Latest / The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast / Michigan RB Blake Corum

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Michigan RB Blake Corum · The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_06: The theme for this week's show is Never Give Up.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_06: It's a theme that pops up time and time again in Heisman history.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_06: Heisman winners have often started out overlooked or pushed to the side, underestimated or taken for granted.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_06: They've come from the smallest of forgotten towns and from the roughest parts of the biggest cities and from the other side of the world.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_06: They've faced the heavy pressure of satisfying unsatisfiable fan bases, they've pushed through the intense glare of the media spotlight, and they've exceeded the lofty expectations of their coaches.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_06: Some of them survived wars.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_06: Yet, to a man, they all found the fortitude and determination to overcome all obstacles and reach the pinnacle of their sport.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_06: Some Heisman winners didn't do much in their college careers until that final Heisman winning season.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_06: Then, they found redemption.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_06: Some fought through injuries and had to struggle to reclaim their considerable talents.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_06: Then, they found glory.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_06: Others found themselves in the most dire situations a football team can be in, yet they dug themselves and their teams out, and they were better because of it.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_06: Others rode the wave of their natural talents and served as majestic examples for how college football should be played.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_06: Some of these Heisman winners have used the trophy as a platform for improving society and inspiring others to do the same.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_06: And others have discovered that the power of the Heisman extends beyond the gridiron and back to these small towns and big cities and even to the other side of the world.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_06: Indeed, it takes a special type of human being to accomplish the things that a Heisman winner accomplishes.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_06: So the next time you look at the Heisman Trophy race, consider what the various candidates have gone through to get to this point.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_06: Consider all the hard work that's gone into it, all the pressure that's been overcome, and how much of their bodies and minds they've sacrificed to get there.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_06: And it's important to remember that while only one player can hoist the bronze statue at the end of the year, they never gave up.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_09: Welcome to the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_06: Welcome to episode four of the official Heisman Trophy podcast.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_06: I'm your host, Chris Houston, and today we'll be talking to one of the best running backs in the country, a senior out of the University of Michigan, Blake Corum.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_06: Coram is once again healthy after suffering a late season knee injury last year, and I think you're gonna enjoy hearing from this impressive young man.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_06: And then later on, we're talking to 1996 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Florida, Danny Worfle.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_06: And if you watch college football in the 1990s, you're gonna really enjoy this interview.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_06: But first, like we always do, let's take a little trip around the Heisman World.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_06: It's the Heisman Realcome.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_06: Week two.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_06: Week two of the college football season brought us some huge matchups and some big-time performances.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_06: But no game had bigger marquee value than number three Alabama, posting number 11 Texas, where Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers stole the show.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_06: The sophomore passed for 349 yards and three touchdowns, including a fourth quarter 39-yard strike to A.D.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_06: Mitchell that provided the final scoring in a 34-24 victory for Texas.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_06: He also connected with Xavier Worthy on this 44-yard pass for the game's first touchdown.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_06: Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_06: helped the Ohio State offense get on track with a huge performance and a 35-7 victory over Youngstown State.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_06: The junior caught seven passes for 160 yards and two scores, including a 71-yard touchdown pass that opened the game scoring less than 90 seconds in.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_06: That included a fourth-quarter 64-yard scoring dagger to Jacoby George to clinch the win.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_06: Van Dyke discussed his improvement after the game.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_04: I'm seeing it really well right now.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_06: North Carolina, squeaked by Appalachian State in two overtimes, had needed every bit of running back of Marion Hampton's career bets 234 yards.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_06: The sophomore bolted for three touchdowns, including this 68-yard run to put Carolina on the board.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_06: Miami of Ohio receiver Gage Larvadan struck repeatedly, catching eight passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Redhawks to a 41-28 win over UMass.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_06: That total included this 99-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_05: Looking for Larvadan again, it's drive, he's got it, and he is off to the races across the 50, 40, 30.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_05: Larvadan, another huge play to the end zone.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_05: 99 yards.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_05: Touchdown, Miami.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_06: And quickly, a little nod to 2021 Heidsman Trophy winner Bryce Young, who made his NFL regular season debut against Atlanta on Sunday.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_06: The Panthers lost, but Young connected on his first career NFL TD pass.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_06: The first of many, we're sure.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_06: Now it's time for this week's trivia question.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_06: Last week's trivia question was one by James Pardot of Los Angeles, California.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_06: I had asked whose Heisman total touchdown record Mike Verzier broke in 1983?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_06: And the answer was Frank Sinkich of Georgia, who won the Heisman in 1942.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_06: Remarkably, his 26 total touchdowns that year stood for 41 years as a Heisman record.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_06: Of course, Verzier's record has since been broken and is jointly held by Sam Bradford and Marcus Mariota at 53.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_06: Now on to this week's question.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_06: Just email pod at Heisman.com with your answer, and we'll send you out a Heisman hat or a Heisman duffelbag.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_06: Ready?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_06: Here we go.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_06: Name the first Heisman winner to have his announcement broadcast live on national television.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_06: Once again, the first player to be announced as the Heisman Trophy winner on live national television.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_06: Send your answer to pod at Heisman.com.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_06: That's pod at Heisman.com, and the first correct answer gets a Heisman hat or a Heisman duffelbag.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_06: Our first guest this week is another Big Ten player and one of the best running backs in the country.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_06: Last year he rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_06: But it was a season cut short by a meniscus tear in his team's 11th game.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_06: At the time, it seemed a very good likelihood that this player would be going to New York as one of the Heisman finalists.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_06: But after a long off season of rehabilitation, he's back, and he's already scored four touchdowns this year.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_06: We caught up with him after game one last week, so let's jump right in.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_06: Blake Koram, running back University of Michigan.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_06: Welcome back to college football, and thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_03: Nah, appreciate uh you for having me.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_06: You had uh 10 carries for 73 yards in your first game with a touchdown against East Carolina.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_06: You came on the first series, you guys were backed up against the goal line.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_06: What was it like uh coming back?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_06: What was going through your mind on that first play?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, it just it felt good being back in the in in the big house.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um last time I was in the big house, uh, you know, it's not fond memories, you know.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um went down right before half, ended up getting surgery.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, just being back in the environment, you know, with my guys, with the fans.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, it it was great.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: You know, obviously not being backed up was great, but uh it was just great being back out there and uh playing ball again.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_06: Did you feel pretty confident with your with your uh with your knee?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, I I felt very confident.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_03: Uh like I told everyone else, like that was my first time, you know, actually getting hit, you know, since surgery.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't get hit during camp.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, so you know, I I needed that game.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_03: I needed that game to, you know, get back in the rhythm of things, you know, get back to, you know, cutting, you know, on the dime, you know, getting hit, you know, lowering the shoulder, you know.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_03: So it just it felt good being back in the environment.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_03: It felt good, you know, my knee getting twisted a couple of times, you know, letting letting myself know, you know, all right, hey, this this thing's good to go, you know what I'm saying?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's back to normal.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_03: So um, like I say, you know, the knee feels good.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um I think it was great for my knee, and it overall it just felt great being back.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_06: Before the second series, you guys did a tribute to Coach Harbaugh.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_06: What was that all about and uh how did that come about, I should say?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, Coach Moore uh brought that up to us uh at the beginning of the week, um, you know, ECU week and it was like this gonna we're gonna pay tribute to Coach Harbaugh by getting in the pencil, you know, something they they did back in the day, um and and throwing up our fours.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, you know, that's what we did.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: We paid uh tribute to Coach Harbaugh since you know he wasn't there last week and won't be there either the next two weeks.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, just just honoring, you know, all the work that he does for us and uh just you know having a great head coach.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_06: What did it mean for you to be named a team captain this year?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, that's uh like I told everyone, that might be the most honorable thing, you know, I've gotten, you know, in my however many years of playing football.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I've been team captain before, but being team captain on this level, uh on a Michigan team, you know, it goes a long way.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_03: It means a lot.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: You know, um it was it was it's truly an honor, you know, being able to be named a captain of the University of Michigan football team.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um and there's some there's some great captains, you know, in the past, and it just it it it shows, you know, how much they trust you, shows all the work that you know doesn't go unnoticed.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, it it it meant a lot to me and still does.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_06: Has it changed how you relate to your teammates?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: Nah, not at all.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's nothing about me.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm I'm always consistent, I'm always gonna be Blake Corn, whether you know I'm team captain or I'm not, you know.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I'm still gonna work, you know, as hard as possible each and every day.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm still gonna act the same, you know, I'm still gonna, you know, be serious when I need to be serious and you know, play around with the guys when it's time to play, you know.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm I never change, you know, for no one.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um I'm I'm always me, you know.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_03: So being team candidate didn't change anything, but it's just an honor, you know, being named, you know, team captain.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_06: You and Coach Hart share a lot of the same physical characteristics.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_06: I remember him always running with great forward lean and always keeping his legs churning.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_06: What has he taught you about being a running back?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_03: You know, he's taught me a lot, you know, and we do have similar characteristics, you know.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_03: We're not, you know, we're not the biggest people in the field uh whatsoever, but you know, our heart, you know, our desire to just be great, you know, our work ethic, um, you know, our our low center of gravity, you know, our ability to, you know, cut, you know, on a dime, um you know, elusiveness, you know, he's he's taught me a lot, you know, and just from an IQ standpoint of you know how to read defenses, what to look at before a snap, you know, um or if they're under, you know, and we're running inside zone, you know, it depends on the team obviously, but all right, the pre-snap read, uh the ball might go here, you know, just oh giving me nuggets, you know, and I watch him a lot, you know.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_03: I watch him you know, I'll pull up some uh YouTube highlights or it was a little while ago.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I was watching the Penn State game that he played, I think it was like 06 or something like that, but you know, um you know he he's the he's the greatest to ever do it here, you know.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_03: So you know, just taking whatever I can from him and uh applying it to my game, you know.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I'm blessed that, you know, Coach Hart came and became the running back coach here going into my sophomore year.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um he's he's been a great asset to the team, not only in the running back room, just in the team in general.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_06: Well, he leads all Michigan rushers in in his career with 5,040 yards.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_06: You've got 2,492 coming into this year, uh, and you're knocking on the door of that top ten.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_06: So do you have any personal goals uh as far as far as where you want to finish in that top ten?
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you know, I just want to finish as high as possible.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm not gonna get to 5,000, you know, yards.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: Uh that's a lot of yards and that's a lot of carries.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I'm not gonna reach 5,000, but you know, if I can, you know, be up there, you know, in the top five, you know, top seven.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then touchdowns, I'm not sure where I'm at, but I know, you know, uh I think the leader it has like 51 touchdowns, I believe I might be at like 32.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but if I can get like second in touchdowns behind, you know, whoever, I know I think Coach Hart may be at uh like 41 or something like that.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: So if I can pass Coach Hart in something, that that mean a lot.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but you know, he he's the greatest, you know.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_03: So it's you know, I just want to be the best version of myself, best possible, uh, when it's all said and done.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: I just want to be up there with the greats.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_06: Sounds like you've studied up a little bit on your Michigan history.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_06: Is that something you you started doing when you first committed or first signed, or or is it something you've kind of picked up along the way?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_03: Nah, I mean, you know, you just see things, you know, you might get tagged to some, or you know, a notification might pop up on your Twitter feed and you might click on it.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, you know, the bloodcorr is, you know, this far away.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's just things you see when, you know, you're on a gram or you're on Twitter.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um you're like, oh sh, I didn't even know I was that close, or I didn't even know, you know, that was the record, you know what I'm saying?
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I mean I knew Coach Hart had the record, you know, I didn't have to look any any of that up.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I I knew who the record holder was um in terms of rushing yards.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um But you know, you just see it from time to time.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_06: When you decided to come back to Michigan after after getting hurt, you made a list of pros and cons.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_06: What did that list look like?
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_03: You know, there were there were too many pros and not enough cons for me coming back.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_03: For one, um, you know, unfinished business.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we have a special team here at in Michigan, especially this year.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we have a lot of returning guys.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you know, we've gone to the CFP twice and you know, we just haven't been able to get over that hump.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: And I believe we can, you know, and so you know, in that aspect, it was just unfinished business.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, um you only get college football once.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, I want to make the most of uh my opportunity here.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, and for two, you know, I I want to leave as a legend.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I don't want to leave as, you know, uh just a good running back.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_03: But I want to be remembered forever, man.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I want to be remembered, you know, in the football field.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: I want to be remembered in the community.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_03: Uh without you know, the community events I do.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um I just want to go down history as a Michigan legend, not just live corn the running back, you know, from 2020 to 2024, you know.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I I came back to get my degree, so I have my degree, you know, the first to do it in my family.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that goes a long way.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_03: Um so you know, there there was too many pros and coming back and not enough cons for me to leave.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_06: What's the best part about playing college football?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_03: Uh the best part about playing college football is you know the the fans, you know, the the teammates, the the brotherhood that you you form over the you know three to four years, maybe five years that you're here.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_03: You know, these these are really your brothers.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I'm saying?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_03: And in the league, you know, people might get cut, you know, you might form a relationship with a dude and next the next day you wake up, you know, he if you played for say the Cowboys, you know, he could be in like Arizona, you know.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: So you know, obviously, you know, you still have the transfer portal, but you you build a brotherhood with these guys that's gonna last a lifetime.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_03: And uh being able to like you know, just train with them each and every day in the summer.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I'm saying?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_03: In the NFL, everyone goes their separate ways and trains, you know.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_03: Here, you know, you train with your guys in the summer.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_03: You you sweat, you know, you cry, you have blessed win tears, as they say.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, and then the fan base, you know, the it's crazy.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, especially here in Michigan, you know, the fans, uh it's an incredible love, amount of love here.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, they really look out for you.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: Um it it's it's nothing like college football.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, you've been very committed to philanthropy while you've been in Michigan delivering turkeys to the needy among other endeavors.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_06: What's your long-term vision when it comes to giving back?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_03: You know, eventually, you know, I want to start my own uh nonprofit.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I probably could do it right now.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: I just I haven't done it yet.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: Um But you know, that's something I'm gonna do the rest of my life.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I plan on giving turkeys away the rest of my life.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_03: I plan like this year, you know, right now I'm planning a a big, uh big Christmas giveaway.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um that would go to, you know, moms and single moms, you know, children that, you know, don't know if they'll wake up with presents under the tree, you know, uh just always trying to put a smile on someone's face, change someone's uh, you know, life if I can.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um just working with a a bunch of good people, you know, and do God's will, you know.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I'm a firm believer in God and I believe He put me on this earth to, you know, use my platform to give back.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: And so, you know, I'm gonna bring as many people as I can into my close circle to help as many people as we as we can to um you know give them a a better a better life, I guess you could say, or or just even a smile.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I I think that's very important.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I'm gonna do community service my whole life because I I feel like that's my purpose here.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_03: And uh you know, hopefully I can change some people's lives along the way.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_06: When did you start uh getting involved in community service?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: Uh when when I was a kid, honestly, you know, I was brought up in the church, so you know, I was always giving back to the church.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and being from the country, you know, there's not it's not it's a difference, you know, between country and city life.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_03: But I went to school in the city and you know, you would see a lot of homeless people in the corners and stuff like that, you know.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_03: And even I play youth ball in the city too, so you know, when when I we would go down to the city, I'm like dad, like, you know, a few bucks, can we give it to this homeless person?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and at the time I didn't have money, but I wanted to give back.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and not that you need money to get back 'cause you don't.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_03: But uh that that's what I what I wanted to do.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_03: And now with NIL, you know, it's kind of just carried along my whole life, but now I'm able to make money, so I'm able to, you know, do a little more um with the money that you know I'm receiving.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: And so but it's but it started from uh when I was a kid, you know, the way my parents brought me up.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_06: You seem to be a natural entrepreneur, speaking of of uh your parents, they seem to have instilled a new uh uh natural flair for it.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_06: Uh you and your dad bought a house together earlier in the year.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, where did this business mentality come from?
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, I I've learned a lot from my dad, you know, from him starting his business and to where it's at right now, and then you know, we've always we've always been into real estate.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, my dad's had a couple properties throughout my lifetime, and you know, I I read a lot of real estate books.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um because one thing is that you know, there's never gonna be any more land that's gonna be built, you know, so buy it while you can.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_03: And uh after reading a lot of real estate books, talking to a lot of great alum, you know, from the University of Michigan, uh my dad and I purchased our first house, you know, we did it up and we actually just bought another one two weeks ago.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: But um you know, just going into, you know, h him teaching me, you know, how to be an entrepreneur, you know, how to be a good salesman, you know, and and just watching him, you know, create his business, like I said, from nothing and turn into something, you know, was always you know something that I looked up to, you know, and I I want to be an entrepreneur entrepreneur myself and why not start now with you know the blessings of when I uh you know set myself up for the future so when my career is over, you know, I have something to fall on, you know.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: I don't have to, you know, feel like I'm starting from the bottom.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I just go right into the next career.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_06: Did you actually personally help refurbish that house?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_03: Nah, nah.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_03: I I didn't uh personally, you know, have the time.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: Uh 'cause I was here, you know, doing rehabbing my knee, you know, getting ready for the season.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, he he just showed me along the way and you know, uh, you know, him and his crew, they did it.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um when they weren't working on things with his business.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, they were over at the house, you know, re redoing it and stuff.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_03: So it was cool to see the process, you know, the ins and outs, like, you know, you think things are gonna go a certain way and they don't go that way, you know, how are you gonna are you gonna panic, you know?
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: Or are you just gonna do what needs to be done?
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: So um it was cool seeing the process of uh how how it was being done though.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_06: Do you know the number one rule of real estate?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_03: Uh what was that?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_06: Location, location, location.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_03: That is true.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: And let me tell you, we we we have uh we have great locations on both.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um one being on Main Street um in Marshall, Virginia.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_03: We actually just bought a historical house um in Marshall, Virginia, with a with a big building in the back that used to be a movie theater back in the day.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_06: How old?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it was built in nineteen twenty-two.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: Hundred years old.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um it's it's it's a older one.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: It's a older one for sure.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: It needs a little bit of work, but uh you know, we we have some plans uh not only for the house with the building in the back.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then the one we bought in Warrington.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_03: Uh that's an old town warrington, walking distance of a bunch of restaurants.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_03: So uh like you said, location is key.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_06: I read that you also want to eventually get into sports broadcasting.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_06: Is that still uh still the case?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, correct.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_06: Uh who are some of your favorite sports casters?
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, I I I like I like a bunch, a bunch of guys.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, but my favorite right now, you know, I I don't necessarily want to be, you know, to the 30, to the 20, to the 10.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_03: I want to be more so like a Stephen A.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_03: Smith, you know, uh talk about all types of sports, you know, I kind of have like my own show.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, that's that's the avenue I want to go down.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but you know, it's it's gonna take some time to get there.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_03: But uh, you know, when my career is done set, uh I definitely want to get into uh broadcasting.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: I I love being in front of cameras.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I feel like I have a lot of great input.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I I I l I love you know watching uh shows like that, you know, like First Take and you know Sports Center, you know, uh all those shows, you know.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_06: What's a controversial take or a position you hold that that uh isn't popular with your friends or or the the world?
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_03: Uh well recently we kinda had, you know, obviously uh you know the running backs pay in the NFL, you know, we we that's kind of popular, but we you know we've been talking about it in the facility, and you know, even though, you know, me personally I don't think it's necessarily right.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, there's why complain about it, you know?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_03: You know, uh there's there's nothing you can do about it, is what I'm trying to say.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, being a running back, it'd be easy for me to complain and be like, why, why?
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_03: What's that doing for me?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's only gonna put me in a bad mood, you know, and uh you know, I'm I'm all about vibes and I don't let the uncontrollable things, you know, control me.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_03: So um that's kind of my take on it.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um hopefully it changes in the future.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_03: But as of right now, especially being in college still, you know, I I don't I don't necessarily worry about that because it's uncontrollable.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_06: So what are some of your uh earliest Heisman memories or memories about the Heisman?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_03: Uh memories about the Heisman, obviously is the best collegiate ward you can get, you know.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um that's the way I look at it.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_03: And to be quite frankly, like I never even like until last year, I never even thought about winning the Heisman.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_03: You know, obviously I thought about you know, it'd be cool, but it was never in, you know, my line of sight.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I was always just about winning, you know, always about the team, you know, and and when it popped up last year, you know, I I might have been in the race and uh and whatnot.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, it it was it was amazing, you know, and you know, it it's obviously you know the the best award you can win in college.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um and my boy Caleb won it last year.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we trained a lot uh when we were younger together.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um so it was good seeing him win it.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know that's that's kinda you know what I know about the Heisman.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_06: Maybe we can have two DMV winners in a row, huh?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, hey, that that'd be great.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_06: Who's your favorite Heisman winner?
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_03: Who's my favorite Heisman winner?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I've seen a couple over the years.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um I gotta go with the Michigan guys, even though I I I can't name them right now.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_06: What about Heisman running backs?
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_03: Heisman running backs?
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_06: I feel like Barry Sanders is kind of right up your alley.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_03: Barry Sanders is my favorite running back for sure.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_03: Uh before my time, you know, I didn't get to see him win the Heisman.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: Mark did Mark Mark Ingram win it right.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_06: Mark Ingram won it, yep.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, Mark Ingram.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_03: Uh he was up there.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: I like I liked watching him.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_03: I was able to watch him a little bit.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um so uh I'd probably say probably Mark.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_03: I liked his game out of college.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_06: Vote for Mark Ingram.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_06: Okay.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_06: Well, Blake Corham, uh thanks for joining us on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_06: So great to see you out there again, looking healthy and doing well.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_06: And we wish you the best of luck for yourself and for your team.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_06: I appreciate you guys for having me.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_06: You just heard University of Michigan running back Blake Coram.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_06: He and the Michigan Wolverines will be taking on Bowling Green this Saturday.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_06: Be sure to check him out.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Tim Brown, 1987 Heisman Trophy winner, and you're listening to the official Heisman Podcast.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_06: The Florida Gators host the Tennessee Volunteers in what should be a key SEC matchup this weekend.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_06: Twenty-seven years ago, it was the same matchup, except it was up in Knoxville.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_06: Those were two outstanding teams, and of course, there were two outstanding quarterbacks facing off that day.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_06: For Tennessee, it was Peyton Manning, who was the Heisman runner up in 1997, and for Florida, it was Danny Werfel who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1996.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_06: We had a nice talk with Werfel recently, and he told us about his entire career.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_06: Plus, we got the lowdown on his latest obsession, pickleball.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_06: Danny Werfel, thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's great to be with you.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_06: Thanks for having me.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_06: So I want to go back to the beginning a bit when you were growing up, and uh you were the son of an Air Force chaplain and you moved around a lot before settling in at Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_06: How did that experience shape your perspective growing up?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it was tough, you know, being a kid, and every three years or so, we would pack up and leave.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: So you kind of get your friends, you establish your spot on the team, and then that all changes and you move somewhere new and try to do it again.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: But for me, there's a couple things that that really stood out.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, first of all, sports made that so much easier.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: You show up in a new place, and if you play a sport and you're on a team, it's like you got buddies pretty quickly.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think sports really helped me develop and transition in all those cases.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: The other thing that just personally has helped me a lot in my life is when you live in different parts of the country, even overseas, we lived in Spain for three years.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_02: You realize that a lot of people think about and do life different than you do.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: And it's not wrong.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's just different.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think we we naturally suspect anything that's really different from us to be to be worse or wrong.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: But there's just a lot of ways people do life differently.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, in Spain, they sleep in the afternoon, right, when we're all thinking we're supposed to be productive, and then they stay up later and have late dinners, and it works for them, you know, and and the south is different than the north.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's something that's really helped me in my life is that a lot of people can be different, but we can still still get along.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_06: Were you in Rhoda, Spain?
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_06: Is that uh where the the base was?
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: No, we were in Torjon, Spain, which was about an hour outside of Madrid.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_06: Ah, okay.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_06: Did you uh really enjoy uh seeing all of the Spanish countryside and the various cities?
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, we loved it.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_02: We got to see a lot of Europe back then and old castles and the ruins.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: We loved to look at that stuff.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_02: And and then of course, uh for me then it was all soccer.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you threw a baseball at a kid over there and they'd bounce it off their chest and kick it back to you.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_02: So it was I was I was an early soccer player and and and loved it.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_06: Uh did you learn to speak Spanish while you were there?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: I did a little bit.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh learned Spanish when I was young and then uh and then ended up taking Italian in college, which I'm not sure why I did that.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_02: And then I lived in Germany when I played for the uh NFL's Europe League.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm I'm just a big complicated, confused uh language person, but definitely uh learned some Spanish when I was little.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_06: Uh o studiato italiano anke.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, molto bene.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_06: Oh, nice.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_06: You were considered the top recruit in the state of Florida your senior year.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, what schools were recruiting you the hardest?
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, at the end, I visited Alabama, Florida State, and Florida.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh was super impressed with all three.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, man, I took my visit to Alabama and I thought, I love Gene Stallings.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to Alabama.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_02: And then the next week I went to Florida State and I'm like, oh my gosh, Bobby Bound's amazing.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: Florida State's amazing.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to Florida State.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_02: And then I went to Florida and I think, oh man, now it's complicated.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_02: Coach Spurrier, he's one of a kind.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and Florida is an amazing school, and it got more complicated.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: But in the end, one, the chance to play for Steve Spurrier as a quarterback coach uh was just an incredible opportunity.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_02: And two, the University of Florida is an incredible academic institution.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's currently a top five public university in the country.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, getting a degree from there, I thought to myself, if I didn't play football, which school would I go to?
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it would have been Florida.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_06: What was it like to be recruited by Steve Spurrier?
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it was funny.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he'd he'd show up, he'd play uh videos of Shane Matthews making some bad throws and be like, man, you made that throw.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, he had me believing uh that I was better than Shane Matthews when I was in high school.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_02: And and then he'd also, you know, really, he'd just pop down the statistics from everywhere he's been.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_02: And the amount of yards and and passing yards and touchdowns was just unbelievable.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_02: But I remember getting to Florida and then watching Shane Matthews practice.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, this guy's amazing.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_02: How in the world did I think I was even close to this guy?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_02: But Spurrier was a great, great recruiter and um uh definitely uh got me to go to U.S.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_06: Since you mentioned Bobby Bowden, what was it like to talk to him and and you know hear his pitch?
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up having a lot of respect uh for Bobby Bowden.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, my my older sister went to Florida State.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_02: I was probably leaning to Florida State uh more throughout the recruiting process.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh he's a man of faith, uh, did a lot of speaking at Fellowship of Christian athletes types of things, which I was involved in.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was very, uh, very impressed and and with the whole thing.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was a tough call to uh to not go to Florida State.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but of course, looking back, I'm super grateful I made uh clearly the right choice.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_06: So your first two seasons, you and Terry Dean rotated a lot.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_06: Now, uh Spurrier was pretty uh he wasn't averse to rotating his quarterbacks and doing the quick hook.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_06: And and then in '94, Dean got off to this really hot start, and then you had that auburn game and he threw four interceptions.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_06: And from that point, you seemed to pretty much take over the job.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_06: Was that a stressful situation, knowing that you could be yanked at any time, or or was it also a great motivator to rise to the occasion to sort of fend off your competition?
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_02: Probably a little bit of both.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_02: I remember early on I threw an interception and I thought the receiver had run the route not exactly right.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_02: So I wondered if Spurrier was going to be mad at me or the receiver.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I get to the sideline and he's like, Oh, Danny, don't worry, it's not your fault.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I was like, Whew, he goes, It's my fault for putting you in there and uh took me out.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_02: So he he was definitely quick on that early.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: I think, especially my freshman year, I was happy to get on the field.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_02: It was like, you know, um, if I played 10 plays or 20 plays or half the game, it was all better than nothing.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh, you know, as as you know, going into my sophomore year when Terry got the nod to start and was doing all the playing, that was tough.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, but then once once that Auburn game had come for a variety of reasons, I really got the chance to play the rest of that year and then led into the next couple years.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_02: So getting a lot of experience in both my freshman and sophomore year, I think was really critical for the success I had kind of in my junior and senior year.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_06: That must have been a great lesson to learn because Terry had he had thrown 18 touchdown passes to that point before the Auburn game, and people were talking about him as a Heisman candidate, and then suddenly it was just like that, it was gone.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_06: Uh was that one of those things where you look at that at the time and you're like, no matter how good I am, no matter how good things are going, it could be taken away uh really quickly.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, that's definitely in the back of your mind.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_02: I think there were some situational things around that experience that were a little bit different.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you know, I think Coach Spurrier really going forward really went out of his way to just really try to give me confidence.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_02: I remember uh going into the Florida State game at the end of my sophomore year, Derek Brooks, the great uh amazing linebacker for for Florida State, made the comment, oh, Danny's starting, but we we plan to see Terry by halftime.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_02: And Spurrier, we had uh Thanksgiving meal at his house two days before the the Florida State game, he came up to me and he said, Yeah, do you hear what Derek said?
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I tell you what, when you see him before the game, you tell him he's gonna be dealing with you the whole time.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: So that that was a great, a great feeling.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_02: And uh uh I think that was the game though we we got ahead 31 to 3, and then they came back and tied us.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_02: So right maybe we should have put Tyrion.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_06: You know, it's funny, as an outsider looking in, you look at at Spurrier and and you see that okay, maybe he's difficult to play for, but at the same time, when he has your back, it must feel amazing because because it that means you really earned it, right?
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he was a one of a kind.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, his ability to be so much about details and yet also somehow be flexible.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, he he create plays at halftime, and and other coaches would need like three years to study something before they'd put a new play in.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_02: And then yet on certain things, his the precision uh of which he demanded, you know, the quarterback steps and timing and eyes and the receiver routes were so uh amazing.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, he it was just unbelievable to get the chance to to play with and for him.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, he was a tough coach.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_02: He demanded uh really pushed you beyond what what you could do.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I tell you, what's really fun is winning.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: And uh it it's amazing.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_02: We we won so much uh through those years, and we had so much success, and his innovation at offense uh was just ideal for kind of how my brain worked, and my particular skill set just fit there really well.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_02: So um it's it's great.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, our relationship is is so great even to this day.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: He uh just came a few weeks ago.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: My wife graduated from Florida with her master's degree, and uh he came to the party and celebrated and said nice things about my wife.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: He just he's like a like a grandfather now to us.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_06: That's awesome.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_06: You know, I I kind of wonder about the the system that he ran.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_06: What was what was so unique about that offense and and the philosophy uh of the of the fun and gun?
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think he he believed, and different people have different ideas, but if if you know what coverage a defense is playing, you can design plays to have a really good chance to beat that defense.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_02: But if you don't, your play might be dead.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_02: Versus there's other systems where you may have a a play that's okay against every defense, but it's never terrible.
• 37:56
  unknown: Right.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_02: So you you kind of always have a slight chance to succeed, but uh it kind of mitigates your risk.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, he was always about figuring out what defense they were going to be in, and or having the quarterback see it and audible and putting you in the most advantageous play uh with the intent of throwing deep.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's no read short if it's covered look deep in his offense almost at all.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh in many offenses, that's the case.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_02: You've got, you know, if the flat's open, throw it.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_02: Bam.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what if the corner was open?
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_02: I don't care.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_02: So the flat, get the completion.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you throw a you throw a five-yard pass in Spreers' offense, and there was a 20-yard pass open, you you're you he's not happy.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it was very much that that mindset, and he just had a unique way of by using formations and personnel, getting in situations where he could predict what coverage the defense was going to run.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_02: And if he could predict your coverage, you were in trouble.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_06: And a lot of it was throwing to spots, right?
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_02: When it came to zone defenses, um, you know, every zone defense has has its weak spot, you know, where there's more grass, and then you're trying to put the pressure on one defender uh and get him caught in between two different spaces of grass and throw it on time and to the spot.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when you get it more into man coverage, it's more of just uh winning the route and winning the throw more so.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_02: But definitely timing, spots, spacing all was a big part of his offense.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_06: You and the Gators had an outstanding season in '95, and you finished a strong third in the Heisman.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_06: But of course, things kind of ended on a tough note with the loss to Nebraska.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_06: What was that offseason like afterwards heading into your senior season?
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_06: How did how did you and your teammates dig in and come back even better the next year?
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that was a really tough time.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think a lot of people would say, man for man, the 95 Florida team was a better team than the 96 team.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: And we we we lost, we got crushed by Nebraska in the national championship game.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, they played a particular uh style of defense, uh kind of press man, outside leverage, cover one press type of thing.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_02: And we just didn't do well with it.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that was everyone thought they had the the formula to beat Spurrier and Werfel.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we uh we spent the whole offseason working on that and we came out ready for that and saw a lot of that, but we were able to really transition that.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_02: I think you know, we learned a lot that year, that the next year we did differently, even all the way up to the preparation for the championship game.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think we just grew, we learned, and uh, and you know, we had a few things uh shape up well for us my senior year outside of our control that that helped.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_06: That 96 game at Tennessee with Peyton Manning at quarterback was a huge game in front of 107,000 fans, which was a record for a game at the time.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, most teams would be rattled going into that environment, but you guys came in and jumped out to a 35-0 lead and you threw four touchdown passes and you kind of held them off from there.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, it's funny though, you look at the stats, and and you know, you would think uh that your stats would be, you know, like you th that you would have thrown a lot, but you only threw 22 times in that game.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_06: Only had 11 completions, and four of them were for touchdowns.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, as an outsider looking in, that just showed to me how calm and collected that team was.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_06: And also how you seemed to have a bit of a mental edge against the volunteers in that period.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_06: Why do you think that was?
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you look at all those games, and and it definitely seemed like uh, especially as good as Tennessee was for so for so long that we were able to kind of win that game early in the season.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, definitely a pivotal game uh for us, and to to win that four in a row is pretty pretty amazing for my four years there.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, that particular game was unique.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it was pouring down rain at the beginning, which historically had not gone well for us or for me.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, personally, I had just had a unique experience.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh was doing a devotion with a group of people uh right before that game on the Friday morning before we left.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_02: And just the whole thing was about having a supernatural sense of peace in the middle of chaos.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I remember even on the first drive, we we called timeout.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_02: It was like third and 12, and I thought we'd punt, but no, Coach Burger's going for it and it's pouring down rain.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_02: And as I was on the sideline, kind of waiting to see what's gonna happen, I just had this vision, this really awesome experience that just left me with an overriding sense of peace.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_02: It was like, you know, this is a this is a really big deal on one hand.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_02: You've got 107,000 people, the most ever.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_02: Whoever wins this game is gonna win the SEC, whoever wins this game's probably gonna win the Heisman.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_02: And yet something else kind of came over me that, like, you know what, in the big scheme of things, this is just a football game.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and there's other things that that probably matter more.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_02: It was this deep spiritual kind of faith-based piece.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I go back out there and and he calls a 15-yard middle route to get the first down, but the safety cheated up to cover it.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I threw the post over and big touchdown, and we go on to win the game.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_06: What um were were you at that point?
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_06: You had been to New York uh in '95 for the Heisman ceremony.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_06: Were you thinking about the Heisman going into that year, or was it something that developed as the year went along?
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_02: No, the Heisman's a really interesting thing because it they call it the Heisman race, but like you're not lining up on a track with five other guys and running.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's you just play your football games and other people vote.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_02: So it was a pretty easy thing to not, you know, think about because you weren't training for the Heisman race.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_02: But the some of the things I did that I think really helped is my senior year, I didn't uh read any newspapers, magazines, or watch any TV.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I was really focused on, you know, what happened in practice, what happened in school, and what happened in the games is pretty much where I lived.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that really helped me to.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: And not get too excited when there were good moments or too frustrated when there were bad moments.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I also want to credit Coach Spurrier here because there's a lot of schools and a lot of coaches that really do Heisman campaigns.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're really putting their player out there, which I think is helpful.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_02: But in our case, it was almost like uh intentional effort not to.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like it was like, this is not what we're doing.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_02: We're we're winning football games.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, if that happens, great.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_02: And so that to me really, really helped.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: It was, it was like a distant rumblings throughout the year, but I was focused on, you know, third and ten and and you know, what do we do on first and first down and and what does this defense do?
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that really helped me that year.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_06: And it had had to help also to have a coach who had won the Heisman as well, to kind of be in your in your ear, I would imagine.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, he'd he'd been there, he knew the ropes, and uh, I think uh, you know, he was just trying to keep us focused on what mattered.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_06: That Florida State game that year, uh tough loss, 24-21.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_06: You had you got sacked six times.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_06: I think you were hit 32 times.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_06: I remember watching that game, and and they really put a beat beating on you, those those ends.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_06: That D-line for Florida State was was pretty outstanding.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_06: Now, you guys did bounce back, but was that the toughest loss you had as a gator at that time?
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, the game itself was was brutal.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh our opinion of Bobby Bowden was slightly changed.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_02: My dad, my dad and and Mickey Andrews, they were just beating the tar out of me.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: Mickey Andrews was the defensive coordinator, and um, you know, there's a lot of conversation around a lot of those hits were late, which you know, at the time I think they were, but if you look at them now, like people would have get gotten thrown out and sure fine.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: But uh they beat us.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they beat us down.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we lost that game, and at the time, it felt like the worst thing ever, because you know, to lose the last regular season game in 1996 basically guaranteed you had no chance to win a national title, you know, maybe if you lost early, but to lose then and to have five other undefeated teams ahead of you, like there's no way.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_02: So to me, the most one of the most unique things in my whole college career that I'm really proud of is that next week, you know, everybody was down, the coaches were down.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, I would credit a group of the senior players, um James Bates, um, you know, uh Lawrence Wright, uh, a few of us, I think, really made an effort to get the the spirits back up because we were playing an amazing Alabama team who was undefeated for SEC championship.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_02: And we rallied um a big adjustment.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_02: Coach Purder added the shotgun, which we rarely ran at that time.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: And we beat Alabama, so they they you know that was only a few teams ahead of us, and then Nebraska strangely lost to uh to Texas, which no one saw that coming.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_02: So now there was just uh a couple other teams uh ahead of us, and then I think um Arizona State in the bowl game lost to Ohio State, no one saw that coming, right?
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_02: And at the end, there was only one undefeated team left, Florida State, and we got to play them in a rematch.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_02: So it was just this an incredible series of events that landed for us to have that chance to to go play.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_06: All the dominoes fell into place perfectly.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_06: Um so were you surprised when you when you did win the Heisman Trophy?
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, you hadn't been paying attention very much, and are or did you again have that sense of calm of thinking that whatever was going to happen was gonna happen?
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_02: I was pretty calm.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think also there's several other awards that get announced first, and you know, often those sort of give a good indication.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I I certainly wasn't expecting, but I I was hopeful and thoughtful.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_02: It was actually a very close Heisman race.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, Troy Davis had rushed for 2,000 yards two years in a row, which when you're the only only thing going on your team and you can still rush for 2,000 yards is pretty special.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, so it was a very close race uh in the end, but it was just a super exciting time.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_02: Coach Spurrier was there.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, my high school coach who was coaching at Florida was there, my family.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, just an incredible, incredible weekend.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_02: I'll I'll never forget Jerry Spurrier, Steve Spurrier's wife, came up to me afterwards and she had tears in her eyes, and she's just like, Danny, you won't know for for years what this means in your life.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I kind of thought, I mean, I kind of think I do maybe, but you know, uh, she was right.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_02: You just don't know the impact that that winning this particular award will have, not just on that year or for a few years, but like forever.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like I could, I could win a Nobel Peace Peace Prize, or I could do something dumb and end up in jail, and I'll still be known as the Heisman Trophy winner.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_02: Isn't that crazy?
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_06: It really is.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_06: It's uh I've mentioned before on the program, it's it's it's uh a really remarkable, honorific.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_06: You know, it's like Academy Award winner or uh, like you said, Nobel Prize winner.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_06: You always have that tag with you no matter what.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_06: Um, and it's very powerful.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_06: On Saturday, uh the Gators host Tennessee.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_06: What do you think of uh the current Florida program under uh Billy Napier?
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_06: And how often are you around Gainesville these days?
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I've been around a little more the last couple years, just uh for a variety of reasons.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_02: My schedule has lightened a bit, and uh my son, oldest son, goes to the University of Florida.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so we try to get there as much as we can.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_02: I I have been incredibly impressed with Coach Napier, uh, who he is as a person, the program that he's building, um, the attention to detail in every single area is incredible to me.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_02: You could pick any aspect of anything that has to do that might help a football player or a team, and they have like a whole plan, a strategic plan for the year.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_02: They've got people in charge of it, they've got who they're accountable for.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's really incredible.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_02: And and of course, the I think one of the biggest things you look for in a coach in this day and era is as the recruiting, and which way is that trending?
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_02: And Florida's recruiting is just trending up in a huge way.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_02: So uh really looking forward, this will be another huge game for us this year, early in the season, to kind of figure out where we stack this year.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we've got an incredibly hard schedule this year and even harder one next year, but I love love the way we're trending.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_06: What um what do you think of all these changes in college football uh last two or three years?
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_06: When you have the conference realignment and then and you have NIL and you have the transfer portal.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_06: And do you ever just look at it?
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_06: And of course, the style of play uh and all the some of the rules changes.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_06: Do you ever just look at it and think, wow, this is so much different than what I played?
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, there's definitely feels and and looks, the whole landscape of college football different.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I've got so many mixed feelings.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, I I love the idea that that the players are getting uh an access to have some opportunities to make money, but the way that it unfolded and the wild west of it, and the way that this idea of name, image, and likeness sort of turned into recruiting, uh, and then added that with this uh transfer portal where you don't have to sit out.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_02: It just it's a very weird and my my sense is it's an unsustainable way it is.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think most people sense that there'll be some direction given in the future that hopefully will help.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_02: So there's a lot of things about it that I just I just don't get, don't like I mean, I guess I get, but I just don't like.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_02: However, I will say last year and and this year, like I can't wait to watch a college football game.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_02: Like I can't wait to watch the Gators play.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like, there's still something amazing about it once once the game gets going that I think has been preserved and hopefully uh can still over time.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_06: So, just one last question for you, a little bit out of left field.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_06: One of the hot new sports is is pickleball.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_06: And apparently uh you were an early adapter of the sport and and it's kind of turned into bigger things.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_06: Tell me a little bit about your pickleball association.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country, and I've I've figured out why, believe me.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_02: I I started playing during COVID and have fallen in love with the sport.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, it don't tell gator fans, but it might be the my favorite sport I've ever played.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_02: I absolutely love it, and uh, this has brought a lot of joy to me, but also it's it's become a big staple in opportunities that's created for Desire Street and the Werfel Foundation.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_02: And in fact, the timing here is interesting because we are getting ready to host on uh Tuesday uh the 19th the Picklebowl 2023.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, we've heard of the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl and the Super Bowl.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_02: Well, this is picklebowl.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_02: We are getting it's a celebrity pro am fundraiser where we pair the best pickleball players in the world with celebrities that have uh went to the same college.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_02: So one of the best players in the world is Kyle Yates, and he's a Florida Gator.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm playing with Kyle Yates.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, last year Drew Brees played for Purdue.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and we're gonna have probably 20 to 24 teams in this amazing live-streamed event that's all a fundraiser for the Werfel Foundation.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_02: And uh uh if you wanna want to watch or be a part of it or support it, you go to picklebull.net.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh picklebowl.net, and uh you can get all the information there and uh figure out how you can you can live stream and watch it and uh and support it if you want to.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_06: Maybe it'll turn into a real bowl game in football eventually, too.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_06: But um what uh where is the picklebowl going to be taking place?
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_02: This year it's in Atlanta, uh the new ITA facility here.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and uh yeah, a lot of a lot of pros will be coming and celebrities.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna have just a fantastic uh day, competition, fun, pickleball carnival, everything pickleball, uh pickleball.net.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_06: Is it something that's uh gives you uh a competitive outlet?
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_06: Uh because because obviously you're a tremendous competitor, and but that's it doesn't go doesn't go away, right?
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_02: My wife would say that's an understatement.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I absolutely love it.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a thrilling sport to play.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_02: Any anyone can play any level of athletic ability you could play.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_02: And yet it's also a fascinating and complex enough sport to have the best athletes in the world playing.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_02: It's like a video game with a thousand levels.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_02: No matter where you are, it's exciting, and there's another another level up with new challenges and things.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it's a it's a great, great sport.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_02: I'm really glad it's uh picking up in steam around the country.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I love love playing it and love all the opportunities it's presented for us with the foundation.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_06: And that's September 19th uh in Atlanta, pickleball.net.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_06: If you want to watch Danny Werfel playing pickleball, uh this is your chance.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_02: Well, there's a lot a lot more cool people to watch than me.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_02: Rick Berry, the uh former uh a Hall of Fame basketball player who shot underhanded, right, is a tremendous pickleball player in his older age.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_02: We've got professional volleyball players, actors, uh football players, baseball players, basketball players.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's it's gonna be great.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_06: Sounds like a fun time.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_06: Danny Werfel, my friend, thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_06: All right, thank you.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_06: The official Heisman Trophy Podcast streams every Wednesday during the college football season and is hosted, co-produced, edited, and engineered by Chris Houston.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_06: Paul Goldberg is the executive producer and editor.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_06: Special shout out to Isaac Lohencron, and big thanks to the Heisman Trophy Trust and its executive director, Rob Whalen, and Associate Director Tim Henning.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_06: The official Heisman Trophy Podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcast.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_06: You can also find clips of our show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_06: Just go to Heisman Trophy.