't declared. It's not playing. That's still there right now. It's still there. Who you bring with us on this journey or Brady?
Taj Brooks, Mr. Presidential.
If you don't know about him, you.
[00:12:58] Speaker C: Don'T know about him.
[00:12:59] Speaker E: You're going to know about him because time is his time.
And guess what, Brooks time. And we're out of here.
[00:13:04] Speaker D: All right.
[00:13:04] Speaker E: And we're out of here.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: That's perfect. Thank you.
[00:13:07] Speaker E: No problem.
[00:13:09] Speaker A: I don't even need to do anything else. Willis, patrick, you, I see by your shirt you went to TCU.
[00:13:15] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am.
[00:13:15] Speaker A: And you're kind of a local regional guy.
[00:13:18] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: You went to Mansville High School?
[00:13:20] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am, I did.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: So you grew up in that area, grand prairie.
[00:13:24] Speaker F: I'm born in dallas. Moved to DeSoto until I was about five and then moved to grand Prairie, and that's where I lived and then went to Manson High School.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: And your position?
[00:13:34] Speaker F: I played offensive line, garden center, always.
I played tackle before that. And then when I was younger, tight end, but yes, ma'am.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: When did you focus on football?
[00:13:43] Speaker F: Only I knew around my sophomore year of high school that if I wanted to get a college education for free, I was going to have to play football.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: And you went big with TCU education?
[00:13:54] Speaker F: Well, at first I went to Angelo State, and then I transferred to jackson State. That's where I got my degree from undergrad, and then I transferred to TCU, and I'm working on my master's there right now.
[00:14:03] Speaker A: For what?
[00:14:04] Speaker F: Liberal arts.
[00:14:05] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:14:05] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: That's great.
When you say liberal arts, what is your passion? What's your story?
[00:14:11] Speaker F: So I got my undergrad in pre law. That's what I want my career to be. After football, I want to go into law, go to law school. That's always been my passion.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: That's fantastic. To do what kind of law?
[00:14:25] Speaker F: Growing up, I always wanted to help people. I feel like freedom is the most priceless thing you can have. So that's what I wanted to focus on. And then just getting into it, growing up, getting older, I kind of want to start off in corporate to get my feet wet, just learn the ins and outs of business. That was my minor was business. So corporate is probably where I want to start off.
[00:14:45] Speaker A: That's great. So when you're coming here?
[00:14:47] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: This is not an interview to be a lawyer. Right. This is a next step in pro football. Right. So what are your hopes here?
[00:14:57] Speaker F: To bolster my draft stock. It's a amazing that I got this opportunity and be here already. Two years ago, I was a division two football player, and now I'm sitting here with some of the best players in the country, and I believe that I'm one of the best players in the country as well. And it's just being able to showcase that feel like I have a great resume with my film, but then sit down with teams and talk. It's a blessing because it's where I prayed to be, and I'm here in this position right now.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: So where'd that shift happen from the d two school to here today?
[00:15:24] Speaker F: What happened, really? I've just been consistent all the way throughout the same guy. I haven't changed the player I am. It just changed my viewership or changed the audience and attention from each school. It just grew. So it's really just staying consistent and knowing, even when I was there playing in front of 500 people, that I was the same guy playing in front of 60,000 people and just knowing and staying true, having my faith in God and staying rooted with my family and just having them be my rock.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: I love that. So obviously bigger platforms, bigger schools that help, and this is the next step. So did you grow up in this area, particularly being an NFL fan of a certain team.
[00:16:07] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am. I was always a Cowboys fan growing.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: Up, I would assume, but I never know.
[00:16:12] Speaker F: Also a Ravens fan, but yes, ma'am. Cowboys fan. Yes, ma'am.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: That's great. So you're open minded, I'm sure as you move into this next phase of life, you have to be, right?
[00:16:22] Speaker F: Of course.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Yes, ma'am.
When you have groups come in this week and talk to you, are there certain things you're looking forward to learning when you're here or certain alum you want to meet or somebody just that you have your eye on, even if it's a player?
[00:16:40] Speaker F: Nobody in particular? Like I said, just being here is a privilege. And you never know. I live life organically. I feel like God will place me exactly where I need to be when I need to be there. So just the relationships that I've already built here. I had a few of my teammates here, so it's been a smooth transition being with them here and then just the coaches and everything. And it takes one team to take a chance on you and be impressed with you. And so I'm doing my best and being myself, being organic, talking to every team, staying consistent throughout, and if I'm blessed and fortunate, one team will take their chance to take me.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: When you talk about that one team, you just need a match.
[00:17:18] Speaker F: Right.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: So do you know if a team asks you what coaching style you most respond to or what's the best part about you being coachable?
What do you say to that?
[00:17:30] Speaker F: My pitch to that is I've been to three schools in three years. Two of those three schools I was a team captain. And the last school I wasn't a team captain, but I was a leader. I'm adaptable in any situation.
I can change. I can adapt. I can grow into any situation that I need to. I can sit down and have a conversation with anybody in a room. That's a talent and gift that I have, and I feel like that's just going to translate into life in football and outside of football because I feel comfortable in any room I'm in because I'm comfortable with myself.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: I believe you.
[00:18:01] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Right. Like, I believe you that you're a leader, even if you're not a team captain in this specific role, and that's obviously important.
[00:18:08] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am.
[00:18:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
Who are your current or past NFL people that you look up to?
[00:18:17] Speaker F: My favorite player is Lamar Jackson. Love watching him play, obviously watching guys like Trent Williams and Shaq Mason a lot of different guys. Tyron Smith, a lot of different guys growing up. But right now, my favorite player is probably Lamar Jackson, really dating back to when he was in Louisville. I loved watching him play. He just made it fun to know college ball and fun to watch. I mean, Michael Vick was the original guy that I love to watch growing up and just different guys. But now that I'm growing up and having this opportunity to play the next level, obviously it's fun to watch Lamar, but I got to study tape and watch guys like I named, like Shaq Mason and all those type of guys and just really learning from them and Zach Martin watching their tape, Tyler Smith, guys like that who have done it at a high level. And if I want to do the same thing for a long time, I have to stay their tape and grow from that.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: I love it. Awesome. Well, good luck. Thank you at all the practices, at all the interviews, learning at all the sessions, and of course, the game. Be there. We'll be rooting for you.
[00:19:19] Speaker F: Yes, ma'am. Best wish.
Thank you.
[00:19:22] Speaker A: And thank you for joining us for this episode of Hustle and pro. Be sure to follow us on YouTube and Instagram, and we'll see you for the next episode.
