Latest / Inside the Charge / Inside the Charge: Ray Davis Talks Returner Goals, Starring In Movie & County Fair

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Inside the Charge: Ray Davis Talks Returner Goals, Starring In Movie & County Fair · Inside the Charge

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another season of inside the charge i'm maddie
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: glab and this year i am so excited to be
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: joined by running back ray davis ray welcome to the
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: pod man welcome thank you i'm so excited to have
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: you here with me tell tell our fan base why
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: you wanted to come hang this year Well.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: You know, when you get to sit next to you
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: and then you also get to see Steve Tasker and
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Chris Brown, you're like, dang, they kind of got a
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: cool job. You know, they get to be the voice
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: for the Buffalo Bills and the voice for the people.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: So I was like, you know what? If I ever
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: have the opportunity, I might just try to chime in
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: a little bit. And, you know, I heard there was
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: an opening. I sent my application in and somehow I
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: was lucky enough to get picked.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I made him write three essays. One was about his
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: love for football. The other, he had to make up
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: a story. And the other... was about his love for math. No,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: I'm just joking. I didn't make him write any essays.
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: I did well on my ECT, so math was on
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: there too.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Let's go, math lead.
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Well, we are so excited to have Ray on for
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the whole season. So Ray will be joining me every
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: week as we break down the game that just happened.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Look forward to the next game. Get into your life,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: what you like, what you do off the field. I
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: think this will be a really fun opportunity for fans
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: to get to know you on a different level. What
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: do you hope fans get out of you being on
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: a podcast?
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: I think just getting to see like the non-football side
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: of me and just the things that I'm interested in
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: from this kind of platform to being able to speak
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: someday and being a sideline reporter, just understanding the way
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: the outside world goes and they'll get to learn me
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: a little bit.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Okay. So we hope you play in this league for
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: double digit years. A thousand years. A thousand years. But
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: after you retire, after a thousand years with the Bills,
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: you want to be on air?
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, y'all can give me a call. You know, maybe
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: I'll do my movie life for a little bit.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Okay, movie star life, then come back to being like
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: an analyst. Would you like to be in the studio,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: on the sidelines, a little bit of both?
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: You know, I want to be behind the scenes. I
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: don't feel like this face needs to be in front
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: of a camera. It should be behind the camera. I
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: think director-wise, I got some good ideas.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: You got some good chops?
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, we're going to get into that later because
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: you're already involved with some projects. That is true.
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: It's already on my tag.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Well, Ray... It is almost September. That means full speed
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: ahead to the 2026 season. We are just coming off
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: of training camp and the preseason. Knowing that you guys
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: were hard at work for about a month, where do
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: you feel like you're at with your game right now?
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: I think me personally, I feel like I've tried to
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: get better at the things that I know I'm good
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: at to become even better at them. But then also
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: understanding my role and just being able to go out
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: there and give it my all each and every day.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: And that's kind of how I went into that mindset
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: at training camp was, It's year three. You know, let's
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: try to not overstress it and overdo it. Let's just
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: play some ball and, you know, let God take things
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: the way it needs to go.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: But team wise, oh, I'm super excited.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, we got a really good squad
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: with some new additions and just being able to see
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: the same faces for a couple of years straight.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: Just been really good, too.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: You said trying to get better at the things you're
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: good at. What are those things?
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, continue to get better at pass pro,
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: continue to get better at being the best three down
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: back I can be, but embracing the special teams role
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: that I've been given and earned and want to go
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: out there and just put up another all pro year
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: at kick returner and, you know, also show that versatility
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: at whatever it needs to be, offense, punt returner, special.
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: Teams, just, you know, whatever I can do to bring
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: value to the team.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: We had a conversation after one of the open practices
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: and I was asking you just about the returner life
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: and You said something super insightful and mature to me.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: You said, I took a look in the mirror this
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: offseason and I said, how can I best help my team?
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: And that is from a return aspect. How did you
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: arrive at that conclusion, Ray?
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, again, last year I could have done,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: you know, truth be told, a lot of moping and
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: complaining to myself.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: And then I realized, again, I'm blessed to be here.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: I'm blessed to be in this position.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: And I'm on a team where they want to see
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: me grow and thrive and be the best person I
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: can be. And if I'm sitting there and moping, then
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: I can't do that for them. So getting looked in
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: the mirror and just said, what can I do to
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: be the best asset for this team? And that's being
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: the best returner in the world. And let's go be
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: the best returner in the world. And again, we got
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: some of the best Hall of Famers who were special
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: teams guys who showed that they could be valuable.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, kick returning last year, all pro season, averaging
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: over 30 yards per kick return. You want to add
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: punt return to your duties as well. How did that
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: conversation go with the coaching staff when you were like, hey,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: I know I'm good at this. I want to add
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: another thing to my resume.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was just me.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: It was kind of like back in the day when
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: I kept talking about I can kick, I can kick,
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: I can kick. And then McDermott was fine. Like, you know,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: let's give him the opportunity. So that's how I was
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: with Coach Rogers. I was just like, hey, like I
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: can catch, you know, I can catch punts. Like just,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: you know, give me some opportunities. And I think halfway
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: through training camp, I kind of got thrown out there
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: for an audition and it rained that day. which it
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: rained almost every practice. And surprisingly I was.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: Catching it in the rain. So he was like, you
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: know what? Maybe you got some hands.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Maybe he's right. Maybe he's right. Why does punt return
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: and kick return come easily to you as a running back?
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I wouldn't say it comes easy now.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: I said easily. And I'm like, I don't know if
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: easy is the right word, but it feels like you
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: fit when you're back there.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, for kickoff return, it's kind of like playing
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: running back the way everything gets set up and the
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: blocking scheme. So it's really just, Seeing it the way
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: you see it normally if you were playing on an
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: offensive snap. Part return is one of those, like, the
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: whole stadium's watching.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: It's quiet. The ball's in the air. And it's just
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: you and the ball. And nothing else matters.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: You know, it doesn't matter about you running it, returning it,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: trying to get any amount of yards. It's about just
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: catching the ball and envisioning that no one else.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: Is there but you and that ball. And that's definitely
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: the difficult part.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: But once you catch it, you let the instincts kind
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: of roll in from there.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: When the ball is in the air. and the crowd
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: is silent and everybody is waiting for that one thing
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: to happen for you to catch the ball and run.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: What's going on up here?
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Oh, the way I process it is I actually, while
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: the ball's in the air, which just was terrible, but.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: As it first gets kicked, I close my eyes. I
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: take a big deep breath.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: And as I open them and I see the ball
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: coming down, I kind of just tell myself like, you
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: got it, you know, don't think of nothing else.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: Like you got it. And Sometimes I get it.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: And you know, sometimes football happens, but again, it's about
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: just making sure that you get the ball back to
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: the offense at every possibility.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: What's your mindset once you got the ball in your hands,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: whether it's kick return or punt return, are you like,
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: I got to bring it to at least this yard line?
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Last year, me and Tabes used to joke. I used
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: to be like, I don't think I can get it
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: past a 30. I don't know if I can unhook
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: the trailer.
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: And then he goes, why.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Not the 50?
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: And I was like, you know what? That's a good
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: thought process.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: And now my goal is You know, always get it
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: past a 40 and let's get it to the 50
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and put the offense in the best position to score.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: I like it. And what a cool opportunity to be
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: that person, to kind of set up the drive that's
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: about to happen. I mean, it takes some skill to
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: do that, Ray. And it was so fun to watch
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: you do it last year. I can't wait for this year, too.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: I appreciate it. It's definitely fun. You either get to
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: start the game or start the half.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: So I look at it.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: For sure. You said when the ball's in the air,
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: you tell yourself, I got this. Has self-talk been a
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: big part of your game in the past?
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, huge, huge.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: Self-talk, obviously relying on my family and things of that
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: nature and advice, but definitely self-talk. Being in the world
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: that we're in, mental health is very important. So just
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: to always be on top of yourself and understanding, again,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: this is football. You can't be too hard on yourself.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: You got to enjoy life and enjoy the position you're in.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: So definitely letting myself know, again, just be blessed, be
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: thankful and and understand that nobody else gets to have
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: this opportunity like you, so don't be too hard on yourself.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: I like it. Being blessed and being thankful. Great mindset
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: to start the season with. Sunday was yesterday. We cut
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: the roster to 53. Who were you really excited to
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: see a part of that 53-man group?
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: I thought about this last night when you had asked,
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: and there's so many guys, like so, so many guys,
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: but I would have to say Leckie. because I know
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: Lucky personally a little bit. Him and his brother, I
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: did draft prep with his brother, Latu, over in the
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Indianapolis Colts.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: Latu, Latu.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I got very, very close with Latu and
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: then obviously getting close with Lucky when he got here
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: and just seeing the grit and the determination that he
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: has to continue to go. Our tight end room, as
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: we know, is very, very strong.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: And for him to carve out a role, that's just
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: definitely inspirational. I remember my second year of camp, Spencer
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: Brown was asked a question of who he thought was,
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: was kind of making some noise in training camp. And he,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: he said me and I was surprised, but I went
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: up to him and I said, thank you because it
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: felt like all the hard work and everything that I
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: worked for was finally being displayed. And I know, I
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: know that feeling. I know Lucky probably had that feeling too, or,
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: you know, last year, I think he got cut and
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: made the practice squad. And then this year coming in
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: and being determined to like, no, I'm going to make it,
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: you know, I'm going to make my, my, my, my
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: presence felt and to see that coming from him and,
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: And it's just an inspirational thing that I look at.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: And I know other guys are looking at that, too. Like, man,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: my journey's never closed just because it doesn't work.
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: Out, you know, in one moment. Then another door could
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: open and I can continue to walk through that door, too. So, Lucky,
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: for sure.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: For those who don't know, Lucky, Kalecki Latu, that's his
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: nickname on the team is Lucky. I had a conversation
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: with him. I think it was leading into the second
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: preseason game, leading into that Browns week, just asking him, like,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: what have you been up to this preseason training camp?
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: What are you trying to do? What do you want
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: to show the coaching staff? And he said, you know,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: I know I can catch passes. I know I have
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: great hands. I know I have great length. I'm trying
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: to become a better blocker, and Jackson Hawes, the, you know,
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: the best blocker on the team has done a tremendous
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: job of helping me figure out what I, what I
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: need to do, how I can be the best, a
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: better blocker. And he said, Jackson Hawes tells me to
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: just be an ogre out there. I thought that was hilarious. Yeah.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: And I get like, that room is amazing because they
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: all lean on each other.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: And when he got, uh, Knox, who I always refer
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: to as the grandpa in that room.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: And then you've got DK, who's like the nephew. And
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: then you've got the grandsons with Latu and Hawes. But
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: they have a tremendous room who are all knowledgeable. And
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: to see Hawes talking to Leckie, and again, they're in
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: the same draft class. They're in the same position. But
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: they want to see each other grow and be great
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: because they know what it's like to work so hard
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: to be in a position.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: That you've earned.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I think Leckie's on the top of my list, too.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: He's just a great guy. So kind, so nice. I
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: think another surprise for me was seeing Greg Gaines make
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: it after being signed to the team August 18th, I
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: think was the day. He said his first practice was
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns joint practice. So he's like, that was
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: so weird to come off the couch and then go
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: to a joint practice, not in the city that I'm
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: going to be living in. Just like jump right in.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: here you go. But he said, you know, I've played
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: in a system that's really close to this one. Michael
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: Hoyt and I won a Super Bowl together. He convinced
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: me to come out here. I was talking with the
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: Bills a lot of the offseason and I felt like
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: this was the right time to get out here.
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: That's pretty cool. I mean, that's the story of the NFL, right?
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: Sometimes you could be sitting on the couch and sometimes
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: you could be suiting up for a game.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: But I definitely do say him too, Greg, because even
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: like you say, he was sitting at home, you know,
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: but he kept his body intact and he kept it
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: in shape. And then he came out there and balled
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: against Cleveland during our practices. And He's been doing what
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: he needs to do. Yeah.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: Okay. Looking back on training camp and preseason, I know
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: we're going to hit a fun segment with some of
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: your favorite plays. But before we talk football, what was
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: the highlight of training camp or preseason for you? It
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: can be football related. It can just be a fun story,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: fun tidbit. Wanted to pick your brain there.
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: No, nothing football related at all. It has to do
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: very much with our rookie talent show. We had a
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: rookie talent show, and if anybody ever heard, it was very,
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: very interesting. But the receivers took it by a landslide.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: Rookie receivers took it by a landslide, loved everything about it.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Everybody else was, you know, they didn't put too much
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: into it, but those guys did. But that was the
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: highlight of it, being in Cleveland and seeing that rookie showcase.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: It was fun, you.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Know, just seeing the guys be guys, and the staff
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: was with us, and everybody just enjoyed it. It was
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: just another way of getting away from what everybody thinks
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: we're always worried about, and that's the ball. you know,
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: we're worried about life and camaraderie and building that connection.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: That's what Joe is always preaching is this connection, connection, connection.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: It's fun to have a break in the action where
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: you feel like you can have a lighthearted moment and
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: just laugh with each other. When you have rookies who
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: are busting their butts every single day, freaking out about
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: where am I supposed to be at? At what time
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: do I know the playbook good enough? Am I doing
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: enough on the field? Am I doing what my coaches
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: are asking from of me? Your head is spinning as a.
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: Rookie all over the place.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: But And sometimes you got to find the joy in
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: the small things. And they were able to bring some
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: joy to all of us that day. So it was
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: pretty fun.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Speaking of being a rookie, what is different about comparing
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: a rookie Ray Davis to a year three Ray Davis?
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: I think rookie year Ray Davis was semi thrown in
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: the fire, but that's kind of what I like.
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: Like I love thriving under pressure and then people are
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: always doubting me. So it was definitely like.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: Fun in that moment because you're new no one knows
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: you you got to earn the stripes or earn your
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: respect so that was i was fun third year ray
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: is more just okay have i arrived yet maybe to
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: some people i arrived but to me it's like i'm
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: nowhere near that door right so uh my mindset is
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: is to just go out there and keep being me
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: but now i have bigger bigger aspirations and bigger goals
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: i think my rookie year was just okay get your
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: foot in the door maybe you'll play, maybe you won't,
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: maybe practice squad.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: Like I would have never known that.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: So now it's like, we got bigger, bigger goals to,
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: to achieve.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: And I'm happy that I've been able to make that
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: transition from year one to going into year three, but, uh,
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: we want to make transition year one to about year
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: 80 or nine, you know, keep it going. Yeah.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: A lot of people say like year three is the
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: year that the light really comes on. Cause you know,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: your second year, you do feel more relaxed. You know,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: you know what to do. You, you know how to
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: go with the flow. And year three, it's almost like,
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: all right, been here, done that. Now I can really
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: focus on what I want to do to improve.
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I kind of compare it to college a little bit.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Like college, if anybody knows, like you always go through
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: your sophomore, like sophomore year slump, they call it, right?
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Like you'll have a great freshman year. Then you'll go
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: through your sophomore year slump. And then that third year
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: is like to make a break to see if you
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: could get to the NFL if you got scouts.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: Looking at you.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Kind of the same thing in the NFL, right? Like
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: your first year, you could do good, you could do bad.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Then it's like, well, that second year, you're coming out
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: party now. Like, everybody knows you. And then your third
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: year is like, well, this is a very important year
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: if you want to stick around for multiple years in
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: the league.
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: So it has its moments for sure.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Third year, we're studying for ACT. We're getting right. We're
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: figuring out colleges. If you're in high school, thinking about
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: it from that perspective.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: College, you're like, man, I hope the scouts like me.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: Can I come out year three? Do I got to
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: stay year four? Like, so stressful. And like I said,
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: being in the NFL, it's like, in retrospect, It's contract
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: year for everybody year three.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: That's true.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: So it's like that's the biggest thing that you're worried
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: about is potentially getting to that next contract.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Dang. Year three in a lot of phases of life
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: is an intense year.
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: It is. That's why you got to find the fun things.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Find the fun in it. That's what we're doing here. Okay.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: We're calling it Ray Day's Big Plays. Ray Day's Big Plays.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Ray Day's Big Plays.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: That's my nickname for everyone who calls me Ray Day
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: in here. So I'm like, all right, Ray Day's Big Plays.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Do you like that nickname?
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: I've got a lot of nicknames.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: I like Ray Day.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: I think Josh calls me Ray Rari.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Ray Rari is a good one. Yeah.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: And then I get Ray Day sometimes. I think Emma
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: calls me Ray Ray.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: Ray Ray.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: So I got a lot of different nicknames in here.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: Old Head, all types of things.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: You get Old Head?
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: From Frank. That's all. It was from Frank. Me and
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Frank are like two years apart.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: Come on, Frank. I hope you're watching this, Frank. That
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: is so funny. Okay. Ray Day's Big Plays. Segment that
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: we're going to do throughout the year. We're probably going
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: to add some more segments in too, but we're going
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: to let it come to us. Ray Day's big plays.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: We had three preseason games. What are we highlighting?
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: First play. Don't know if we can put it on
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: the screen. There's a screen behind us.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: First play would be J-Mac's touchdown. Great play, action, fake
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: from Shano. No one saw it, but blitz pick up
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: by Frank. He picked it up perfect. Shano throws a
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: dot to J-Mac.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: J-Mac grabs it.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: If you kind of look in the film, he had
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: to switch the ball. And he was holding it like
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: this for a minute. But once he broke that tackle,
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: he put on the burners, first career touchdown. He almost
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: didn't even keep the ball. And we were like, no,
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: it doesn't matter if it's preseason.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: You keep that ball. He almost didn't keep it? No.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: What did he say?
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: He was like, I don't know, does it count?
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: I was like, heck yeah, it counts.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Any touchdown in the NFL counts. I don't care if
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: it's preseason or if you're getting blown out. Keep the ball.
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: So that was definitely fun. I come back to another
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: rookie receiver, Sky Bell.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: Skyler missed some time and he said.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: It was the longest time he'd ever missed in his.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: Career crazy crazy and I know what that does to
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: somebody who's probably never missed time yeah and seeing that
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: and I remember he comes up to me to begin
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: in the game and he goes were you nervous your
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: first game in your rookie year and I remember talking
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: to him and I'll keep our conversation between us but
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: then to see him just have that day I was
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: like man like he's been waiting for this so I
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: got to give it to him. Sweet play going to
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: the right. He had to unhook the trailer. Somehow he
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: made it. We were kind of joking about it, but touchdown.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: So that definitely goes to him. And I'm going to
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: the defensive side.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: Don't worry. I'm not just an offensive guy. I'm a
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: defensive guy. I love to.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to say the whole big play goes
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: to the whole defense. Jim, the defense been balling out,
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: been doing what they're doing. Obviously, like you said, Greg
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Gaines coming in here and balling out, doing what he
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: has to do.
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: Big Z.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: You got my boy Deion out there. First game went crazy.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: The whole defense has been balling, so I got to
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: give them their big play.
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: Deham, two picks in a row.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: Love it.
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: Back to back to back.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: You know, you got Saks going on, tackling. Jalen Kilgore
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: coming down and laying somebody out. I can go on
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: and on, but the last Ray Day big play, we'll
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: have to go to the defense. Okay.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Let's stay with the defense because you have to go
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: up against these guys every day in practice. What have
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: they been doing? You don't have to get into the
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: finite things, but just generally, how do they have your
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: head spinning?
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: I think when you just.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: You, you face somebody who's new, right? You go, when
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: you go against a new DC, you just don't know
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: their tendencies, right? Like I was with Bobby for two years.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: You kind of know Bobby's tendencies sometimes. So it's like, okay,
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: you kind of know what to expect. But with Jim,
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: it's like, you don't know what's coming, you know? And,
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: And definitely he disguises a lot of things and he
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: tricks you a lot.
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: But I think that's the fun thing. It keeps your
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: head in a swivel.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: And you have to learn his defense. You got to
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: learn what he's doing and what those guys are doing.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: So it's definitely been fun.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: You spoke about Deion Walker balling out. I am so
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: excited for him in year two. It seems like he's
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: found a nice home in the middle of that defense
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: and his height, his strength. I know he wanted to
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: get stronger this offseason and felt like he did so.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to see how he can just wreck
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: opposing offenses.
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm my Kentucky boy.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: You're a Kentucky boy.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: My Kentucky guy, right?
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: And I always give Deion some smack because I played
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: against him, him and Max. I went for 126 yards
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: that game and a touchdown. And we broke a 26-game
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: SEC losing streak when I was at Vandy, so we
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: beat Kentucky.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: But being able to join them that next year was crazy,
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: just seeing how much of a freak of an athlete
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: he is. And... I told Bean, you know, when we
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: spoke and they were thinking about drafting him, I was like, bro,
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: I'll put my rookie contract on him. If I could
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: have bet my rookie contract on Deion that it would
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: work out for him, I may be up right now.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: You never know.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: And he was coming off of that back injury too.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: That's why a lot of people said the Bills were
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: able to get him where they did. If he would
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: have stayed one more year in college football, good night.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: First round pick.
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: He was a first round pick no matter what. Could
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: have came out the 2023 year, could have came out
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: even 2024.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: He would have been a first rounder regardless because I
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: just knew the type of player he was. And I
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: was excited that Buffalo was thinking about him. And then
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: when I saw that we got him, I was like, oh, man,
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: we got the best pick of the draft. I don't
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: think anybody understood. how much of a diamond this was
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: for everybody. Then Max, obviously getting Max, too, was pretty big.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: So Deion, I'm excited for. Max, I'm excited for. Hopefully
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: we get J-Mac back, another Kentucky guy.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: And we keep that tradition going, right? What do we
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: call ourselves, the Buffalo Wildcats or the Kentucky Bills?
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: The Buffalo Wildcats, yeah.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: Kentucky Bills, I've heard. Buffalo Wildcats, it works.
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: We've got to keep it going.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: It was fun to get to know Jamore Macklin, too,
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: over the preseason and training camp. He is cousins with
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Jeremy Macklin. So I went to Mizzou. Jeremy Macklin went
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: to Mizzou, and he was like the guy on campus
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: when I came in. He was already gone, but he
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: was killing it in the NFL, pro bowler, played eight
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: years in the NFL. And he said, you know, my
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: cousin Jeremy helped me a lot because I didn't even
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: think I was going to play in the NFL. He
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: was like, I had lost the love of the game.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: I was good to be done. And Jeremy said, man,
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: you've come this far. Why would you give up right now?
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: A hundred percent. I mean, in the words of Kim K,
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: I didn't come this far to come this far, right?
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: And I know Jeremy probably knew that. And when he
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: saw J-Mac and he just saw probably how blessed he
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: was from the athletic standpoint and just how gifted he
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: was from the football standpoint too. And he just couldn't
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: let somebody like that just give up on their dreams.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: And he believed in him and J-Mac believed in himself
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: and scoring touchdowns, you know, and games and enjoying it
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: with his brothers. So I love J-Mac. We didn't get
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: to play together, but I was there during his time.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: He was getting recruited, and I developed a relationship with him.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: We actually went to the fair two weeks ago.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Fun.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: So that was pretty cool, too.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: How was the fair?
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: It was good. Keon did beat us in the basketball game.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: He did?
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't want to talk about it. I came
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: in second place, I'll talk.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Did you guys play any other games? I Got It
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: is one of my favorite games. I suck at that game.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: I never got it.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: We play every game. As soon as we get there,
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: we start at the basketball. We just work our way
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: all the way down. And by the time you turn around,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: there's about 60 people staring. So, like, okay, I really
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: got to do good now. Like, I got to make
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: sure that they think and they know.
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: That I am athletic. I'm not just a football player. But, yeah,
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: we played every game. I hop on the rides. I'm
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: not scared to get on the rides.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: You're not scared to get on fair rides that they
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: pack up and drive all across the United States?
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: And I heard they only build in 30 minutes. Man,
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: you know.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Ray, you're crazy.
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: I love Buffalo. I love the Erie County Fair.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: Are you a daredevil?
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: Sometimes you just got to ride with it. Just got
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: to go.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: What was your favorite ride?
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: You know, I'm going to be cliche and say the
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: Ferris wheel.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Okay. That's kind of safe.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: There was, I forgot, I think it's called the claw,
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: where it kind of like goes up and goes down.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: It's weird, but it was pretty fun.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: I screamed the entire time.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Are you a food guy at the fair? Because that's
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: why I went to the fair and we just went
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: from food stall to food stall to food stall.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: Nah, nah.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: I'm not a big food guy at the fair. I
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: don't know.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: You don't like fried food?
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: Nah.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: It was a cheat day for me.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: I ain't never had no fried Oreos. I ain't never
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: had no, what is it, fried pickles?
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Fried pickles, fried Oreos.
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: You know, I bet it's pretty good, though. I bet
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: it's pretty good.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: It is pretty good. Fried pickles are the best. It's
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: my go-to with some ranch.
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, you can eat them with ranch, right? Yeah,
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: that's all I know.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: Not blue cheese. Sorry. No, blue cheese, out the door. Okay, Bray,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: new head coach this season in Joe Brady. He's setting
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: up the culture. Got a bunch of phrases we've heard.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Put the ball down. They have to play us. Is
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: there a favorite phrase? that you have enjoyed using living
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: with joe.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Brady he hasn't said this phrase but i'm gonna say
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: it because it is a phrase that we use to
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: describe him and and cole white boy with motion white
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: boy with motion you know i'm saying that's the phrase
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: you use for those guys but uh joe's a great
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: head coach you know um great great person who is
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: gonna just instill a lot of belief in you um
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: and I think kind of even like his sayings, right?
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: Like put the ball down, they got to play us.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: Like it's one of those mindset, like.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: Be confident in who you are.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: Whatever you bring to the table, we're going to show that.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: As long as you're with us and you're doing your
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: one of 11, that's all that matters.
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: And we're going to ride it out.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: And another saying is, you know, obviously everybody eats. It's
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: something we lived by in 2024 and we've kept it going.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: And it's not just about the one individual doing what
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: he has to do.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: It's about what is the team doing for us to
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: all eat, right?
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: We all want to have that filet mignon we all
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: want to have steak dinners and and eat at the
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: top of the the highest of the highest rise right
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: but how do we do that together instead of it
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: just being one guy sitting up there how does all
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: 53 guys make it up there so that's something he's
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: really been just instilling in us is the community the
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: connection putting the ball down and they having to play
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: us because it's all about you know the buffalo bills
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: and nobody else yeah i.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Like the confidence part the confidence that he's instilling in
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: you guys instilling in himself like he believes that you
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: guys are the best 53 out there, and you can
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: do whatever you put your mind and heart to. Another
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: one that I've enjoyed, which I wouldn't say it's as
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: big as put the ball down, but he said it
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: connected teams win, and I think that's really cool. It
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: sounds like he's really put the emphasis on being empathetic
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: about finding out about what drives you guys so you
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: can really get to the core of of how you operate.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: And I feel like when, when you know that core
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: of somebody, you can really get somewhere.
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: It goes back to what we talked about, even that
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: rookie showcase, right? Like a lot of these rookies have
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: so much stuff to think about, but it's like, just
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: come be connected. You know, don't worry about all the
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: other stuff that, that take care of that tomorrow. Come
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: be connected, come be with the guys. And, and when
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: you build that connection, when the bullets are flying and
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: it's a fourth quarter and you're down by three and
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: you need I can look to the right and left
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: of me and be like, I'm so connected to these
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: guys and I know what they're thinking and we're all
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: thinking we're going to go win this game. Nobody has
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: one ounce of doubt in their mind.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: We can't finish this first podcast without talking about a
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: couple things. Beat the Odds is your foundation. You impact
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: help empower, foster kids and families as well as underserved communities.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: What's going on? What can we look forward to with
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Beat the Odds lately?
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Beat the Odds has been great.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: We had our second annual youth football camp, free youth
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: football camp back in June at Chittawaga High School.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: Thank you to them for allowing us to use that field.
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: Turned out great. Almost over 200 kids.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: What we did is we brought some people from kids
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: and families from Rochester who bust them in took about
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: 50 to 100 kids from Buffalo and brought them in
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: too and we just want everybody to have the same
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: opportunity right and I got to be there I got
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: to hang out with each and every one of them
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: and just embrace being there you know letting them know
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: that I was once in their shoes and so I
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: got told them some days I'm still in your shoes
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: some days I'm still figuring out life and trying to
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: figure out who I am as a person and things
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: aren't always going to be easy for me but staying
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: connected and staying with my resource group that I've been
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: able to build has been been pretty good so that
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: was fun we got so many more things we want
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: to continue to do i actually want to do a
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: turkey drive i've been thinking about it so that may
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: come be on the lookout for a turkey drive we
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: uh we have our ray and the gang under the
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: lights we invite 14 big and littles from big brothers
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: big sisters and we have a good time bring them
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: on the field you know pizza cater it up and
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: just let them enjoy the night being under the lights
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: being on a football field and throwing it around so
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: we've done it two years in a row coming out
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: with our third year will be pretty fun and um
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: we got to adopt the family last year for Christmas
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: working with JC pennies and Wegman, which that'd be something
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: else we'll, we'll work do again. So it's, it's been
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: fun being able to, to start my own foundation and
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: just seeing the smiles that I've been able to put
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: on family's faces. And they've been able to put smiles
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: on my faces too. Cause it just knows that, you know,
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: what my purpose in life is and my story is
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: to really show that you can make it, you know,
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: no matter how darkest of days as you have, it's
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: about still able to be able to walk through that
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: door and find a little crevice of light and walking
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: through it and, Um, we're going to continue to make
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: BTO a monumental thing for everybody, underserved families, foster care kids,
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: anybody who just needs a hand, an ear, or even
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: somebody to just talk to.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: Look at what you've done here in just two years.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: You're going into your third year. You talk about, you know,
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: becoming comfortable here, but look at the impact you've already
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: made on this community in two years. It's awesome, right?
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: It's been good. Thank you. It, and it, it wouldn't
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: be without the people in front of me.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: Um, the Deons, the Joshes, the Damars, you know, even
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: when Jamarcus was.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: Here, right?
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: Like seeing everybody who set the standard and set the
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: tone about wanting to be involved in this community, looking
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: at those guys and seeing how they did it, it
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: made me realize that, okay, I can do it too, right? And,
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: you know, maybe my voice probably won't be heard too far,
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: but it's going to be heard at some point. So
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: it's been fun to be a part of this community.
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: I hope that I continue to be a part of
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: it for as long as possible. My goal is to
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: win the Walter Payton Man of the Year eventually throughout
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: these years and If not, at least being around someone
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: like Josh and Dion especially is going to instill that
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: confidence in me to go out there and do it.
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: So shout out to those guys.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much. One thing you're busy with right
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: now uh that you'll kind of be touch and go
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: throughout the season yeah it's a movie.
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: Been touch and go so far but yeah it's been
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: good i know you.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: Can't you can't fully put all of your you know
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: attention on it right now yeah yeah yeah what do
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: you what do you want.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: To tell us so far everything's going good we are
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: filming february 2027 In San Francisco, we got our location dates,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: which has been crazy to see myself, like looking at
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: and seeing how many scenes are going to take here,
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: the amount of hours and all the behind the scenes.
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: So that's been pretty fun. Casting's been great. We've been
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: sending out a lot of offers. So we got some
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: good people getting back. I had a phone call with
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: an individual about the week of Cleveland. So hopefully that
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: phone call comes back and we get to work together.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: So that'll be pretty fun. But it's coming. And hopefully
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: we're celebrating something in February.
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: Then I go in and go in and handle that.
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: Celebrating being a movie star. For those who don't know,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: what's the movie about, Ray?
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: The movie is about this individual, Ray Davis.
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: It's weird to say, but it's about my younger youth
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: days and the trials and tribulations that I faced. We
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: have a great, great team from producers, directors, and writers
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: who was able to really just help me go back
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: to some of those dark days and open up a
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: little bit more. But It showed me how grateful I
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: am to be where I'm at because I worked so
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: hard to get here.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: And I don't want to just be Ray Davis, the
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: NFL star. You know, I want to be Ray Davis,
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: the activist, Ray Davis, the motivational speaker, Ray Davis, the
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: executive director and producer of his own movie. I got
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: a lot of titles, but to just be a motivator
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: is the biggest and best one, because this movie is
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: going to continue to show that again, just because you
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: got doors to walk through and they all ain't locked.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: You just got to keep turning and twisting and one
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: of them go open and When you walk through it,
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: you look around and you go, OK, I can handle this.
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: Whatever is in front of me, let's knock it out
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: because that next door is about 20 feet behind and
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: I'm ready to go and tack that one to.
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: A man of many talents. My brain is going and
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: I'm thinking like maybe we need a segment on this
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: podcast where you hit us with some wisdom or you
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: hit us with. a door that was closed in your
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: face but but you walked through a different one or
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: busted that door down yeah yeah.
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: You know i got a little bit of words of
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: wisdom you do man i'm.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: Like an old soul at heart frank i hope you're
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: not listening but um yeah i'm an old soul at
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: heart but it's uh it's exciting and i'm excited and
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: said a man of many many talents man's many traits
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: and You know, maybe.
• 32:06
  Speaker 3: One day you'll just see my resume with a bunch
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: of different things.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: I think your resume is like five pages long at
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: this point, right?
• 32:11
  Speaker 3: We're making it. We're making it.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: Remember the essays that you had to write for me
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: to get onto this podcast. Yeah. The essay writer is
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: on there.
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: Okay. We're getting to know you. Favorite movie you've watched recently?
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: Oh, favorite movie I watched recently. Oh, not a movie,
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: but I'll say a show. Beauty in the Black. Great show.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: Great show.
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: Season three just came out.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Where can we find it? That's on Netflix, right? Netflix.
• 32:33
  Speaker 3: Great one.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: Um, what is Ray like to do for fun?
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: Ooh, uh, honestly, I've been watching a lot more movies,
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: but not to watch it really to just dissect and
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: how they do everything behind the scenes, you know, in
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: my EP world, you'd be the executive producer, but it's
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: been fun doing that. And I'm also first announcement actually here.
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: I'm in the process of writing a children's illustrated book.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: So that's just, just announced that for the first time.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: So I've been doing that behind the scenes. It's been
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: pretty fun.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: Okay, that resume is now six pages long. What's your
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: favorite meal?
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: Favorite meal? It has to be my grandma's gumbo.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Grandma's gumbo. Always.
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: She makes it around Christmas. Can't go wrong.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: Can't go wrong. I love it. I know you were, like,
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: tapping into your cooking journey a little bit last year.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: Are we still tapping into that?
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: It's always Big Back Thursdays.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: Big Back Thursdays, man.
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: Big Back Thursdays. uh sweet or salty when it comes
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: to snacks not a.
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: Sweet guy all about the saltiness okay gotta get some
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: chips sour cream and onion.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: I love chips that's that's what i go to as
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: well give me chips what is an interesting part of
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: your daily routine.
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: Interesting are we talking about game day or just every
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: day every.
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: Day oh man that's actually hard or game day if
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: it's easier.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: I always got to listen to one song before I
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: walk out the door when I leave the house.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: What is it?
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: I can't say it, but it's a great song.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: Oh, we're going to say it at some point on
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: this podcast.
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: Some point, but not today.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: But not today. All right. If you could become an
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: expert at one thing, what would it be and why? Space.
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: Space. I want to know if aliens are real.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: Straight to the moon?
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: Did we really go to the moon? And if we did,
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: how long?
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: Let's put our tinfoil hats on.
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: And then it's like, if there is life on Mars,
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: do they speak English?
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: Do we speak a weird language? I'm curious.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: Okay. Okay. First podcast in the books. How'd it go?
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: Did I grill you? Yeah.
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: It went amazing. I think we're going to win some awards.
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: Oh, I like that.
• 34:31
  Speaker 3: We're going to win a Grammy, an Oscar. I don't
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: know which one it is, but.
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: One of those four podcasts, I'm pretty sure. One of
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: those things. Let's win it. Ray, thanks for joining for
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: the first episode. Can't wait for many more to come.
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: All right. Keep it locked on Inside the Charge. Got
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: more awesome episodes coming your way.