Latest / Johnny's World / Episode 80-Will Rogers

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Episode 80-Will Rogers · Johnny's World

• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Johnny's World Podcast.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: This is BW here.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Just wanted to give you all a quick introduction.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Johnny recorded an episode with his good friend Tom Sykes for his podcast, The Road in Between, and they interviewed Will Rogers, the legendary Mississippi quarterback.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned and listen to that interview.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just a quick reminder, though, if you need some fresh roasted coffee, go to JohnnyPacker.net so you can support our mission to raise funds and awareness for cystic fibrosis.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you all for listening.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_04: Welcome into the Road in Betweens, sponsored by the Friends of Missionscape.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_04: We are teaming up with Johnny's World, with our dear friend John Clark Packer, and his celebration of life.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_04: He has cystic fibrosis and he created a podcast to highlight inspirational people and stories.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_04: And we are teaming up together to be with our friend Will Rogers, who has been a just a huge influence in our state of Mississippi.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_04: And we have been friends for a very long time.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_04: And it's great to be with you, Will.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks for coming on today.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, sir.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you all for having me.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_03: Appreciate it.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_04: We were uh we lived next door to each other when you were in elementary school and little guy, and uh just got to watch you grow up, and then you went to Brandon and and uh set all those records over there with your dad as offensive coordinator, and we're just a big fan, and then you go to go to state, and uh what a what a blessing that was.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, we're ready to talk about your story, and our highlight really is how God lives in the transitions of life, kind of the road in between is the name of our and that's exactly where you know what do you do when when you when it's not all mapped out yet?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_04: And uh your story is certainly one of those as we look at how God's connecting the dots and and uh the journey that you've been on.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_04: So thank you again.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_04: Um, John Clark, you went to Mississippi State, you live now in Startville, and you've been to every game that Will has uh played in.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_04: So uh kind of start us off with some questions for Will.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I've been a been a state fan since I was 11 years old.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: So um Bulldog through and too, even though I know you're a rebel, Tom.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: So we always have a little sparring math between us, but uh yeah, we're I'll tell you one thing though, and you'll agree with this that Coach Lee to Lane Kiff and when they both got here, it kind of smoothed the toxicity out of the rivalry with uh as it was with Mullen and Free.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: So we all kind of got along a little bit better with all that.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: But uh, but Will, I mean, you everyone knows who who you are in Mississippi and the record you set will just will never be forgotten.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's your time at Mississippi State.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: You're you're you'll go down as a legend.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: But I have to start it from the from the beginning.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: I want to know this personally.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: I know everybody else does too.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Coach Leach.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: When did you first meet Coach Leach and and tell us any good stories?
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: I I was uh Tom wanted me to ask about that.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: He heard the an Arkansas story that your dad told him that there's a good Leach Arkansas story.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know what that is, but just just tell us about Coach Leach.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, my my relationship with Leach probably goes back, I mean, way back to even when I was in high school, you know, when he recruited me to Washington State.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but you know, the first time I had heard about Coach Leach, I was actually in first grade.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: I can I actually remember it very, very vividly.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, I was in first grade and coming home from my dad's coaching high school football.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: So coming home from practice with my dad, and my dad's all excited about Texas Techs playing Texas, and I really didn't know what was going on at the time, but I remember sitting down and watching the game and watching how electric Coach Leach's offense was.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_03: And that was actually the game that Michael Crabtree caught the ball to beat Texas.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_03: So uh it's kind of a kind of a crazy deal.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but you know, once Coach Leach started recruiting me out of high school, and it's honestly a thanks to Gardner Minshew that, you know, uh a school from Washington's recruiting a kid from Mississippi.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_03: So without Gardner, I probably would not have even, you know, had the chance to be recruited by Coach Leach to Washington State.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so uh, you know, go through the recruiting process, things like that.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I actually uh decided to stay in-state.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that's something that was really personal for me, is I really wanted to stay close to home and uh preferably in-state and play for either state or old miss coming out of high school.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and I got a chance to do that with Coach Moorhead, who was at uh Mississippi State at the time, and uh, you know, not knowing what was to come with Coach Leach or anything like that.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_03: But uh, you know, Tom Tom was talking about the road in between and talking about my faith and things like that.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I can remember just talking to God one night, you know, not really knowing what what I wanted to do, uh coming out of high school and you know, just praying, you know, I I know this is the right place for me at Washington State, but at the same time, you know, my heart is here in Mississippi, and I want to be uh in Mississippi and play for one of the two schools in in the state.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_03: So um it was it was definitely a guide thing for sure.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I didn't I didn't see it come to fruition for about you know four or five months after, and you know, I guess the rest is kind of history for the next three and a half years with coach.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, do you have a good uh a funny?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: I know everybody wants to hear about the leech funny stories.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: You have a good funny story about leech you want to you want to talk about until you got many.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I know it's it's a lot, you know, and I was actually, I mean, everywhere I go, people are like, well, what's your best leech story?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_03: I have to like start thinking, and you know, I think it'd be cool.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I think it'd be cool like one day if like all like the quarterbacks from over the years like sat down, just sat down at a round table and uh I don't know, played cards and talked about leech stories for a couple hours or so.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you you could you could make a 30 for 30 on that for sure.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but it was just like his everyday routine and what he did.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I mean, showing up.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, if a meeting started at three o'clock, he was gonna roll in there at 3 45 with a cup of coffee and I mean a bag of bag a sandwich in a bag and a banana.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that was that was leech, you know.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_03: So he did he did things his way and nobody really told him otherwise.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_03: And uh he really didn't care what everybody thought about him.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_03: But uh what's my best one?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I mean, the the the Trump story is pretty good.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we're we're sitting in the middle of practice and uh like during special teams, Coach Leach is kind of off to the side.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, he he obviously doesn't do special teams, so uh I know like right when he got there, he would have his headphones in during practice while special teams was going on, and he would be listening to like Rosetta Stone, like trying to learn Spanish in the middle of in the middle of practice.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: Like this is our head coach, you know.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and so he's over there standing off to the side one day, and uh we're waiting on him to start practice because you don't start without him, because he's the he's the head coach and he calls the plays.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: So the offense is waiting on him, and he finally got over there about five or ten minutes while we're literally standing there on the field waiting for him.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: And uh it turns out he was on the phone with Donald Trump for a little bit there in practice.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: So that's that's probably one of the probably one of the better ones that I have.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_03: Just talking to Trump in the middle of practice, no big deal.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, well, I I I think I've seen you in a in a uh other podcast or I've seen an interview where uh but I want to ask you this again.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: So was it true it leaks through every play he called was a pass play, and then you had to you you did the running plays or or how'd that work?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah probably about 90 90 percent of them.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: Uh there's probably I don't know, maybe one, one or two a game that he would call, actually call.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, we were running it 15 to 25 times a game.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_03: Um so all of those are a credit to me.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, it's kind of the it's kind of the weird, weird, you know, if it worked, it's a it's a good call by me.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_03: If it doesn't, I'm probably gonna hear about it on the sidelines.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_03: So that's probably what dad was talking about, the famous Arkansas story is there's a third and there's like a third and goal, and I caught a run play and it did not work, and he did not like that.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and then we're coming out of halftime, and he it's a fourth and one, and he just points at me, and I'm just like, what does that even mean?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and I caught a run play and it worked.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_03: So thank God if if that didn't if that run play didn't get a first down, I was probably gonna be pulled and not not been in the game anymore.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_03: He he would have been really mad.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but yeah, he he doesn't uh he doesn't call the run plays a lot.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, that's the beauty of his offense.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_03: He let he let his guys play and he let his guys have a lot of freedom.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, it got to a point where if we were in a great rhythm, we were almost out there just playing backyard football and just having fun with it, which is which is what's good for you know college kids and uh good for football players.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_03: Just go out there and have fun with it and you know don't think about a whole lot, just just go have fun and go play ball.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_03: I love how youth threw the ball though.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, it was very catchable.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_04: Your precision was unreal, Will.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_04: Well, especially on the sidelines, man, just where only he could get it.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, we're still working on that, Tom.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_03: So don't uh don't jinx me or anything.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_04: Well, you got a new you got new players, you know.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: You gotta build the chemistry back.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_04: But we were thinking you've been through what six coaches in four years.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so I guess you could count Coach Moorhead, um, Coach Leach, Coach Arnett, Coach Jabor now, and then uh Coach Fish.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_03: So I guess that's five, I think.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_03: Five, five.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: And then he had Greg Knox, his interview.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's right.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: Coach Knox.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: I can't leave my guy Coach Knox down.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: That's my guy.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't know about six, yeah.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, he uh he did a great job.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, no, it's been it's been a lot.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_04: So you know when we were first together, you you uh you were 18 years old and you came to the church and you shared February 16th, 2020.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_04: You were just getting ready to start at stake.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_04: And you've gone up early, and now looking back at you, you know, just just the way you have handled yourself through all of that.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_04: John Clark has been amazing.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_02: I remember that.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: I was at I was there that day.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: We went and ate at Northwood afterwards.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: You remember that?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, yeah.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Time flies, man.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Time flies.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: It sure does.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we're gonna transition.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: I or Tom's gonna take the lead here in a second, but I'm gonna I want to talk about this.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna lead into Tom's part, is about choosing Washington.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: I want to know, like, and let everybody know what made you choose Washington, but then I want to hit on the aspect of you know, you're talking about how you almost started your career in Washington State, and then Coach Leeds comes to Mississippi State, and then you're gonna end your college career in the state of Washington, but at the other school and not Washington, the University of Washington.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: So it kind of just a whole full circle moment right there.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: We kind of want to talk about that and lead into it, but what made you choose Washington?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, it's definitely a full circle moment, you know, and I've thought about that, you know.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, four or five years ago, I was, you know, this close to being out here in general.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_03: And now, you know, if you would have told me I was gonna be playing football at the University of Washington, you know, two or three years ago, I would have told you you're crazy and you know, not knowing what's to come, obviously.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but you know, the Lord, the Lord has a special way of working and uh making his plan the perfect plan.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, it's something that I've really had to learn and not necessarily learn the hard way, but just learn through things that I've been through.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, because you know, like I said, two years ago, you know, you're you're a four-year starter or a three-year starter at the time, you're coming off a win against Ole Miss and in the egg bowl, and you think life life is great, and you're just gonna cruise on through your your senior year, break a record, and um, you know, go to the NFL.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, that that's that's what I had in mind.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: That's what I planned.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, obviously, obviously we're in it we're in a different spot, but you know, I've like I said, I've learned not to question question the Lord uh by any means necessary.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_03: So uh I know that I went through last year uh what I had to go through, you know, getting injured and things like that.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_03: I know that's gonna only make me a better person, a better player now.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_03: So um, you know, like I said, everything that I've been through, I've learned not to question uh the Lord and what he has for me.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_03: But in terms of Washington, uh, you know, once I got in the portal, I was hearing from some schools, you know, around 10 to 15 schools were calling me.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I told everybody I wanted to get down to, you know, two or three uh because, you know, my situation was different.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm not a I'm not a high school kid, I'm not taking 10 visits or going on all these junior days and things like that.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I had to make my decision, you know, in two to four weeks.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so I'd kind of had it down to you know, Washington or Miami.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I was really, really leaning towards Washington in general just because of, you know, what they did on offense, how successful they were.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, Mike Penix had been through some things at Indiana.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: He came over here, lit it up for two years, and he's gonna get drafted in the first round, probably.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then I obviously have a relationship with Dylan Johnson who played with me at Mississippi State.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and he was telling me just great things about the program and the coaches and things like that.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_03: And that's ultimately why I decided to come to Washington.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, they had reached out when I entered the portal and things like that, but that's ultimately why I decided to come to Washington.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then once I get here, boom, you know, you think you think you've you think life's been tough since you know, December of 2022 or whatever it was when Coach Dyes passed away.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: You think life's been tough for the past 13 months?
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_03: You think you're getting away from it by coming out here and starting over?
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: And then two weeks after I get here, it's another curveball thrown at me.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, so it's kind of just like, wow, like, you know, I mean, what what am I doing wrong?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what am I doing wrong in life?
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: What am I uh, you know, just starting to question myself, question, uh, question other things.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, I think I think it's gonna make me a better person.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's gonna make me a better player, and I think it's gonna draw me closer to the Lord uh in the end as well.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, a lot of people haven't been through what I've been through um with the passing of Coach Leach, not only Coach Leach, but I lost a coach before that, the year before, that had just gone to USC that had been with me my first two years at Mississippi State, coach Coach Dave Nickel.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_03: He passed away from from cancer.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: So um losing two coaches, losing a teammate during that deal.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, a lot of people haven't been through what I've been through.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_03: And um, like I said, I think it's just gonna make me a better person and a better player uh when it's all said and done.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that road in between is all about uh handling fear, fear of failure, fear, uh loss, leaving things.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_04: Abraham and Sarah, God get up and go, you know, they had to leave their people, leave their country and go, and they had the courage to do that, and look what happened.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_04: He became the father of all three great religions.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_03: I think I think that's I think that's what can be challenging for us is sometimes you know, I mean, I think if as Christians, you know, if Jesus Christ was standing right there in the door and told you to pack up all your stuff and go, we would go.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but it's just finding out, you know, how is the Lord talking to me?
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_03: What is the Lord trying to say to me in this moment uh that that can be challenging sometimes, you know, and and that's one thing that I struggle with, honestly, is it's one of my biggest fears as well, is not doing what God wants, you know.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm I I personally have never heard the Lord talk to me.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I've never heard God speak to me.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_03: You know, some people can say they've heard God say things to them.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_03: I personally have never had that happen to me uh when talking to the Lord, but you know, there's other ways that he will talk to me.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um so it's all about just having your faith in him and having your trust in him and uh just just knowing that his plan is better than anything I can ever imagine.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_04: When you finished up at State, I was thinking, I like the quote you said, you know, I need to go to a program that fits fits who I am.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_04: And when you came to the church four years ago, you were just starting out, and you were you I thought you knew who you were, but you really know your gifts.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you are a pastor.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_04: You right you in three seconds it's out, two seconds it's out.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_04: And you needed a program that fit that.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_04: And then when the boar leaves and then fish comes in, and didn't y'all beat, y'all beat Arizona, right?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_04: And twice.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_04: When he was twice.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I I see fish every.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, if they if I hear any talk or anything like that from any of the Arizona guys, I just you know, I got I got you P to nothing right now, big guy.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so it's it's funny.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_04: That's great.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_04: Well, you know, it's 2,539 miles between Brandon, Mississippi and Seattle, Washington.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_04: You know it well.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_04: It's 35 hours and 30 minutes through it.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's uh that's a height.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_04: And uh that that whole journey, and you went out there knowing Dylan Johnson, right?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_04: You knew him, and he is gone now.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_04: So he's gone.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_04: So you you are like, okay, Lord, yeah.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_04: Uh you know, handling loneliness, you know, a lot of our listeners and viewers, this road in between is a real deal, you know.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_04: This is really deep.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_04: Where okay, who am I?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_04: Where did I come from?
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_04: Why am I here?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_04: Where am I going?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_04: Those four basic life questions.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_04: If you are just, you know, you're you're living that and trying to answer those through the hirings and the firings and the COVID.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_04: We didn't even talk about COVID.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_03: It's been a journey for sure.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm not saying I'm, you know, like you were saying, you know, I'm I'm still trying to figure things out every single day, you know, about myself, about my faith, and uh, you know, in my walk with the Lord every single day.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm not saying by any stretch of the imagination that I've been perfect or always done the right thing, or you know, have always you know said the right thing, or um, you know, but it's a journey, you know, and I try I all I all I try and do is just be a better person, be a better man than I was the day before.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_03: So uh some days I accomplish that, and you know, some days I don't, you know.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I'm not a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination, but you know, there's one thing that I that I am confident in, and that's my faith, and you know, that's putting my trust in my Lord and Savior.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_04: So don't you love Jeremiah 29, 11?
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no doubt.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_04: You're living it.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I know the plans I have for you.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_04: Good God, because I don't know those plans.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_04: I need to know those exactly, exactly.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_04: Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_04: You've walked that.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_04: You have even through the midst of your, you know, we live between suffering and hope.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_04: And you we certainly have lived that.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_04: And uh that's exactly where God meets us.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we when you spoke at at uh Coach Leach's funeral, I was very impressed with what you said and and the way you handled yourself.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_04: I know that was probably very difficult.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_04: But you did you did it so well and uh you kept living, you know, and that's John Clark's big mantra is just keep living.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_04: When you go through adversity, which is the theme for all of our stories.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_04: It's the great three-act play, you know.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_04: You you you start out the first act is character development, the second act is crisis or chaos, and then the third act is redemption.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_04: And you're kind of in that second act to now you're into that third act, your last year college sports.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_04: And then I'd love to see, you know, I'm looking forward to seeing where the Lord leads you after that.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm looking forward to it, whatever, whatever it may be, you know.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: Hopefully, I can have a really good year and you know, have a chance to.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: the next level.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_03: But, you know, I'm at a point in my life with you know everything that I've been through that if that isn't the case, you know, I'm I'm content with everything that I've done.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I I can I can honestly say that um you know I've left everything that I have at Mississippi State and I'm gonna do the same thing at Washington.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I've you can ask anybody that I've ever been around, any of my teammates, and they're gonna tell you the same thing about me wherever I've been and that's that I've showed up every day.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: I've given it my all and I've led the team as well as I could.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: So hopefully uh God willing I'll have a chance at the next level and uh uh a big year at Washington but you know if that's if that's not the case like I said you know I'm I'm extremely content on what I've done and I know that the Lord has bigger plans for me you stayed humble you set all the records at stake you set the SEC record you are humble pie man I'm so in a world of ego will rogers you are you are I appreciate you I appreciate you and that's what we love about you you know what I came across Washington okay 49,025 students and you and the slogan is let there be light how about that how about that let there be light and here you are bringing another candle into the program a program that's been depleted and God is gonna wrap new guys around you to protect you you got these wide receivers how are your wide receivers are they they're great they're great you know some some younger guys that have kind of waited their turn uh you know because they had they're gonna have three their three starters last year are all gonna get drafted high you know really really really really good players uh but they have some younger guys that have been ready to play but obviously they had some pretty good players in front of them so we're looking forward to it we're we're starting Springball April 1st I think so we're gonna be a little later than everybody else because they played in the national championship obviously but uh we're excited we're we're working hard right now so well what was it like sitting uh sitting at the game national national championship I saw you got the pros and passes yeah no it was really cool I was just tossing around with actually actually tossing around with Dylan Johnson before the game just out there messing around a little bit but it was cool it was it was a really cool experience obviously I wasn't a part of it a ton you know during the week I wasn't around the team a lot you know which rightfully so I wouldn't want anybody from the outside being involved if I was playing in the national championship game either uh but it was really cool just to be there uh experience it um you know a lot more security a lot more cameras everything like that but uh I mean once once the game kind of kicked off it was you know just football at that point so well I I have to say what what Tom said a little while ago you're talking about humble pie will rogers I have to say this out of all you play quarterback all right quarterback is the most scrutinized position all football critics come after you right left right left right right I couldn't take it man I would have fired back not one time did I ever hear you say a negative word about anybody when they're criticizing and and that's just shows the character that you are and what a great young man you are and and we're we're so proud of you because I mean it takes it that's just it takes strong will to to not fire back at people when they're coming at you and and you you've held on strong and you're just a you're a shining light like Tom said.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_03: So well appreciate yeah I mean I I kind of understand that like you know especially fans you know fans can get wrapped up in you know the game and you know obviously some people are probably betting on the game and things like that and getting upset and things like that but um you know you don't see anybody any of my friends saying that about me anybody that I know saying that about me so right those people don't know me they've never you know had a conversation with me and um you they'll get over it so you have you have to turn off you have to turn off social media sometimes yeah sometimes and it's something that you know I've I've done on and off a little bit through my career.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_03: I'm actually gonna cut it all off at the start of camp this year just to you know I got one more one more crack at this thing so I don't want there to be really any any distractions and um you know kind of like John Clark said I really I mean I respect what people have to say outside of you know the building and opinions and then things like that.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_03: But you know at the same time you know you want to keep the main thing the main thing and you know if you're worried about something else that somebody else is saying I don't think you're really focused on what you're actually trying to do and get accomplished that week.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_03: And you know people people talk about the the physical grind in the season but you know when you talk to somebody who's actually you know played a lot of football and you know guys in the NFL the mental grind is really really hard to uh and that you see guys like the quarterback series you see Kirk cousin you know talking to you know psychologists and things like that week to week and you know that stuff's surreal um so you know like I said I try and just get off social media this year and just keep the main thing the main thing um good you got a big support system your family loves you so much absolutely absolutely that's the that's the best thing in the world so and you're now a ton of Washington fans in the state of Mississippi yes you do I hope and DK we got to get DK and and Will together yeah we can do that I'd love to get get y'all together and we got a couple who I'm thinking we got uh myself I guess DK's out here with the Seahawks uh Charles Cross my left tackle my first two years plays left tackle for the Seahawks now too so uh he's the man he actually uh he actually hit me up on social media last week so I have to find a time to get in touch and then um he's not from Mississippi but obviously another connection to the Seahawks is the guy the coach that brought me in coach Ryan Grubb he just took the Seahawks offensive coordinator job too so wow yeah there's that movement of the spirit there is yeah no kidding no kidding that's there's no random moments it's all guidance and it's no coincidence right oh my gosh well you uh you've got a great season ahead and Washington let me ask you this when was the last time you had grits or it's been a minute it's been a while I was grits and sweet tea I think I drink sweet tea three meals a day at home and I get out here and I can't find it anywhere.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_03: I mean I'm going to every store and you know I go to a restaurant they're like yeah we have tea but it's icy and I'm like no do y'all have sweet tea like no we'll bring you tea and you can put sugar in it I was like I don't want that I want sweet tea they're like we don't have that so I've I've just been drinking some water everywhere I go if I go out to eat or anything like that.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_03: I've just been having a glass of water instead that's good.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_03: Well N I L are you you taken care of you they they yeah no they're they're doing a good job and that's they uh they do a good job out here you know taking care of their guys and you know walk-ons you know scholarships you know starters non-starters it doesn't really matter they do a really good job of you know taking care of the team and uh you know making sure that everybody's you know got meals you know a place to stay things like that so uh it's a really really big credit to coach fish and the staff they do a really good job with with that excellent we're you need to be taken care of you know Jehovah Jira means the Lord will provide Jehovah Jirah you know and that that's that is so true he will provide we're in the middle of Lent which is purple I got purple back here in this road but purple is the sea is the color between of red and blue okay blue is divinity red is humanity and you put them together and you get purple and when Christ was on the cross he was both he was both blue and red and as he came together he was bruised and bruises are purple and you've been bruised you know you've been through a lot of bruising uh you great accolades great accomplishments but but your story is deeper than that it's also how you know you've been through so much more than anybody I know and yet through that you're revealing the divinity living within you and then your humanity hey I I don't have it all figured out right and I I think that is your testimony and that inspires that inspires us.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_04: It's like John Clark you know here's living with Sister Fibrosis one of the oldest survivors and he's showing his humanity but God is just shining through him and absolutely it's uh quite a quite a story quite a story yep well we love you and we look forward to your season ahead yes sir yes sir I hope uh hope y'all can stay up late and watch some games out here on the west coast so I I think John Clark's gonna come out to the we're trying to come out maybe to the Michigan game.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah we're gonna try to come out here a lot of uh talked to some of my my teammates at state and a lot of those guys are trying to get out here for that game I think it's their first bye week yeah we ought to we might be on uh we might be on uh blow up mattresses on my floor here in my apartment oh man well you're in a good spot don't be sleepless in Seattle rest well God's got you in the palm of his hand and and uh you know that and it means a lot for you to come on and and share a little bit of your story and you know we're here for you I appreciate it love you guys hey thank y'all thank y'all man means a lot all right take care we'll talk soon all right bye bye bye bye