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Penn State CB Kalen King · The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: I've been involved with the Heisman Trophy in some way, shape, or form for the last 20 years, and by far the most common claim I hear about the award is that it doesn't always go to the best player.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Let's set aside for a moment the fact that the nature of any award is that it's subjective, whether it's the Academy Awards or the Grammys or the Emmys, it's someone's opinion.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: And in the case of the Heisman, it's the opinion of 929 voters from all around the country.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: And they're people just like you and I with uh different tastes for what they consider to be outstanding, but they also love college football and they take their voting responsibilities seriously.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: But think back to the last football game you watched.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: For most of the game, you probably followed the ball.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: Even if you didn't want to, you had to, because the camera always follows the ball.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: So it stands to reason that the players who touch the ball the most are usually the ones who get the most opportunities to show their abilities to the people who give out these awards.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: And that's why quarterbacks win the Heisman a lot.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: They touch the ball more than any other player, followed by running back and then wide receivers.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: And this takes nothing away from all the other positions, it's just the nature of how we observe the game.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: So what can we do about this?
1:03
SPEAKER_00: How can we get other players besides quarterbacks and running backs and receivers more attention when it comes to the Heisman?
1:09
SPEAKER_00: One possibility is to use analytics to help gauge how good these players are.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: Another way is to create new stat categories.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: Think of the term yards after contact.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: It's commonplace now, but it wasn't created until 1977 during Earl Campbell's Heisman Trophy campaign.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: It was an ingenious way to differentiate Campbell from all the other Heisman candidates that year.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: So while it's up to others to figure these issues out, one thing we've decided to do on this podcast is to try to feature the best players of the country on either side of the ball, regardless of position.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: And that's why the first current player we're having on the official Heisman Trophy podcast is cornerback Kalen King of Penn State.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: And it is not for us to say whether he is or isn't a Heisman Trophy candidate.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: That's up to the voters.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: But if voters want to do their due diligence, they really should be listening.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: Here's your host, Chris Houston.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: I am Chris Houston.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited about today's show because it's the first full weekend of college football coming up.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you, but I'm going to have a great time watching all those games from Thursday through Sunday.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: And leading off our show today is a player you probably should know about, one of the best players in the country, arguably the best cornerback in the country to some folks, and that would be Penn State Nittany Lion Jr.
2:56
SPEAKER_00: cornerback Kalen King.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: And later on in the program, we're going to catch up with Mercy Street, a great charity that the Heisman Trophy Trust is involved with.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: And since it is the beginning of the season, we're going to go back in Heisman history and look at some of the first games that Heisman winners had in their Heisman winning seasons.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: I think you'll enjoy it.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: But before we get to Kalen King, let's do a quick checkup on what's going on in the Heisman world after week zero in college football.
3:20
SPEAKER_02: It's the Heisman Round Cup, week zero.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: Defending Heisman winner Caleb Williams kicked off his pursuit of a second trophy by leading USC to a 56-28 win over San Jose State.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: He passed for 278 yards and threw four touchdown passes, one on a broken play where he recovered a fumble from a botched backfield exchange and got off a 76-yard scoring bomb.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: He went 19 of 23 for 251 yards passing, and his first TD pass in an Irish uniform was a nifty 35-yard strike to freshman Jaden Greenhouse.
4:46
SPEAKER_01: Play action now on first down, taking another shot.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Alright, so let's switch gears and find out what our Heisman winners and the pros are up to, starting with Bryce Young.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: The Carolina Panther had his best outing of the three-game preseason schedule on Friday.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: The 2021 Heisman winner threw his first touchdown pass, a 16-yarder, and let another scoring drop.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: There are no NFL games next week, so Young will make his regular season debut on September 10th at Atlanta.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Joe Burrow is still recovering from a July cap strain that has kept him out of most of training camp.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: But the Bengals faithful are still crossing their fingers about week one, but he's not the only Heisman winner without a stat line in August.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Devontae Smith didn't make a catch in the preseason, Derek Henry didn't have a carry, Lamar Jackson didn't attempt a pass.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: But do you know who saw a ton of preseason action, relatively speaking?
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Baker may feel that's who, as he was battling for the right to win Tom Brady's old starting job.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: And win it he did.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: He finished his preseason action going 6 for 6 against Baltimore last weekend with a touchdown pass.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: That made him 14 of 15 in two preseason games with two scores.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: Nice job, Baker, and good luck.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Looking over the rest of our guys in the league, Jameis Winston is set to back up first year St.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: Derek Carr in New Orleans, while Marcus Mariota is competing to be the number two in Philadelphia.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: And that's your weekly roundup.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: Now on with the show.com for information on how to secure your seat and witness Heisman history.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: First up on this week's official Heisman Trophy podcast is Kalen King, cornerback, Penn State Nittany Lions.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: Simply put, Kalen is one of the best players in the country, regardless of position.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: He is rated by a pro football focus as the number one corner in the country coming into this season.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: He is a preseason All-American on all kinds of teams.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: Last year he had 30 tackles, three interceptions, 21 pass breakups, which is among the nation's leaders.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: And his Nittany Lions take on West Virginia this Saturday, so please be sure to keep an eye out for him.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: Kalen King, thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: How you doing?
7:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm good.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you for having me, man.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: So how's your off-season been and what did you do different this year to prepare for uh the coming season?
7:58
SPEAKER_06: Uh my off-season's been pretty good.
7:59
SPEAKER_06: You know, I've just been just focusing on the little things that I feel like I have to get better on coming from last season.
8:06
SPEAKER_06: And one of the biggest things that I really like dove into more was film study and like route concepts and route recognition and things of those natures, just so I can set myself up to make uh more plays than just going out there naturally and just reacting.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: Given the high pressure situations that cornerbacks are often in, how how do you mentally prepare yourself for games, especially when you know you're gonna go up against some top-tier receivers?
8:33
SPEAKER_06: Uh I feel like it's not really a really a mental preparation.
8:37
SPEAKER_06: I feel like anytime I take the field, my mentality is the same.
8:40
SPEAKER_06: You know, I try to I try to keep the next play my priority, like whether that be like um if if I give up a uh a catch one play, I try not to let that linger on and and lead to more, you feel me, things that I don't want to happen.
8:55
SPEAKER_06: Like so I just keep a short play mentality, next play.
8:58
SPEAKER_06: If something happens one play, I try to forget about it and focus on the next one.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: When you're studying film, what specific things are you looking for when you're looking at the opposing team's quarterback and receivers?
9:08
SPEAKER_06: Well, in opposing receivers, I just look at like their tendencies, how they are off the line, if they're good versus press, you know, their top routes, um, the targets.
9:16
SPEAKER_06: Like I watch film and I go through all their targets and like the key plays, see if they're a willing blocker and things of that nature.
9:23
SPEAKER_06: But as far as quarterbacks, I just feel like you know, I I go off like um which way he scrambles, you know, which side of the field he's he's uh he throws to more often, what are his good routes, what are his good passes, what is what does he throw to the most, and things of that nature.
9:38
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: So think of a play where you got beat or you made a mistake.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: How did you analyze it afterwards and what did you learn from it?
9:46
SPEAKER_06: I mean, anytime I have a play where I'm either beat or it's a bad play on my part, I try not to worry about it in a moment.
9:53
SPEAKER_06: You know, I try to, you know, just keep playing that that situation or drive.
9:57
SPEAKER_06: And then when I once I get back to the sideline, we got our staff on the sideline, Coach Terry, Coach Bryce, and Coach Ola.
10:03
SPEAKER_06: You know, they they're always there to talk me through what they've seen out there on what I did.
10:08
SPEAKER_06: So anytime I'm out there, man, I just you know try to forget about it and worry about the next play, really.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: How do you adapt your strategy based on if you're going up against a really tall big receiver or against a speedster?
10:20
SPEAKER_06: Uh like things are things like that, like it'll it'll change like my technique some.
10:24
SPEAKER_06: Like, say if I'm going against like a I know a guy who can really blow the top off.
10:28
SPEAKER_06: He's a very good vertical threat.
10:30
SPEAKER_06: He has great speed.
10:31
SPEAKER_06: I might play him a little like off, like off, I might back up like one yard, you know, just to give myself some space, give myself some room because I know he can go.
10:39
SPEAKER_06: And like for as far as like big receivers, you know, I feel like um they're not really as quick as me, so I feel like I can I can I can do a good job sitting in there and playing them and matching them with like a little more closed space.
10:51
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: Switching gears a little bit, who would you say is the greatest cornerback of all time?
10:58
SPEAKER_06: Oh my god, that's a that's a that's a in my opinion like me personally, I I feel like there's no great, like I don't I feel like there's no best cornerback of all time because like it's you could say Deion Sanders, but then again, you could say Darrell Rebus because Darrell Rebas was like the best man-to-man corner I've ever seen with my two eyes.
11:25
SPEAKER_06: It's like I don't I really don't know.
11:26
SPEAKER_06: And I and I also grew up watching Charles Woodson a lot, so man, those three guys are really like my top three.
11:32
SPEAKER_06: And if I had to choose between all three of them, I don't think I would be able to.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: So I can't.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: Well that's a great, that's a great top three, I think, for for anybody's list.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh what do you like the most about playing college football?
11:45
SPEAKER_06: The the the fun, the atmosphere, especially being at Penn State.
11:49
SPEAKER_06: Like I feel like we have the best fan base slash game game atmosphere in the nation.
11:55
SPEAKER_06: So, you know, just just taking the feel every day and just seeing all those fans ripping, ripping the school and just just being here every day.
12:03
SPEAKER_06: Like, that's that's really the most fun about college football, really the atmosphere and like when the when the lights are on, how how much of a great program Pinch they can be.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: What's it like coming down the field during a whiteout?
12:16
SPEAKER_06: Best feeling I ever seen, I ever had in my life.
12:19
SPEAKER_06: Like, I remember my freshman year when I came out for the whiteout.
12:22
SPEAKER_06: It was like, man, that was the that was my first time ever for me witnessing it.
12:25
SPEAKER_06: Because I never I've never even been to a whiteout before I came here.
12:29
SPEAKER_06: So my freshman year was the first time I actually was at a whiteout and it was it was crazy, man.
12:34
SPEAKER_06: I'll never forget that.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: What's it like playing with your twin brother Kobe, not only on the same team, but on the same side of the ball?
12:42
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, man, it's it's a blessing because like you know, me and Kobe, we've been playing together our whole life, really.
12:48
SPEAKER_06: But so like as far as that aspect, like it's the same, but like now it's just almost like more people are watching, it's at a broader spectrum, more eyes are on you, and like it's more at stake.
12:59
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: Who's been a significant influence in your life outside of football?
13:03
SPEAKER_00: And and describe to me uh how they influenced you.
13:08
SPEAKER_06: Outside of football, my dad, man.
13:10
SPEAKER_06: My dad is like really the whole reason I I'm I take football this serious because like he used to he used to instill it in me and Kobe when we was younger.
13:20
SPEAKER_06: Like uh we used to wake up 6 a.m.
13:22
SPEAKER_06: We we like six, five, six, seven years old.
13:26
SPEAKER_06: We used to wake up at six a.m.
13:28
SPEAKER_06: and run three miles with with him.
13:29
SPEAKER_06: He that that's when I knew like he used to do the workouts with us.
13:33
SPEAKER_06: So like, and this you'd be every day, like almost every day.
13:36
SPEAKER_06: Like he used to bang on our doors, like it came to a point, like he he made like a custom beat on the door, and I knew every time I heard that beat on the door, I knew what time it was.
13:45
SPEAKER_06: So yeah, my dad definitely, man.
13:48
SPEAKER_06: He's a he's the biggest reason why I'm I'm at where I'm at today.
13:51
SPEAKER_06: So definitely my father.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: Was that a process that was hard to go through at the time?
13:55
SPEAKER_00: But later on, you're like, gosh, I'm glad he did that.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Glad glad he pushed me.
13:59
SPEAKER_06: I hated it.
14:00
SPEAKER_06: Like I hated it.
14:01
SPEAKER_06: I hated it.
14:02
SPEAKER_06: Every time I heard the banging, I just I knew it was time to work out and I hated it, man.
14:05
SPEAKER_06: Like, I didn't want to get up some days, I want to stay in the bed, but like now that I look back at it, man, like he only did that for the better of us.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: So at what point did you decide?
14:15
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you were uh you played three sports in in high school, and uh did did you think I'm gonna be a cornerback, or was it one of those things where it's like, hey, this is where I'm best suited, so that this is where I'm gonna focus?
14:28
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, oh like I'll say when I first started playing, like when I was like fresh into football, I didn't really play cornerback.
14:35
SPEAKER_06: But I would say around like um I'd say around sixth grade, that's when I not fifth grade is when I started playing cornerback.
14:46
SPEAKER_06: Like that's when I started playing both sides of the ball.
14:48
SPEAKER_06: I used to play running back and cornerback.
14:51
SPEAKER_06: And I was I was actually better at running back for like a little period of time.
14:56
SPEAKER_06: And then once I got to high school, that's when I really like really made the transition to cornerback because I wasn't really the biggest.
15:02
SPEAKER_06: I was like coming to high school, I was probably like 5'9, 160.
15:06
SPEAKER_06: So I was like, nah, running back might not be the best option for me.
15:10
SPEAKER_06: So, you know, I went to cornerback, and then ever since then, man, I just I fell in love with the position.
15:15
SPEAKER_06: Like I told you, my dad, he always used to show me videos about um like Charles Wilson and and um Trent Bailey and Deion Sanders and just all the greats that he used to watch growing up.
15:26
SPEAKER_06: So like man, I already had the cornerback like mentality in me once once I made the transition.
15:32
SPEAKER_06: So like at that point, it was just me just putting everything I had into it and just taking as far as I could.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: I hear you want to be a sports analyst.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Who what who's a sports analyst who uh who you admire or who you who you watch a lot?
15:44
SPEAKER_06: I watch a lot of Stephen A.
15:45
SPEAKER_06: Smith and Shannon Sharp.
15:47
SPEAKER_06: Stephen A.
15:48
SPEAKER_06: Smith, like, I feel like he's the best in the in the business, man.
15:50
SPEAKER_06: Like from podcast to radio talk to to TV shows to TV series, like he he does it all, man.
15:58
SPEAKER_06: Like I feel like after my sports career is over, like I want to start getting into things of that nature.
16:03
SPEAKER_06: Like I like first take with Shannon Sharp and Skip Bayless.
16:07
SPEAKER_06: Like, I like those like heated debates about sports.
16:10
SPEAKER_06: So I feel like I can I can be one of those guys.
16:13
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: If you're talking to uh friends, do you do you have like a quick take ready to go?
16:18
SPEAKER_06: All the time, all the time, man.
16:19
SPEAKER_06: All the time.
16:20
SPEAKER_06: My my my most my most used quick take is LeBron being the best player in to ever touch a basketball.
16:26
SPEAKER_06: So you know, I argue with people about that since I was a little kid, but they don't never they don't ever agree with me, but I don't see how you can't agree with me.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: But that's it's the LeBron, it's the LeBron versus Jordan debate that's always going on, right?
16:39
SPEAKER_00: Is that the the debate everyone's getting into?
16:41
SPEAKER_06: Yep.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Okay, here's a chance for a quick take.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: Oh, sorry, go ahead.
16:46
SPEAKER_06: Oh, I was about to say sometimes like they start comparing LeBron to KD, and it's like, nah, that's like that's disrespectful.
16:51
SPEAKER_06: Like, you can't do that.
16:53
SPEAKER_06: But yeah.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, here's a chance for a quick take.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: What's who's the toughest receiver or the or the most difficult receiver you've played that you've had to cover?
17:02
SPEAKER_06: Uh the most, I say the toughest receiver I ever had to cover, it was two.
17:09
SPEAKER_06: Okay, so I'm gonna give you my high school.
17:11
SPEAKER_06: In high school, then I'm gonna give you in college.
17:13
SPEAKER_06: Okay, is that cool?
17:14
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
17:15
SPEAKER_06: So in high school, uh, I had to guard Antonio Gates Jr.
17:20
SPEAKER_06: And you know, me and him, like, he's from Detroit as well.
17:22
SPEAKER_06: He grew up, we grew up together, we played on the same little league team.
17:25
SPEAKER_06: So ever since we was like nine, ten, I've been I've been guarding him since we was like little.
17:31
SPEAKER_06: So like when we got to high school, it was like I already knew like what time it was.
17:36
SPEAKER_06: Like we've been I've been competing with him since I've been growing up.
17:39
SPEAKER_06: So like I knew he was a good player, he knew I was a good player, and it was just like every time we seen each other, it was like we was competing, going at it.
17:48
SPEAKER_06: And as far as college, Marvin Harrison definitely is the best receiver I ever guarded, just off the fact like he's a big body, he's got good speed, runs good routes, you know, and things like he has the total package, so definitely those two guys are the toughest guys I've ever seen.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Now you're going into your junior year, you had a fantastic sophomore year, uh 30 tackles, 21 pass breakups, three interceptions, and then you have this season to play, but in 2024, the Big Ten will bring in Washington, Oregon, USC, and UCLA.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Assuming you're back for your senior season, which of those four teams would you most like to play?
18:29
SPEAKER_06: Ah, I haven't really thought about that now.
18:31
SPEAKER_06: Um but I'm not gonna lie.
18:35
SPEAKER_06: USC would be a good team to play just because like they're from Cali, like and I hope we play them like a way, because I always wanted to like play in Cali, like play football in like the Coliseum, and because that's that's a real like nice stadium.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: So But I mean, I ain't really thought of that.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: So one of the things we're trying to do on the official Heisman Trophy podcast is just bring the best players of the country on the podcast, regardless of position.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: Everyone talks about the quarterbacks most of the time, and we just want the best players coming on so that they can get a platform.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and so just thinking about Heisman, who were some of the Heisman winners in the past that you have memories of?
19:12
SPEAKER_06: Heisman winners in the past that I have memories of Charles Woodson.
19:16
SPEAKER_06: I could never forget him.
19:17
SPEAKER_06: The only cornerback to win it.
19:18
SPEAKER_06: I can never forget that.
19:20
SPEAKER_06: Um no, Johnny Manzo was crazy.
19:24
SPEAKER_06: He was he was one of the most electric guys I ever seen.
19:28
SPEAKER_06: Um Reggie Bush, man.
19:30
SPEAKER_06: When I when Reggie Bush was in college, man, I used to I used to go crazy, man.
19:34
SPEAKER_06: Um uh who else I got?
19:38
SPEAKER_06: Didn't Cam Newton win the Heisman?
19:40
SPEAKER_06: He did win the Heisman.
19:42
SPEAKER_06: Yep, Cam Newman.
19:43
SPEAKER_06: That was another one.
19:45
SPEAKER_06: And Devontae Smith.
19:48
SPEAKER_06: I remember when Devontae Smith won the Heisman that year, he went crazy.
19:52
SPEAKER_06: Probably one of the best single season receiving seasons that I've seen.
19:58
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's say you're a Heisman trophy voter and you're looking at all the players in the country and you're thinking, I want to look at some cornerbacks.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: And if you're watching a game and you're a voter, what would you have him look for or have her look for uh in a cornerback?
20:14
SPEAKER_00: What should the voter be looking at from a cornerback to try to try to gauge how good the player is?
20:22
SPEAKER_06: So as far as cornerbacks, I feel like the voter should, you know, look at the all-around game of the or the cornerback.
20:30
SPEAKER_06: So for example, like coverage is definitely would be one of the most important.
20:35
SPEAKER_06: Um I'll say tackling, I'll say instincts.
20:39
SPEAKER_06: Just like just like everything that makes a player well-rounded.
20:43
SPEAKER_06: Like I feel like if if a corner was to win the Heisman, it would have to be like the most well-rounded corner, you know, who does it all, like does everything.
20:51
SPEAKER_06: It doesn't lack in any certain area, just like he's a very complete corner.
20:56
SPEAKER_06: That's that's I feel like those are the corners that I like that I gravitate to the most.
21:00
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: So for yourself, what would be some areas where you would work on to become that complete corner, do you think?
21:08
SPEAKER_06: So some areas uh that I would work on to become a more complete corner, I would say um, just things such as, like I was saying, um route recognition and and uh formation recognition before the snap, just putting myself in position to where I know what's coming before it actually happens, which can allow me to make a little more plays.
21:28
SPEAKER_06: And you know, just things like that.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: Kalen King, thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: We wish you best of luck this season.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: You got a big one against West Virginia coming up next Saturday.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh, all the best and for a for a healthy and productive season to you and to your team.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, sir.
21:46
SPEAKER_06: Appreciate that a lot.
22:01
SPEAKER_04: This is Archie Griffin, 1974, 1975's Heisman Trophy winner, and you're listening to the official Heisman Podcast.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: It's Wednesday and we're just about to head into the first full weekend of college football.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: We did have seven games last weekend in what people were calling week zero.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: We saw Caleb Williams and Sam Hartman get off to some good starts, but by this time next week there'll be a bevy of candidates to talk about.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: And the thing about week one is you can't put too much stock in it, but you can't ignore it either.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: In week one, you can set the tone for the entire season.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes what you do in week one carries over throughout the rest of the year.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: Other times it's just a warm-up for better things to come later.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: So in general, you really want to get off to a good start if you can.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: And to that end, we decided to go back in Heisman History and look at examples of first games for players who would eventually become Heisman Trophy winners.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: So I brought in my producer, Paul Goldberg, and we're going to go over some great games from Heisman History, some opening statements, if you will, so that we can compare what happened in the first weekend of college football with some of these past performances.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: So we're going to take turns going over some of the games that we thought stood out, and we're going to kick it off by throwing it over to Paul.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for coming on the show, Paul.
23:09
SPEAKER_03: Hey, thanks, Chris.
23:10
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me on this uh podcast.
23:12
SPEAKER_03: Excited to make my debut here.
23:13
SPEAKER_03: Uh I figured I'd start with Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner.
23:18
SPEAKER_03: Everyone saw how good he was in cameos in 2006.
23:21
SPEAKER_03: Of course, Chris Leek led the Florida Gators to a national championship that year.
23:25
SPEAKER_03: And uh Tebow took over the starting job in 2007.
23:29
SPEAKER_03: And in his uh first career start, he faced Western Kentucky and he threw for 300 yards, three touchdown passes, and he rushed for another touchdown.
23:38
SPEAKER_03: Uh Tebow was out of that game late, and as my Googling skills reminded me, that game was cut short by Lightning midway through the fourth quarter.
23:46
SPEAKER_03: But, and I know you know this, Chris, before Lightning stopped the game, a certain Heisman trophy winner, Cam Newton, made his college debut in that game, taking over for Tebow early in the fourth quarter.
23:58
SPEAKER_03: He snuck in a few completions and he ran a touchdown in from four yards out.
24:02
SPEAKER_03: So kind of that little nugget there for you.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: Definitely a great little bit of Heisman trivia to have two future Heisman winners on the same team in the same game.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: And of course, that game was important for Tim Tebow's Heisman campaign because it really did set the tone for what he would do the rest of the season.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: If you recall, he had 29 passing touchdowns, 22 rushing touchdowns on his way to becoming the first player to win the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: But it's appropriate that you brought up Tim Tebow's starting debut because the player that I'm going to talk about was kind of the Tim Tebow of his day.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about Terry Baker of Oregon State, the 1962 Heisman Trophy winner, the first Heisman Trophy winner from the West Coast.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: In that first game of the 1962 season, he threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and three touchdowns.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: So that's six total touchdowns.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: At the time, that was a Heisman record.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: Baker was a phenomenal athlete and really the forerunner of a lot of these great spread quarterbacks of this era.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: He was such a great athlete that he was also a starter on the Beavers Final Four basketball team under Ralph Miller the following spring.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: I think anytime you talk about Terry Baker, you have to talk about the fact that he's the only player to win a Heisman Trophy and play in the Final Four.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: It's almost obligatory.
25:16
SPEAKER_03: I am relieved, Chris, that you mentioned Terry Baker and the Final Four because there's of course a 10 push-up penalty for failing to mention that in any Heisman conversation.
25:24
SPEAKER_03: So that was a close call.
25:26
SPEAKER_03: I'm going to counter now with Ricky Williams, the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner.
25:31
SPEAKER_03: He was a known commodity in 1998.
25:34
SPEAKER_03: He came uh in fifth in the Heisman voting in 1997, which was the year Charles Woodson won out of Michigan.
25:41
SPEAKER_03: So 1998, um, there were some big expectations that he was facing, and I think he really met those in the first game.
25:48
SPEAKER_03: He ran for 215 yards on just a blistering 36 carries, something you rarely see nowadays.
25:54
SPEAKER_03: He broke his own school record with six touchdowns against New Mexico State.
25:58
SPEAKER_03: Now, also notable from that game, it was future national championship winning coach Mac Brown's debut in the burnt orange leading the Longhorns.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: Yes, indeed.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: And of course, Ricky Williams went on to rush for over 2,000 yards.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: I think he had 27 touchdowns that year, broke the NCAA career rushing yardage mark.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: It did only stand for a year because Ron Dane broke it the next season, but still a great opening uh game for uh for Ricky Williams in the 1998 season.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna see your great performance by Ricky, and I'm going to match it with Marcus Allen, 1981 USC.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: He opened the season with 210 rushing yards on just 22 carries and four touchdowns against Tennessee in a 43-7 USC victory.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: This game was notable because uh Allen only had like one or two carries in the second half before sitting out.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: And afterwards, John Robinson, the coach of USC, said that if he had played uh Marcus the entire game, he might have rushed for 500 yards.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: So uh, and this was kind of a a notable uh outing because he went on to uh rush for over 2,000 yards, 2,342 to be exact, uh, and he was the first collegiate player to rush for 2,000 yards, and he had eight 200-yard plus rushing games that season.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: So uh this was another example of getting off to a great start and it leading to a Heisman trophy at the end.
27:21
SPEAKER_03: That's a shame he didn't get 500.
27:23
SPEAKER_03: I think that could be a uh little known, little known rule we can insert in the NCAs.
27:27
SPEAKER_03: Uh anyone who rushes for 500 yards or 500 yards receiving, maybe automatic Heisman or at least halfway there.
27:34
SPEAKER_03: We'll get right on it.
27:36
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna go with 19-58 Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins from my next selection.
27:41
SPEAKER_03: This was a standout Army team that he capped in that season.
27:44
SPEAKER_03: They opened the season ranked eighth, and they were facing a really good South Carolina team that was ranked 18th.
27:49
SPEAKER_03: Um, but no matter for Dawkins, he kicked off that Heisman season with 113 rushing yards on just nine carries.
27:55
SPEAKER_03: He scored four touchdowns against what would be a seven and three game cock team.
27:59
SPEAKER_03: So a solid opponent right there.
28:01
SPEAKER_03: Dawkins, of course, led that team to an 8-8-0-1 season.
28:04
SPEAKER_03: They finished third in the rankings, which is a fantastic season for Army.
28:08
SPEAKER_03: And Dawkins, of course, went on to a brilliant career in the service.
28:11
SPEAKER_03: He rose all the way to Brigadier General and had just has had a really impressive life, of course.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: And who knows, if he doesn't have that great opening game, maybe he ended up a colonel instead of a brigadier general.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: Regardless, definitely an illustrious player in the annals of Heisman history.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm going to also go back in time and back through the decades and land in 1940 with Tom Harmon in Michigan.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: The Wolverines went out to uh the Bay Area in California to play California at Memorial Stadium.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: And it was a 41-0 win for the Wolverines.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: Harmon, who was really just an amazing do-it-all player, had two rushing touchdowns, a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown, four extra points, and a TD pass.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he, of course, is the father of uh actor Mark Harmon and former U Slate quarterback.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: So uh he was really a do-it-all player, a remarkable athlete for his time.
29:05
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that sticks out about this game for me is this 85-yard touchdown run he had where he weaved his way across the field and crisscrossed the field a couple times.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: And at the very end, just as he's about to score, a fan appears out of from out of nowhere.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: And he's clearly drunk.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: He had come in from the stands or maybe Tightwatt Hill, and he tries to tackle Harman just before he gets to the goal line, but Harman kept his wits and just casually sidestepped him and waltzed into the end zone.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: Definitely a really strange thing to happen.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: That kind of thing actually occasionally happened in that era, and uh you can see a video of it at Heisman.com.
29:40
SPEAKER_03: There are no reports of drunken fans making their way into the field for my next game, but that goes to a Lamar Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, uh, who opened with a huge, huge performance uh his sophomore season.
29:54
SPEAKER_03: He had 286 yards passing on 17 of 23 aerials, six touchdowns through the air.
30:00
SPEAKER_03: He also ran for 119 yards, scored twice more on the ground in a 70 to 14 win over Charlotte.
30:08
SPEAKER_03: Um now, no one's claiming that Charlotte was a number one Alabama team, so you maybe you take that with a slight grain of salt, but eight touchdowns is eye-popping that caught everybody's attention, really sparked his Heisman season that year and uh sent him on his way.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't score eight touchdowns in paper football, so I I I think it's impressive against anybody, no matter how you slice.
30:27
SPEAKER_03: My record is seven against paper football.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: Very impressive.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: So uh I will uh take your Lamar Jackson and Razi with a Tony Dorset, 1976 opening game against Notre Dame.
30:37
SPEAKER_00: While it wasn't Charlotte, it was Notre Dame, and they were number 11 and it was in South Bend, 22 carries, 181 rushing yards, one touchdown, 3110 victory.
30:47
SPEAKER_00: It really put Pittsburgh uh on the map as far as being a serious contender for the national title.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: They did go on to win the national title that year.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: And of course, uh Dorset went on to rush for 1976 yards, and when the Heisman became the NCAA's career rushing leader, uh, and remarkably he had 754 career yards against Notre Dame.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: And this sort of proved at the time the old adage, which is that you've either got to play for Notre Dame or beat Notre Dame during the Heisman, and Dorset uh took the latter route, and uh that's why, you know, part in part why he won the Heisman in such a big landslide that year.
31:24
SPEAKER_03: All right, finally, my my next winner um doesn't fall into either of those categories.
31:29
SPEAKER_03: He breaks, maybe he's the exception to that Notre Dame rule.
31:31
SPEAKER_03: This was, of course, 1955 winner Howard Hoppalon Cassidy, who opened his Heisman winning season uh against Nebraska and had a fantastic game.
31:40
SPEAKER_03: He ran for 170 yards, scored three touchdowns, and really kicked off what would be a great season for him, and a really good Ohio State team that finished fifth overall.
31:49
SPEAKER_03: They finished seven and two.
31:51
SPEAKER_03: And in addition to his strong start, he finished uh finished really well.
31:55
SPEAKER_03: He ran for 124 yards against Indiana, and then the uh the Buckeyes beat two ranked teams at the end of the year, Iowa and Michigan.
32:02
SPEAKER_03: He ran for another combined 300 plus yards, scored four touchdowns, and really put together a fine season.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: And that was the third of many uh Buckeye Heisman's uh at the time.
32:14
SPEAKER_00: And I will uh take your hopalong, Cassidy, and give you RG3, Robert Grifford III from Baylor, 2011.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people listening might even remember this game.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: 21 of 27, 359 yards, five touchdowns, and a 50 to 48 win over number 14 TCU.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: And this was a big game for Baylor because the Bears hadn't really been that competitive nationally in the decade prior, probably the two decades prior.
32:39
SPEAKER_00: So this sort of signaled that the Bears were a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12, and also that uh RG3 was going to be a legitimate contender on the Heisman race.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: One of the things I really remember about that game is a 15-yard reception that uh Griffin made on a trick play late in the game for a first down with two guys draped all over him.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: Really impressive play and really showed what a great athlete, what a great team player he was.
33:06
SPEAKER_00: Alright, now that we've talked a little bit about uh some great Heisman openings, let's just touch upon a few Heisman openings that didn't go so great.
33:15
SPEAKER_00: Ohio State's Vic Janowitz, for example, in 1950, he was 0 for 4 passing, and then he had 19 yards on seven carries and a loss to number 10 Southern Methodist.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: So obviously that didn't slow down his Heisman campaign because he went on to win it.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I think it's interesting to note it to note that you don't always have to uh come out in a big way if you want to win the Heisman.
33:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think 1979 winner Charles White kind of exemplifies um that exception to the role as well.
33:46
SPEAKER_03: Um and of course Charles passed away in January.
33:49
SPEAKER_03: Um, but he had a brilliant Heisman year despite a rough start.
33:52
SPEAKER_03: He got knocked out, excuse me, he got knocked out early in the season opener against Texas Tech.
33:58
SPEAKER_03: Shoulder injury got him after only 39 yards, and he missed a second game entirely.
34:02
SPEAKER_03: But by week three, he was back at it with 153 yards against Minnesota.
34:07
SPEAKER_03: Week four saw him rush for 185 yards against LSU and he was off and um really overcame the slow start.
34:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think the the lesson here is we can't make too much or too little of these opening games.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: It's good to look at some opening games and say, hey, this player looks like a Heisman candidate, and there's gonna be lots of players having big games early on, and people are gonna be talking about them, but only a few are gonna maintain that consistency throughout the season, while others are gonna taper off a bit.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: That all said, most of the players who end up winning the Heisman had pretty good first games.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: And so these opening statements sort of give us a few tantalizing clues about certain players who might potentially win the Heisman, and we don't fully understand what it all means until they actually do it.
34:47
SPEAKER_00: Take an even deeper dive into Heisman lore by going to Heisman.com, home to all things Heisman, including news, bios, and the latest on all the winners, plus updates on the Heisman Trophy Trust and its charitable mission.
34:58
SPEAKER_00: It's the A to Z for Everything Heisman, from Alan Amici to Danny Worfel.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: We really need a Heisman winner whose name begins with Z.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: One of the things we're excited about most on this podcast is the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Heisman's Charitable Mission.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: The Heisman Trophy Trust has donated over$20 million to a variety of sports programs that offer educational services to disadvantaged and special needs youth.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: While the Heisman's original charitable focus was in its backyard of New York City, its reach has now expanded out to other communities.
35:25
SPEAKER_00: We kick off our first segment highlighting Mercy Street, a Dallas-based organization that works with thousands of underserved families via its sports and mentoring based programs.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: We chatted with Mercy Street's president and CEO, Carlton Obey, to find out more.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Carlton, thanks for joining us on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
35:44
SPEAKER_05: Oh, it's my pleasure to be here with you guys.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: Well, first I'd like to congratulate you and Mercy Street on the 20-year anniversary you're celebrating this year.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: I understand your tenure with the organization goes back quite a bit.
35:55
SPEAKER_05: Yes, I've been with the organization.
35:57
SPEAKER_05: This is the start of my 14th year, and uh really excited to be a part of what God has been doing in the West and South Dallas communities for over 20 years.
36:08
SPEAKER_05: And so it's my joy to do so.
36:10
SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm from the community and uh live in the community and now work in the community, and uh it's just a great deal that I get a chance to do that every day.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: It certainly is.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, the Heisman Trophy Trust has a long history of working with organizations and foundations such as yours that work with young people in need.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: How far back does your relationship with the Heisman go?
36:30
SPEAKER_00: It goes back 10 years.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: And uh what has that relationship been like?
36:37
SPEAKER_05: Well, um it it it started uh really through a Heisman Trophy winner.
36:43
SPEAKER_05: Um Mr.
36:43
SPEAKER_05: Danny Worfel um has an organization called Desire Street Ministries, and they support organizations like ours in the city ministries uh in an effort to keep them in ministry and not burn out.
36:57
SPEAKER_05: And so that's kind of how we got connected.
36:59
SPEAKER_05: And uh since then it's been the ongoing support uh of our activities and our programs, and uh it's just helps a lot to be able to have uh an organization with the name Heisman Trophy.
37:12
SPEAKER_05: Everybody recognize it.
37:12
SPEAKER_05: It helps us with donors, helps us in the community.
37:15
SPEAKER_05: Uh it's a great deal for us.
37:16
SPEAKER_05: It's a win-win.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a bit about Mercy Street's overall mission?
37:22
SPEAKER_00: I understand it works with some 2,500 families annually, and a huge portion are through sports leagues like baseball, soccer, basketball, flag, bootball, and uh soon lacrosse.
37:32
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, absolutely.
37:34
SPEAKER_05: Well, we believe in relationships, and uh we believe the young people in our community need relationships in order for them to have direction.
37:41
SPEAKER_05: Um, and so what we try to do is foster mutually transform relationships with inner city youth uh from our areas, which happen to be two of the most underserved areas in all of Dallas.
37:53
SPEAKER_05: And uh, we're trying to foster them relationships with uh adults who can help them grow from where they are to wherever the Lord wants them to be.
38:00
SPEAKER_05: And uh we've seen these relationships be long-term, uh, with an average of four years.
38:06
SPEAKER_05: Uh these relationships express themselves in things like coaching through our sports department.
38:11
SPEAKER_05: Uh coach will uh stay engaged with a group of kids and grow go up with them through the ranks.
38:17
SPEAKER_05: Uh, we've also seen it work uh through one-on-one mentor relationships where sometimes a mentor will start in the fourth grade with a kid and often walk them all the way through graduation.
38:29
SPEAKER_05: And then um we also have um a leadership development program, which is really an opportunity for young people to learn soft skill development, workforce readiness, time management.
38:42
SPEAKER_05: Uh they're exposed to an abundance of things outside the community sites, uh organizations, historical landmarks, uh, but they also interface with corporate CEOs and C-suite um uh officers uh in order for them to learn from those guys and what they've experienced over time.
39:04
SPEAKER_05: Um the biggest thing they do is they learn, they just have camaraderie and friendship and fellowship with like-minded young people and they walk together.
39:14
SPEAKER_05: Uh-huh.
39:14
SPEAKER_05: And then when kids graduate from our program, we keep up with them through an alumni association, which hopes to get them back involved in the work that we're doing, or it helps them uh if they have a bump in the road to get back on track.
39:27
SPEAKER_05: So we're really excited about that.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: That's just wonderful.
39:30
SPEAKER_00: Now, where do most youth come to you from?
39:32
SPEAKER_00: Is it through your sports programs mostly?
39:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we have about 1600 youth that we serve through our sports programs and then another 200 through our mentoring program and so on.
39:42
SPEAKER_05: Um but you know, kids can find us.
39:45
SPEAKER_05: Uh well now, being 20 years, um parents are starting to just know who we are in the community because we've been there so long.
39:54
SPEAKER_05: Same building, same location, same areas.
39:58
SPEAKER_05: We're now in our second generation of people.
40:00
SPEAKER_05: In other words, uh some people have grown up through our program and started families and they bring their kids back to our program.
40:07
SPEAKER_05: Um we we're on the website, uh, we have a relationship with the local school districts.
40:12
SPEAKER_05: So kids, people can find us through uh the counselors and teachers and school officials.
40:19
SPEAKER_05: Um but they also can just walk over to our building.
40:22
SPEAKER_05: So I think we've established pretty well who we are.
40:25
SPEAKER_05: We've been we've been long term in the community, and so yeah, it's it's been a great deal.
40:31
SPEAKER_00: Do you have any stories or individual stories that are that really make you the most proud about your work with uh with Mercy Street?
40:40
SPEAKER_05: Wow, I was trying to think about one in particular, because there there are several of them.
40:45
SPEAKER_05: One is um I I remember a a single mom um named Ladonna Johnson.
40:53
SPEAKER_05: Miss Johnson came to us um, gosh, I want to say almost about 15 or 16 years ago.
41:02
SPEAKER_05: She had four children and um three boys and a young and a young lady.
41:09
SPEAKER_05: And you know, the the great thing about it is they all know the Lord at this point.
41:14
SPEAKER_05: They all graduated from high school and from college and uh now working in the community and doing different things.
41:21
SPEAKER_05: Uh she also went back to school and did some initiatives as well just to show them that she could do it so they better do it.
41:28
SPEAKER_05: And so, you know, things like that, miss Johnson is a testimony of the a great people we get a chance to work with and serve and and how God uses uh relationships through mentoring and our organization to kind of uh do his work and and we see the final products and things like that.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: Children come to you and they're as young as four years old and they work with you all the way through high school and you guys focus on mentoring.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: What is the process when someone comes to you and says, Hey, I'd like to get my child involved with Mercy Street?
42:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we we we have a process for both mentors and mentees.
42:06
SPEAKER_05: From the parent standpoint, they fill out an application, we have a small orientation, we kind of talk through expectations, um, and then we kind of sit with them and we kind of have an interview.
42:17
SPEAKER_05: We're really trying to assess um the kind of student, kind of family they are and their unique needs.
42:24
SPEAKER_05: At the same time, we're working with volunteers to try to interview them, spend time with them, do background checks, reference checks, and we're really trying to hear and listen for commonalities and things that would make a great pair.
42:40
SPEAKER_05: And uh so far it's worked really well to kind of connect students and mentors together that way, listening, learning, uh, and trying to create long-term relationships.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: What's it like to see the impact that your organization has had on so many kids?
42:58
SPEAKER_05: You know, uh I I often get in tears.
43:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh I I'm often humbled to feeling unworthy.
43:08
SPEAKER_05: Uh I don't know how I ended up in this particular place to lead a multi-million dollar organization and to to be uh a person who gets a chance to speak into uh so many people's lives.
43:22
SPEAKER_05: But for some reason God chose me to be a part of what he's doing.
43:27
SPEAKER_05: And so I just I just thank him every day.
43:30
SPEAKER_05: Um it starts with me at home with my wife and six kids, and then getting a chance to see how he uses uh me and our staff, which we have a great staff, a phenomenal staff.
43:41
SPEAKER_05: I often get a lot of credit for the work that's being done, but I stand on the shoulders of a lot of young men and women who have dedicated their lives to the um the work.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: And uh it's just awesome to see how God has just taken us and from where we are to where we were to where we are right now.
43:59
SPEAKER_05: It's just Great.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: And what are your plans and hopes for Mercy Street going forward?
44:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so currently we serve in the West and South Dallas area.
44:10
SPEAKER_05: Um we will always be where there's fatherlessness, where there's hurt, where there's single parents, where there's grandparents trying to raise kids, where there's poverty.
44:21
SPEAKER_05: We will always be in the midst of the hurt, the darkness uh uh of our city.
44:27
SPEAKER_05: And so um we believe over the next three to five years that we will go from uh continue to serve West Dallas and expand in in South Dallas.
44:37
SPEAKER_05: And there's an area of our city that the city is really alerted as a place of need, uh which is a southern Dallas area.
44:44
SPEAKER_05: The whole city is turning towards that.
44:45
SPEAKER_05: We feel like we can be a part of what the city is doing and what God is doing there.
44:50
SPEAKER_05: And then from there, you know, we just will be praying, but we hope to be able to, you know, whether we we take our our show, so to speak, on the road and and become a national organization.
45:01
SPEAKER_05: Um, we we you know, we'll we can be prepared for that, but but really we just really want to serve wherever the Lord has us.
45:08
SPEAKER_05: And I believe that's gonna be in the inner city where there's hurt, where there's need, whether it's fatherlessness, whether single parents, where there's poverty, we will always be in the midst of those who are considered the last, the lost, and least.
45:21
SPEAKER_05: We'll be standing proud, shining lights in the midst of darkness.
45:27
SPEAKER_00: Carlton, what's the best way for someone listening to this program or in the Dallas area or elsewhere who wants to get involved or help out or or or come along on your journey in helping uh uh underserve youth in the Dallas area?
45:43
SPEAKER_05: We can simply uh go to our they can simply go to our website, uh mercystreetdallas.org.
45:50
SPEAKER_05: It has all the information that is needed to get uh connected with us.
45:55
SPEAKER_05: We also have um 214-905-1042 is our office number.
46:03
SPEAKER_05: Um we check that on a regular basis and get back with people.
46:07
SPEAKER_05: It's an honor to do so.
46:08
SPEAKER_05: We take it very seriously to walk people through a process where they can become engaged with us.
46:13
SPEAKER_05: So those are the two major avenues.
46:15
SPEAKER_05: We also have Facebook and Twitter and all those kind of things.
46:18
SPEAKER_05: Just look up Mer Street Dallas.
46:20
SPEAKER_05: But uh, yeah, those are the most efficient ways.
46:24
SPEAKER_00: Well, the Heisman Trophy Trust is very proud to uh to take part in uh your efforts.
46:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh there's a lot of people listening right now who probably came to talk about the Heisman Trophy, but now they're finding out that the Heisman is involved in these types of endeavors.
46:38
SPEAKER_00: What kind of message do you have for people who come to this program uh thinking about the Heisman Trophy, but are now finding out that the Heisman is more than just a trophy?
46:47
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and and I would say um I'm thankful that the Heisman Trophy uh family chooses to use their platforms to do more than just highlight an individual for their achievements in sports.
47:00
SPEAKER_05: They are making a difference around this country uh in communities large and small with people who are known and unknown.
47:09
SPEAKER_05: And it is a great privilege to be in partnership with them.
47:13
SPEAKER_00: Carlton, hey, thanks so much for joining us.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh we really enjoyed uh hanging out and talking with you.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully uh everything continues to go go well for Mercy Street, and we can check back in the future and talk some more about what you guys are up to and and uh what new developments are happening in your area uh that are exciting and and and hopefully helping people improve their lives.
47:37
SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much.
47:38
SPEAKER_05: I appreciate it.
47:38
SPEAKER_05: It's been my honor to do so today.
47:42
SPEAKER_00: The official Heisman Trophy podcast streams every Wednesday during the college football season and is hosted, co-produced, edited, and engineered by Chris Houston.
47:50
SPEAKER_00: Paul Goldberg is the executive producer and editor.
47:53
SPEAKER_00: Special shout out to Isaac Loencron, and big thanks to the Heisman Trophy Trust and its executive director, Rob Whalen, and Associate Director Tim Henning.
48:00
SPEAKER_00: The official Heisman Trophy podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcast.
48:06
SPEAKER_00: You can also find clips of our show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: Just go to Heisman Trophy.