Teddy Bridgewater: Quarterback plans NFL return after coaching alma mater to win Florida's High School Title, bond with his mom, details his worst injury, mental toughness & importance of keeping his word

"A lot of those kids watching me growing up...they saw so much hope when they saw me. So I was like, let me go feed my soul and complete the mission God put me here to do." Teddy Bridgewater coaching & winning High School State Championship On this episode of The Pivot Podcast, fresh off a huge milestone, Teddy Bridgewater sits with Ryan, Fred, and Channing to talk about his full circle journey—how a kid from Miami went to Louisville, paved the way for black quarterbacks becoming an NFL All Pro then after a decade in the league, returned to his old high school this season to coach the football team to a state championship. After 10 years in the NFL and enduring devastating injuries to come back and play in the league again, Teddy realized he had something bigger left to give the game he loves so much…which led him back to his hometown. Teddy’s not just shaping athletes; he’s inspiring an entire community, one game at a time. For Teddy, coaching isn’t just about X’s and O’s. It’s about giving back to the kids who grew up just like he did. He talks to the guys about what it means to help these boys grow into men on and off the field, build a culture of tough love but more importantly create an unbreakable bond of unity and belief in the community. The monumental moment of winning is a priceless feeling for Teddy, but now see says he’s ready to return to the NFL and show those same young men he coached, how passion and hard work can lead you to your biggest dreams. As the conversation continues, the guys get into the personal side of Teddy’s story—the moments that shaped him, the values that keep him grounded and how witnessing first-hand his mom’s strength during her toughest battle against breast cancer, is when he truly learned the power of prayer and resilience. Although Teddy keeps his life private, he isn’t shy about the lessons he’s learned from all the great coaches who influenced his life and inspired his journey. Teddy takes the time to open up about his bond with MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, another Louisville legend who credits Teddy as one of his biggest inspirations. For him, watching Lamar take the league by storm is more meaningful than he can put into words and he's proud to have been a role model for this next generation of quarterbacks. Whether you’ve been a fan of Teddy since his Louisville days, followed his NFL journey, or just enjoy a good story about resilience, heart, and community, this discussion is filled with gems and unforgettable stories. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Pivot Podcast on YouTube and follow us on all audio platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:30Fred Taylor?

  Two gloves. Teddy, two.

• 0:33Ryan Clark?

  Two gloves.

• 0:36Ryan Clark?

  Shit, he taller than you, though. Teddy big as hell.

• 0:39Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, Teddy tall, man.

• 0:40Ryan Clark?

  Man, first time I met him, I was like, god damn. I forgot he was that tall.

• 0:46Channing Crowder?

  He big.

• 0:46Ryan Clark?

  Because he don't never say nothing. He's one of them athletes that be cutting theyself short, man. You gotta snap. Teddy, if you would've snapped on somebody, man, we all went crazy in the hood.

• 1:01Ryan Clark?

  I read something about Teddy. They say he was the teacher's pet though when he played football. Teddy did everything right.

• 1:06Speaker 04

  I don't know about that one, man.

• 1:07Ryan Clark?

  Teddy, they say you did everything right.

• 1:09Speaker 04

  Yeah, I did everything right. Because I'm setting a good example for my peers, but nah, I ain't never been the teacher's pet.

• 1:16Fred Taylor?

  Them boys from the West, we was talking about Drake just recently on the last show. Them boys from the West are a whole different breed.

• 1:24Ryan Clark?

  Man.

• 1:25Fred Taylor?

  What?

• 1:25Ryan Clark?

  I love it.

• 1:45Ryan Clark?

  Well, welcome to the show. We would just really appreciate you. New state champion head coach, Teddy Bridgewater. This is Channing Crowder, Ryan Clark, this is Fred Taylor. This is The Pivot. This show is brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. Man, Teddy, you know, there's so much that we could talk about in your life, but like I want to get to recently, man. You came back home, back to your high school, man, and brought them. A state championship. And the energy in which you did it. You know, I got to see the dances afterwards. The way the people surrounded you, how they celebrated you. What was it like to come back and be able to give your experiences,

• 2:27Ryan Clark?

  your wisdom and your time to young men who truly look up to you?

• 2:32Speaker 04

  Honestly, it was refreshing. I knew that a lot of those kids, man, watched me growing up. They saw me on the television. They would see me come back to the games. And they saw so much hope when they saw me. And for me, it was one of those things where it's like, man, let me just go back and feed my soul, you know, and complete the mission that God put me here to do. And football, it gave me a platform. And it gave me a platform to put where I'm from on the map. But to be able to go back and do what I did this year, it was icing on the cake for me. It was icing on the cake for the community because it's something that I talked about about two years ago when a lot of these kids were freshmen.

• 3:15Speaker 04

  And for it to come full circle, it was just refreshing.

• 3:19Channing Crowder?

  TV, why put that pressure on yourself, man? I always talk about I don't like to count people's pockets, but I really do. I go look up career earnings. Bruh, you done touched well into the eight figures. And now you back arguing at 14-year-olds. You back talking to moms about why my son ain't getting playing time. Why go back and put all that pressure on yourself, bruh? You can go get you a house on an island and chill.

• 3:42Speaker 04

  There's one thing, man, to let the kids see you on TV. But to see you in the flesh, I just feel like that's an extra ounce of motivation for these kids. And in Liberty City, man, like that hope, that extra motivation is needed. And I call myself the neighborhood hope dealer. And oftentimes, you think of Liberty City, oh, dope is being sold. And I'm dealing hope. That's what I tell people. I'm dealing hope, you know, to the community, to the kids. And I put that pressure on myself because it's just something about it, man, that to see the smiles on those kids' faces when you win a championship like we did this past Saturday, to see the community come together, the violence cease, everyone's just good vibes, good energy, man. That's what it's all about.

• 4:27Fred Taylor?

  Well, a bad rep usually follows Liberty City. But you said 71st is back. After the win, how emotional was it for you to say, "Look, this is what we set out to accomplish. The kids believed in me, the community believed in me, and I delivered, or we delivered." So I want to know how emotional was that soon as you guys, soon as the clock struck zero?

• 4:49Speaker 04

  Man, it was very emotional just because so much transpired this year that a lot of people don't know about. And the kids, man, they were just resilient all year. My coaches were resilient. The community, they stayed behind us the entire time. And we had our ups and downs throughout the year. But we figured it out at the right point, at the right time. And it was just, man, one of those moments where it was just like, man, we did it. Like, all adversity, we overcame it, and we can say we're champions.

• 5:22Ryan Clark?

  Teddy, you, you know, I made the joke earlier when we sat down that you never said a lot. But you have been very vocal about supporting the kids you coach. Recently, there was a Facebook post, and you were talking about these kids signing and being able to create their content, being able to push these things out. As to me, what would be other signs of hope for the young men that will come and play after the footsteps they've laid? Why is it so important for you to not only be there in body and in presence to coach and give that hope, but to also be a voice for the young men that you represent?

• 5:59Speaker 04

  Honestly, it's a voice for the young men, but also for the coaches. It's a voice for the coaches before me and the coaches who coach now. For one, we're underpaid. I think you get about $5,500 to coach high school football in South Florida. You know, that's it. And then you have all these rules and stipulations in place where, you know, I'm one of those players and one of those former players, coaches who believe in creating moments, creating memories, because those memories last a lifetime. And when kids can't document certain things or, you know, there's certain rules that everyone isn't aware of. I feel like I need to step in and be a voice, you know, for the coaches, for the players. Because there are some people who probably can't say anything because, you know, this is their livelihood.

• 6:43Speaker 04

  For me, I was blessed to play football and make some good money. So now I could just speak out. And, you know, there's so many people who call me, "Hey, man, I feel the exact way you feel about this situation, but I can't say it." So I'm just gonna continue to use my platform, man, to be a voice for those coaches who wanted to be heard and be a voice for those coaches from the past and be a voice for the players.

• 7:05Channing Crowder?

  Do you like it, though? Because I done seen more out of you on social media, coaching it all the time you played, bro. Like, the video, you wanna see a dead body? And y'all walk up, like, all that stuff. I'm laughing, like, "Bro, Teddy don't do shit."

• 7:23Channing Crowder?

  See what I'm saying?

• 7:23Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 7:24Channing Crowder?

  Like, do you enjoy this? Are you doing it, like you said, for the purpose of helping people? But do you enjoy it? Do you enjoy people getting to know you? Because, you know what I'm saying? We all met before. We done chopped it up before a bunch of times. But, like, I don't think anybody really knows how you are, who you are.

• 7:41Speaker 04

  Yeah, and I enjoy 100% of it. Even the headaches that come with it. And it's just, I always try to control the narrative of what I allow people to know about me. You know, I always told people my Instagram is for fans to see football pictures, see what I'm doing in the community. And then I make a personal page for my family, my intermediate circle who know me on a daily basis. So I always control what I put out into the universe. And this year with coaching, though, man, I've been in the camera more and my personality's been on display. And I'm happy that people get to see the side of me. Because, like you all said, I've been known as a quiet guy who just, hey, do his job. But there's a side of me, man, that likes to have fun. We win a state championship.

• 8:24Speaker 04

  I'm standing on top of a pole dancing, in the middle of the street, dancing. Like, that's Teddy. That's who I am.

• 8:31Fred Taylor?

  You mentioned hope earlier. How much of yourself do you see in these kids right now when you were that age?

• 8:37Speaker 04

  When I look into those kids' eyes, it's like, man, I get the chills. Because I see myself all over again, you know, 14, 15, 16-year-old Teddy, who walked those same halls at Miami Northwestern that these kids are walking, who lived in some of these same neighborhoods that some of these kids live in, who had the same dreams and aspirations that some of these kids have. And it's like, man, they don't even know how good they can be. They don't even know the true potential that they have. And I'm glad that, you know, I'm put here now, you know, in their lives to help them tap into that source. Right. And figure it out, you know, what I want to be in life, what it takes to be successful in life. And like I said, it just gives me chills, man. Like, the other night before the state championship game,

• 9:20Speaker 04

  I looked into number five, I asked Calvin Russell, and he's a guy pregame, he bounces around a lot, he exudes a lot of energy pregame. I'm like, "Bro, we're gonna play for two hours, man, chill out." Like, "I don't need you bouncing around right now." And like, he gave me this look. And it was like, like, "Yo, chill, I'm straight." And it was a look that I recall myself giving to coach when I was 16, 17 years old. And in that moment, I stepped back, I'm like, "You know what, do you? Like, I ain't about to control you, man." Like, I see it, I see what's about to happen. And so it's just being able to read those kids and seeing myself a lot in those kids, seeing a lot of similarities. And that really helps me understand those kids as well.

• 10:01Ryan Clark?

  Teddy, you know, we love the fact that you've taken your experiences and become a coach, and now you could share those things. You had extremely high moments as a player, but the one moment I've always been interested in talking about to you was August 30th, 2016. For some reason, of all the injuries we see, this sort of barbaric next man up life we live, your injury, whether it's Harrison Smith, whether it's Mike Zimmer, people refuse to talk about what they saw that day. And no matter how many articles you try to look up on it, the statement when asked, "What did you see?", is always,

• 10:46Ryan Clark?

  "I can't even tell you."

• 10:47Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 10:48Ryan Clark?

  What happened that day that made the toughest of men get on their knees and pray, throw their helmets and cry?

• 10:57Speaker 04

  Training camp. And this was back when we had four preseason games. And we were going into the fourth preseason game. And you know, the starters was gonna rest. You practice about two days and then you shut it down for the rest of training camp. Prior to that week, we played the Chargers in the new stadium. That was my first game playing in the new stadium. And I had a big third down run. I juke the defender. I think that's when I tore my ACL. But the week went on and I was like, man, it's just camp legs, you know? I'll be all right. Let me get through today. And before practice, I was like, man, something don't feel right, you know? Behind the back of my knee, it just feels crazy or something. But I was like, you know what? This last day, I'm gonna practice, shut it down, get ready for the regular season.

• 11:39Speaker 04

  And we went out to practice and it was like a pass thirty-seven bust a solid protection. Like reverse out, fake to Adrian, the running back, the fullback, Red Ellison comes across, blocks the DN. And as I faked to Adrian, Red passed by. And once I put my foot in the ground, everything just snapped. And the entire bottom half of my leg was one way and my foot was another way. And it was just dangling. And in that moment, it was just like, ah, like just screaming, man, like, ah, my leg, you know? And guys were throwing helmets and everything, man.

• 12:20Speaker 04

  It was bad, you know, if you were out there and you just saw a leg just dangling the way it was. All I could say was, man, go get my phone and text my mom.

• 12:32Speaker 04

  In that moment, because my mom is a prayer warrior. And I'm like, man, text my mom. And at the time, my girlfriend at the time, text them and tell them to pray for me. And that's what it was, man. We got in the back of the ambulance and I was talking to Shug, the trainer. I'm like, man, how's it look? He's like, man, how's it feel? I'm like, man, the shit hurt, man.

• 12:56Speaker 04

  I'm like, man, am I gonna play again? He like, man, can you feel your foot? And I'm like, yeah, but the feeling's starting to go away. And the way he yelled that the paramedics drivers, that told me like, man, it's something serious. And we got to the hospital and found out I had dislocated my knee. They put it back in place, but I knew I still had surgery. I had a long journey to go, but, man, that was, that was one of those days where if you were there, it was like, man, this is bad.

• 13:25Ryan Clark?

  Did you ever hear Mike Zimmer's quote about it?

• 13:28Speaker 04

  No.

• 13:29Ryan Clark?

  Zim said, when they asked him after practice, when they were asking him like how they were gonna move on from it, obviously, I think y'all went like 11 and 5 the year before, with tears in his eyes, he said, "I've lost my wife." And the next morning, we had to wake up and move on, and that's exactly what we have to do tomorrow. So whatever he saw, to him, made him emotional enough or was bad enough to where like that's what he equated it to. Was there a time during that where you thought you wouldn't play again?

• 14:07Speaker 04

  Ah, I had my moments, but once I found out about the kid Jalen Smith from Notre Dame, he had a similar injury. And I started doing my research, and I realized that his injury was a little worse than mine because he actually had a dropped foot. And I still had nerves and I could feel everything in my foot. I was like, man, this kid has surgery, he's on the verge of returning back to football. It's some hope for me. And I went to the same surgeon, Dr. Cooper, down in Dallas, who Jalen went to, and I was like, man, if this kid is coming back from this, man, I could do it. And they told me it was gonna take 18 months. I was like, man, I'ma, I'ma show you I can get back faster than that.

• 14:52Speaker 04

  And I missed one season, I came back probably like week nine, soon as I got off the pup list, and I was good.

• 14:58Channing Crowder?

  Did it change your style of play? Did you have to slow down, did you have to adjust what you was doing? After playing, because that, like I see, I had, I had four ACL reconstructions too. I see when you talk about that knee, you start rubbing that damn knee.

• 15:13Channing Crowder?

  Everybody doing, yeah, you start rubbing that knee.

• 15:16Fred Taylor?

  Did you, did it psychologically change your game?

• 15:19Speaker 04

  Nah, it didn't. It actually helped me, man. It helped me with learning about myself, reaching new boundaries and things like that. Like when I hurt my knee, it was one of them things like, man, in order for me to get back to football, I gotta be able to do things that a regular person could do. I gotta be able to jump on the trampoline. I gotta be able to play basketball, move around, show some athleticism. I went to Jamaica, I jumped off a cliff. And I was like, you know what? I'm good, man. Once I jumped off that cliff, hit that water, the impact didn't do anything, I was like, oh, I'm good. You know, so it was one of them things where I just reached new limits and knocked down some boundaries, overcame fears and once I was cleared, once I could do a single leg bound and my knee didn't give out, I was like, oh, I'm straight.

• 16:05Fred Taylor?

  What did 2019, when you stepped in for Drew Brees and led the Saints to a, I think you were 5-0, what did that do for your psyche?

• 16:13Speaker 04

  2019, that was a big year for me. That was the year that really told me that I still belong in the NFL. Coming back from the knee, I signed with the Jets on really just the strength of trying out. Todd Bowles doing a favor for Bill Parcells, I feel like, you know, it was just one of them things like, Todd, you better sign this kid, man, or, you know, and sign with them. And then when Sean traded for me in 18, I didn't play much, but when 19 came and Brees got hurt,

• 16:43Speaker 04

  we lost to the Rams when Brees got hurt and I was not prepared.

• 16:46Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 16:47Speaker 04

  Because in 18, I didn't play a snap, really. I played the last game because we clinched the playoffs, but I didn't, I didn't really like take it serious. I'm like, man, I'm behind Drew Brees, man. We about to get a ring eventually. I'm chilling, man. Like, I'm straight. I'm, I'm the... Highest paid backup in the league right now. Me and Ryan Tannehill, I think at the time. It's like, what I need to take this thing serious for? And then Breeze got hurt like week two or week three. I forgot what it was, but. And I wasn't prepared because I was chilling. You know, we played L.A. I went by Nipsey Hussle's store. I went to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. Like, I was hanging out, man. I'm hanging out. And when Breeze got hurt, all I could remember was what Breeze did in practice that week. He threw the ball to Mike Thomas. He threw the ball to Alvin Kamara.

• 17:31Speaker 04

  So when I got in the game, I tried to throw the ball to Mike Thomas, throw to Alvin Kamara. But Aaron Donald was on the other side and all them boys who L.A. had that year.

• 17:39Fred Taylor?

  Right, yeah.

• 17:40Speaker 04

  But it opened my eyes, man. It told me, man, I gotta prepare. If I really want to play in this league, like, I gotta prepare like Breeze. I gotta come up with a routine because all we heard in New Orleans was it's the process that produces results.

• 17:53Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 17:53Speaker 04

  And we say it sometimes, you know, in sports, you say things and it's like, oh, you only saying it because the team's saying it. And I fell victim to that, like, oh, man, the process produces results. But when that reality set in, I had to be ready. I wasn't ready. So I had to develop a process, a real process. And we won those five games, man. I felt the love from New Orleans that I've been yearning for, you know, throughout those couple of years. And I felt complete in that moment.

• 18:17Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 18:18Ryan Clark?

  For you, when you do get to that space where you have an opportunity to play again, but you were a backup, did playing well through those games, how did that make you feel about your future? Did it make you say to yourself, okay, I want to be the guy again? Or were you comfortable in the role you had in New Orleans?

• 18:39Speaker 04

  I knew I was gonna get a team again after those five games because Garoppolo had did it the year before. Garoppolo had success. I think he went five and oh the year before, or five and one, something like that.

• 18:50Ryan Clark?

  In New England.

• 18:51Speaker 04

  In New England. And then he ended up going to San Fran. So I was like, man, Garoppolo did it the year before. I just went five and oh. I'm about to get me a team. It really motivated me to, hey, man, you're starting in this league. Like, you ain't content with being nobody's backup. And I love Breeze, man. I love the way that I was able to learn from him, every day study from him. And my two years in New Orleans, man, it really helped me grow as a player. I'm thankful that I had those two years, man, especially with Sean, Joe Lombardi in the quarterback room, man. It was a special time.

• 19:22Ryan Clark?

  Can we talk about the first time you was there and Bostick hit you? Dog, like you were such a great college player and I remember that moment. And you know, like defensive players see things different Teddy. You know, like we care that you could throw the football and that you could maneuver in the pocket. But when you do something that shows your toughness to us, we like, oh wait. He built different.

• 19:45Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 19:46Ryan Clark?

  That play, man, and coming back from that, was that a moment for you? As a young player where you were like, I need to get back out there and show these people who I am? Like where I'm from, what I'm made of?

• 19:58Speaker 04

  Yeah, it was that and I just felt tried, man, like. You gonna hit me like that, my mom in the stands, man, like, yo. You gotta see me, you gotta feel me, like that was my mentality, man. I knew I had my brothers, man, from South Florida. And just from all over who on that team from Louisville who really looked up to me. And I knew I had people back home like, man, you don't get up, bro, you gotta holler at us when you come home. So it was one of them things where he hit me and I just had a frown on my face like, yo, you just tried me, man. Like, you finna feel me tonight. And that was my mentality, man, just dominate and dominate and we came away victorious.

• 20:36Ryan Clark?

  The Florida boys is dirty, boy. Y'all something else, dog. Y'all something else.

• 20:40Channing Crowder?

  But we had Dre Johnson on. And it's just that South Florida mentality, man, that Liberty City mentality. Does it play out well everywhere? Because I'm from Atlanta, but I got a little, I've been here long enough and it seem like someplace you are like people don't, they don't understand that.

• 20:57Speaker 04

  Right.

• 20:58Channing Crowder?

  I just got tried, so. Yeah, why are you so excited? Take it easy. You know, doesn't play out well everywhere, because you've been at a bunch of places.

• 21:05Speaker 04

  Nah, it definitely does, man, and it goes back to just also having survival skills, you know? Growing up in Liberty City, you see a lot, you go through a lot. So when certain things happen, you react a certain way. You know, you slowly react sometimes or you know, you take a second and you think about like the consequences of your reaction. And then also at the same time, you feel tried, man, you feel tried, like, man, you gotta see me. You know what I'm saying, like, it's just something about it, man.

• 21:33Channing Crowder?

  Man, it's that time of year, you gotta buy everybody something. The kids, the relatives, the mailman, the dog walkers, man. You know what we gotta get? You gotta give a gift to yourself. Freddie, you know what the best gift to yourself is?

• 21:45Fred Taylor?

  Man, I'm scared to ask you.

• 21:47Channing Crowder?

  Man, you know what I'm talking about. YouTube TV and the NFL Sunday Ticket. That's what you gotta do for yourself. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

• 21:55Ryan Clark?

  It's honestly my gift giving tip to everybody who are like me, right? You just can't get enough of football. And if you can't get enough of football, NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV is the exact, perfect gift for you. Especially for me, a guy who loves to watch all of the out of market games. I work too hard, I've been grinding too much, to have to think about which games I'm gonna watch on my TV. So getting NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV was the perfect gift to myself.

• 22:22Fred Taylor?

  Absolutely. You get to track your favorite teams or your fantasy team throughout the crucial point of the seasons. Can't beat that.

• 22:29Channing Crowder?

  Keep up with all my teams, I'ma share with the Pivot fam. That's how I keep up with it and know that I'm whooping people out there on all my fantasy teams, RC Dunham.

• 22:38Ryan Clark?

  Sign up right now and get it for $49 for the rest of the season using the code PIVOTPOT. Gift yourself this special offer by signing up now.

• 22:47Channing Crowder?

  Do you have any, I guess, it sounds bad, but honestly, like survivor's remorse? Because of what you grew up in, the people you grew up with, you living the way you living. You know what I'm saying? You successful quarterback, balling. Like you said, you done ran teams, now you winning state championships. But a lot of folks that you grew up with, they are not succeeding like you.

• 23:12Speaker 04

  Yeah. And honestly, it is no survivor's remorse because I make my people feel the same way. You know, I don't make them feel like they're any less than me. You know, I come around, it's all love. Because I've always been a person who gave my time. And my people always tell me, man, your time is more valuable than your money. So, you know, you come around and just smiling and hanging with us, man. Going to my granddaddy's house, when I played for the Dolphins, I used to go to my granddaddy's house every day during lunch, during our lunch break in training camp, and just go sit on the carport and eat lunch with my grandfather. You know, and my cousins would be around, my homeboys from the neighborhood would just hang around and, "Hey, man, what happened today at practice?" It's all love.

• 23:58Speaker 04

  And I've always been this way. Like, I wasn't that guy who found success and, you know, turned my back on people. Because I knew at the end of the day, man, family is everything. And that's how I grew up, man, with a strong foundation. My grandmother, my grandfather, and my boys from the neighborhood.

• 24:16Fred Taylor?

  How was it coming back to the crib to play for the Dolphins? Because you know these people now.

• 24:20Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 24:20Fred Taylor?

  Like, they love their fans, man. When you had that opportunity, I know you were excited, and your people were excited. But how was it truly to be out there and you can kind of hear, see, feel

• 24:32Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 24:32Fred Taylor?

  the crib vibe?

• 24:33Speaker 04

  Right.

• 24:34Fred Taylor?

  Like, how was that altogether?

• 24:35Speaker 04

  It was a little love-hate thing, man, because...

• 24:42Speaker 04

  You know, you find out people true colors, man, when you play for the hometown team. When they bleed that orange until and you suit up for them, man, you better have thick skin. And I'm talking about, I had people who knew me since I was three, four years old. "Man, you trans, man. Man, you tripping, man."

• 25:05Fred Taylor?

  That's bad karma, boy.

• 25:06Speaker 04

  And I'm like, man, hey, yo, it is what it is, bruh. Like, I only can control what I can control, man. And you gonna feel how you feel. I'm sorry I make you feel that way, you know? You want to do something about it, you can, but most times, man...

• 25:20Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, they just talking.

• 25:21Speaker 04

  Yeah, they just fans, man.

• 25:22Ryan Clark?

  They just talking about... Teddy, that was Big Ass ain't hurt. Get up! Like, saying the third play of the game, "Man, get your big ass up, man. Come on, shit." Man, that's what I'm saying. When he walked in, I didn't know he was that size. I forgot. Since when you were hurt, there was a quote from you that said, "I watched my mom battle breast cancer. I know what it's like to fight." You were the one that was around during that time. When you were a young man who has that sort of relationship with your mother and you're watching her go through those things, watching her be debilitated by what it is to fight cancer, how difficult was that for you to process as a young man?

• 26:05Speaker 04

  That was tough, especially I was 15 years old. I had older brother, you know, he was in the streets. My sister, she had her first child when she was 15. And my other sister, she was in the streets when she was 15, 16. So it was one of them things where my mom and I, I was the baby. And I was connected, you know, and she was just a fighter, man. Like, um, I used to just think the worst. Because when you was 15, your brain's still developing and things like that. You don't really know what's what when you hear diseases and things like that. She just always kept a smile on her face, man. And that like motivated me because she was like sick. The chemo had her weak, fingernails black, hair falling out, things like that.

• 26:51Speaker 04

  And she still smiled, man. And it's like, damn, man, like my mom going through the worst of the worst and she got a smile on her face. She ain't asking God, "Why me?" She's just like, "Teddy, I'm gonna be here for you. I'm gonna be here for you. Keep playing ball. God gave you a gift, use it to the best of your ability." And it's like, man, I ain't really trying to hear that right now, man. I want you to be better. And, you know, she never lost her faith. And she overcame breast cancer, kept playing ball. And we just continued to grow closer and closer.

• 27:21Ryan Clark?

  How often do you think about the fact that you told her you were gonna buy her a pink Escalade? You know, because obviously at the time you said it, you don't know that six, seven years later, she's gonna have to sit you down and say, "I have cancer." But to be passing up a house and be like, "Mom, I'm gonna buy you a pink Escalade," which you actually did get her Escalade eventually. How often do you think back to that moment and like the significance of that?

• 27:45Speaker 04

  I think about it a lot. As life played out, you know, it's like, damn, man. What made me say pink out of all colors? And then years later, pink being a color that resembles breast cancer. It's like, man, like, life does come full circle. And when I gifted her that Cadillac, we were in New York right before the draft. And the way she like laid out on the Cadillac, man, that was like, damn. Man, this is why I do it. But for this moment right here, it was all worth it. You know, all the tears, everything that she went through. It was all worth it to see that smile on her face. And I just felt complete in that moment.

• 28:24Fred Taylor?

  Our brother, former Viking, Randy Moss, just came out, announced that he's a cancer survivor. You experience what it's like to live with a cancer survivor. And for everybody who's watching, randymoss.com. You can donate there to help with his cancer research and everything he's going through. What message would you have for Randy and his journey to make sure that he continues to beat cancer?

• 28:50Speaker 04

  Man, Randy, just fight. He's a guy that I'm known to have positive energy always, man. He's always in high spirits and it's contagious. So stay in that place of that high vibrations, that good energy. And you're allowed to have your moments as a human being. You know, we have our moments when we're alone and we think about what's going on. But the longer he can stay, the longer you can stay in that place of happiness and think about all the good times, man. Like my mom always told me, like the positive energy would defeat the cancer cells. And every case is different, man. But as long as he can just stay in that place, man, of happiness, lean on his brothers, his NFL brothers,

• 29:34Speaker 04

  his family, his community, his loved ones, man, he'll continue to just fight and overcome this.

• 29:41Ryan Clark?

  Well, fellas, it's the holiday season, man. Christmas is almost here. And NFL Sunday Ticket got that heat. We got some fire holiday matchups.

• 29:49Channing Crowder?

  Whoa, my matchups? These divisional matchups? I'm gonna be right in front of TV, chilling out, watching NFL Sunday Ticket. I can't wait.

• 29:57Fred Taylor?

  Sunday, fun day, fellas. I know we got Detroit at Chicago, Philly at Washington, and Cleveland at Cincinnati. Boy, it's crazy.

• 30:05Ryan Clark?

  But Freddie T, you gotta add the Rams versus the Jets in that, too. And with NFL Sunday Ticket Multi-View, you can have all four of them joints and check them out.

• 30:14Channing Crowder?

  Watching all the games, man, let me help them out. Let me help everybody out. Right now, you get the rest of the NFL regular season for only $49 on NFL Sunday Ticket. You can't miss these matchups. It's the big time of year.

• 30:26Fred Taylor?

  And sign up right now at youtube.com/pivotpod. Terms and embargoes apply. No cancellations.

• 30:32Ryan Clark?

  You know, we call this show The Pivot and often weave in and out of things. There's two questions I've been wanting to ask you for a long time and they aren't important questions and other people might not care. The viral moment, man, when you with the dance team. What's going through your head? Like, were they walking by you and you was like, "Oh, shoot, I'm just gonna vibe with them?" And somebody put a camera on? Like, what was that whole situation, bro? Because it is true. It was the moment I looked at and, you know, they started to post it a lot when you decided to coach. I was like, "He's gonna be a great coach." I was like, "He got the vibe already."

• 31:07Speaker 04

  It was one of them things. I was playing for the Saints that year. Our dance team, man, they're called G Girls. They're led by Tracy Young. She's a Miami Northwestern boy as well. She's still over there. And I was just watching, man. I'm like, "Man, look at the girls, man." They had this thing called a super scrum at the time. It was a super scrum. I'm like, "Man, when I come home, I'm gonna hit that thing, man. I'm gonna hit the super scrum, I'm gonna hit that walk." And I'm telling you, man, I'm gonna be ready. And we were playing a game. I forgot who we were playing, man. I just saw them walking on the track. They always do their little breakdown. And they started doing the walk. I'm like, "Oh, they doing it. This is my moment right here." I got in line, man. I started doing it, man.

• 31:50Speaker 04

  And I think it really went viral just because Tracy as well, man, as she was commentating, "Look at those feet, look at that smile," you know, that thing like that. But that was just a moment, man, where it cultivated everyone, man. And it captured a moment of how big the culture is at Miami Northwestern.

• 32:09Channing Crowder?

  Just speaking about Miami Northwestern, man. I played with Torrin Charles.

• 32:13Speaker 04

  T. Teddy.

• 32:15Channing Crowder?

  T. Teddy. The Year of the Bull stuff, man. Do y'all wanna get away from that? Because I think that documentary made Miami Northwestern look crazy. Where coaches fighting players and people, like, that ain't supposed to happen, bro. Do you think Year of the Bull put a good light on Miami Northwestern? Because I watched it a number of times with Teddy. And I was like, "Bro, this is crazy."

• 32:35Speaker 04

  Yeah, it put a good light on Miami Northwestern. It showed how passionate we are about football, how serious we take it, man.

• 32:43Speaker 04

  It's still the same. I ain't changed not one bit, you know. We in the state championship the other night. We had a guy get a penalty. Third and long, he, you know, DB do the little celebration where they lock a guy down. He did it on range sideline. It's like, bruh, come on sideline to celebrate. We got 12,000 fans out here, man. They wanna see you. The people from over there, they don't wanna see. So what happened? We had got like two flags on that drive, so I called a timeout. I said, everybody circle up. And they know the time of day. I say, circle up. My coaches know, hey, y'all know the time of day. Everybody go to buckling in their helmets and we just go to swinging. Bop, swinging on them. Still exists to this day because I had to explain this. What the? What happened again?

• 33:26Speaker 04

  I'll be honest, I thought you was about to give an impassioned speech. What happened again? You thought you fire him up? Man, listen, we had one game, man. We was up like 42-7 at the half. I'm pissed because it should have been about 60 to 70. It's halftime. I say, coaches, we trying to have a fistfight. They like, what you mean? I had my towel wrapped up on my hands. Come on. We in the locker room, everybody, hey, put your helmets on. They put their helmets on, they know the time of day. Bop, bop, bop, just go to swinging, man. I'm, hey. What happened the first time you did this? They respond. They tighten up. They respond, man. We responded, they respond.

• 34:09Speaker 04

  And we don't go too crazy to, because you know, head injury and trauma like that. But, man, it's really understanding your team, understanding your environment. Like, I told my coaches, I got some coaches who didn't attend Miami Northwestern. You know, Coach Craig, Coach Quell, they went to a Hispanic school, a high level. I'm like, man, listen, you ain't, you're not coaching, you know, Juan and Roberto. You coaching Poo Poo, who didn't eat dinner last night. You coaching little Tutu, who mom didn't come home last night. Like, these kids need tough love. They don't need that soft compassion, no. Like, I was once these kids so I know what it takes to get through to them. And that's just part of our coaching methods, man.

• 34:54Speaker 04

  Like, we get through to them a certain way. Now, we gonna beat them up, we gonna break them down, but then we gonna uplift them at the same time. We gonna boom, boom, boom, hey, now come here, we love you. Don't do that dumpster, you know, don't do that again. And that's how they grow, and that's how they go forward.

• 35:09Ryan Clark?

  We always have these conversations because we got to see more, right? Like, I'm from the N.O., he's from Florida, he's from Atlanta. So, you do grow up a certain way, and you were dealt with a certain way. And then you get out, and there starts to be these new ways that evolve in like, "Okay, you can deal with young people this way," or "They need to have that voice." How did you balance what you learned away from Miami as to oppose to what you learned during your upbringing to be the best you could for the kids?

• 35:39Speaker 04

  I just combined everything that I learned, man. I've had so many stops throughout my career. I've played for different coaches who had different teaching methods, different coaching methods. And I really just combined from all the great ones, you know, what really helped me. And I just put it all in one pot, man, and that's my method. You know, from learning from the Bill Parcells, to Mike Zimmers, to Sean Payton's, man, Dan Campbell's, Joe Brady, Vic Fangio. Like, everyone had different methods of coaching, different methods of leading. And I just tried to apply it to my coaches' methods and to my personal living as well because some of the men who I named were great men. They were great leaders, great coaches.

• 36:24Speaker 04

  And I really idolized some of the things that some of those men did, the way they led. And I just told myself, man, you know, if I ever become a coach, I want to be a spin image of all these guys combined.

• 36:35Channing Crowder?

  Is this coaching the start of a new career? Or are you just giving back to the hood? Because people win, people win state championships. And then they get opportunities at a higher level, then they get opportunities at a higher level. Deion.

• 36:49Fred Taylor?

  Mike Runk, same thing.

• 36:50Channing Crowder?

  Runk did it.

• 36:51Fred Taylor?

  I mean, U.M. and then.

• 36:53Channing Crowder?

  Jason Taylor was at Harriet's, and now J.T. Is this a start of something new?

• 36:58Speaker 04

  Nah, man, I'm actually, I'm gonna go back and play ball. Yeah, I'm gonna go back and play ball. We're gonna see what happens these next couple of weeks. I'm gonna go back, play ball, and then, once the season over, I'm gonna be the head coach of Miami Northwestern again.

• 37:13Fred Taylor?

  What do you mean you're gonna go back and play ball?

• 37:18Speaker 04

  I'm gonna go back and play ball, man.

• 37:20Fred Taylor?

  Like, on the big boy level?

• 37:21Speaker 04

  Yeah, on the big boy level, man. I've been working out still, staying in shape, throwing everything, man.

• 37:26Fred Taylor?

  That's breaking news. That's the hope. I mean, like, dead ass.

• 37:29Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 37:30Fred Taylor?

  Wow, and this has always been in the back of your mind?

• 37:32Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's been in the back of my mind. My players know, you know, go play ball. Like I told them, I've been staying in shape, I've been practicing with the kids, everything, man, and we'll see what happens, you know?

• 37:45Fred Taylor?

  So, you needed this?

• 37:48Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 37:48Fred Taylor?

  Like, because you would have really missed the game in that sense, so you needed to be in that space around them kids, just around ball.

• 37:55Speaker 04

  Yeah, just around it, man, around those kids. Like, they were food for my soul, man. Like, they gave me that extra drive. Because now, when I go back to ball, it's like, they gonna be looking on the TV looking for Coach Teddy. And they gonna get excited, man, that's my coach right there. Then when I come back and coach them again, I go get some new ideas and things like that. I come back, install, and it's like, dang, Coach, man, you really did it. Like, you went, played ball, you came back, you coached. Like, you did everything you said you wanted to do. And that's just my mission right now.

• 38:23Ryan Clark?

  Teddy, how does that come together? Because now I'm confused, right? Because if you still, it would seem, if you still had NFL aspirations, the way I was taught and the way we've been tricked into believing is, if that's your aspiration, that has to be your only aspiration professionally.

• 38:42Speaker 04

  Right.

• 38:42Ryan Clark?

  Right? But you said, no, I'm gonna give back to these kids. When did it hit you that this would be your plan, that I would coach and then go play in the NFL?

• 38:53Speaker 04

  I wanna say before year 10, because I was on the fence. I was like, man, do I wanna go coach right now, or do I wanna continue to play and get 10 years in? Because everyone can't say they played 10 years. And, like I said, these kids who I have now, my 2026 class, they were incoming freshmen, and I told them, man, by the time you guys are juniors, I'll coach you guys. And this was their junior year. So it was one of those things where I just had to honor my word. You know, even when I had my doubts, like, man, do I really wanna coach, or I could keep playing ball? I know word is bond. And where I'm from, man, if I could just honor my word and fulfill that promise that I made, I'd be immortal, where I'm from, man, because...

• 39:38Speaker 04

  Not too many people honor their word. They come back and deliver the way that we just did this year. And I could have easily stayed and ball, you know, but it's one of them things, man. When I say I'm gonna do something, I make sure I do it. And I made a promise to those kids and their families, and I just wanted to fulfill it.

• 39:57Ryan Clark?

  Bro, that is, honestly, I've, I don't know if I've ever heard anything like that. Like, I respect that so much, man, that you said something to those kids, man, and you stuck to it in that way, knowing you had those aspirations. That is one of the more unselfish things I've heard an athlete do.

• 40:16Fred Taylor?

  And leaving Miami, just legit, going out to Louisville, Kentucky. Recently, was the Kentucky Hall of Fame, honoring your jersey. Did you ever think that something like that was possible, leaving Miami?

• 40:33Speaker 04

  Yeah, I knew it was possible, man, leaving Miami. And I honestly felt like I had to leave Miami in order for that to happen.

• 40:41Speaker 04

  I knew if I stayed home, and I probably still would stay home if Randy Shannon never got fired. But I knew that if I stayed home, man, I had so many distractions, you know, that would limit me from truly growing and prospering. And I needed to go to Louisville to really become a man. You know, I was the baby, my mom's youngest child. And being miles away, can't just pick up the phone, "Mom, I'm hungry," this, this and that. You had to figure it out. Then I had so many of my brothers from Miami Northwestern, from South Florida, who went to Louisville. It just allowed us all to grow closer and grow as men together. And still to this day, man, one of my best friends, Jermaine Reed, you know, that's who I do my real estate deals with.

• 41:24Speaker 04

  We've been friends since 4th grade, were high school teammates, college teammates, college roommates, his kid's godfather. And those years in Louisville just allowed us to continue to just grow together and grow closer.

• 41:36Ryan Clark?

  You were at Louisville, you had a great run. Drafted 32nd overall by a team that wears purple. There's a guy that came after you. I believe he's from Florida as well. He had a great run at Louisville, drafted 32nd. By a team that wears purple. To kind of be a part of that lineage and really the start of it there. To have Lamar Jackson, you know, go to Louisville as well and kind of hold that mantle of quarterbacks. Black men from South Florida who represented in a way, not only on the field, but off the field with grace. How much pride do you take in that?

• 42:18Speaker 04

  Take a ton of pride in that. Just knowing that every time I hear Lamar say, "Man, I came to Louisville because of Teddy Bridgewater." Like that just, it puts the icing on the cake. And he always gives me my flowers, man, every time he speaks on my behalf. And just being a part of that, that journey that I had at Louisville and then watching Lamar come years later. It was something special, something special, man. And what Lamar was able to do at Louisville, it was... I can't even put, can't even put a word on it because, you know, it was just, it was spectacular, man.

• 43:01Speaker 04

  The way he burst onto the scene, a quiet kid, braces, nappy hair. It must be a South Florida thing, man. But the way he burst onto the scene, man, and he was always merrable, humble. He always gave credit to his coaches, his teammates, his mom, a single mom as well. Like to have that same journey throughout college, man, and the same 32nd draft pick. Sitting in that ballroom, watching him, I felt everything that he felt. And I'm so happy that he's having the career that he's having, man. And talk about two MVPs, probably a third one, man. Like to be able to say that I played quarterback at the same university as Lamar Jackson. I'm honored to say that.

• 43:46Channing Crowder?

  Heck yeah, dawg. That's cool, man. What about the bigger picture of that, though? Because you was a black quarterback when there wasn't a lot of black quarterbacks. Now you look at Jalen, you look at Lamar, you look at Patrick, you look at Jaden. You can go through Caleb, all the young boys. You can just go through it. Is that some pride? Like, do you take pride in that? Because they were watching you and you were having them say, "Oh, a black dude can play quarterback in the NFL. A black dude can lead a team." And we saw, I don't know if you've seen "The Evolution of a Black Quarterback", the Michael Vick documentary he put together. And it talks about how, "Oh, you athletic. You need to play wide receiver." No, I'm a quarterback. Like, you were there before, I think, this new wave came through. What's the pride in that?

• 44:30Speaker 04

  There's a ton of pride. I was always labeled a dual-threat quarterback, and we know why. But I didn't run. I didn't like running, you know? So it's like, how am I a dual-threat quarterback? And I probably ran for 150 yards, you know? But I could throw for 3,500 yards and do this and do that. In college, I threw the ball. We didn't run read option. We didn't run anything. We were under center. We ran spider two, wide banana. We ran hound three levels, you know, drop-back play-action pass. And it was like, always being labeled a dual-threat. It's like, nah, man, I'm a top passer. I'm a top pocket quarterback who can extend a play if I need to.

• 45:13Speaker 04

  And I always hated that, man, that, you know, we always got that tag, like, being a dual-threat. Some of these guys, man, are the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. And I understand we have the ability to extend players and things like that. That's just an extra attribute that we have. It's not what we lean on, you know? A lot of us play the position to prove a point that we can throw. And we belong in this fraternity. But, you know, I'm happy, man, that these guys, man, who are playing now, man, they've had guys who paved the way for them. I'm happy to be one of the guys who some of these young quarterbacks might have been looking up to when they were kids. And I'm happy that they're having the success that they're having right now.

• 45:54Ryan Clark?

  Hey man, it's getting to like the point of the season where I'm just getting worn out. You think about going to Jordan's games on Saturday, then flying wherever I gotta be for the Monday night game. And so now I'm in the hotel on Sunday and I got stuff on the TV. I got my YouTube TV on, on NFL Sunday Ticket, just trying to figure out how many games I could watch. And you know, I'm a tweet during the game too. So I kinda try to fool people with the multi-view. I'm tweeting about four different games at one time. And also too, I just wanna be like, man, this dude really studies. He really watches ball. But without YouTube TV, man, and Sunday Ticket, now I'm stuck studying late at night, trying to catch up on all the games. And so think about today, we had to fly all the way to the West Coast and shoot shows.

• 46:38Ryan Clark?

  If we don't have something like that, if I don't have something like that, then I'm behind on everything.

• 46:42Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, man, you know it is, life's on life. And I know your life, life's a lot, but NFL Sunday Ticket, man, on YouTube TV, I love it. When I, when I log in, man, on my phone, I think about you, cause I go to the Dolphin games and all that stuff. I try to, I'm running around Miami with the kids, but if I'm at a baseball game, you know I got my phone up. You know I got the full box, I can watch multiple games on the phone, man. NFL Sunday Ticket really changed the game with what you need to do so you continue to, you know what I'm saying? Like you say, do what you gotta do in life. But man, I love it, I always know what's updated. I got the stat view, I love the stat view, cause you can keep up. Oh, this dude went crazy in the first half, but then they tightened up in the second half.

• 47:21Ryan Clark?

  Your fantasy team poo anyway though, I don't know why you need the stat view.

• 47:24Channing Crowder?

  Bro, I'm 7-3 right now, I'm second in the league. Don't talk about my fantasy team, Jay Daniels, we watching our family.

• 47:32Fred Taylor?

  Hey, but more than anything, man, I really find it fascinating. Bro, you keep surprising me, the way you tweet. You tweet about every game and I'm always like, how does RC do this? And I see how you do it now, man, that's the best. You can have four games on one device and four games on another device, like your TV and your phone. Bro, get the best of all worlds. So when I'm in South Florida at home, I get to watch my old team. Do my work and prepare for the radio. And then when I go on the radio, I get to mute it and watch other games. Man, YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket.

• 48:05Ryan Clark?

  I've been in this game for over a decade. We didn't have that at first. And so now you was trying to figure out how to catch up at night. How do I go watch this game? I'm trying to go to places so I can get actual video on the All 22. But with YouTube TV, now you got the Sunday Ticket. If you have a great game you want to watch, you could just lock in on that one. But if it is those 1 o'clock games where you're not having a great week of football and you want to watch the one important game on your bigger TV and then have the other four on your device, you can do that. And so that's what I've been doing in the hotel rooms when I travel. And then now on Monday, when I'm going back through things and I'm watching each individual game and actually making my notes, I already sort of have a referendum or some sort of

• 48:48Ryan Clark?

  form of reference of what happened in all those games. And you know, like, you can't have an "Explain Your Tweets" segment on ESPN if you ain't got time to tweet.

• 48:57Channing Crowder?

  Hey, man, you know I'm the best at fantasy. I told you all my team is great. When I'm in Miami, I'm down there, I can watch out of market games, Green Bay, San Francisco, New York. I can watch all my players while I'm in Miami.

• 49:08Ryan Clark?

  Sign up right now and get it for $49 for the rest of the season using the code PIVOTPOD.

• 49:15Fred Taylor?

  When your guys just recently won the state championship, I think that made like eight South Florida teams or so that won state?

• 49:23Ryan Clark?

  This year?

• 49:24Fred Taylor?

  This past year, yeah. South Florida dominated. Even Luke went on Instagram, was messing with Lil' Duvall, saying, "Hey, y'all really think South Florida dominated? Wait till y'all get a taste of the West." And y'all blew them out 41 to 0. And I'm in Jacksonville, they was hurting. Before we started, you said you had a quarterback that's returning?

• 49:43Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 49:44Fred Taylor?

  The receiver, what, 6'5"?

• 49:46Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 49:47Fred Taylor?

  Dog. And you got a lot of, you got a young team. How are you gonna manage playing in the pros and then these guys are sitting here waiting to try and repeat?

• 49:58Ryan Clark?

  I got one person, Coach Q.

• 50:01Speaker 04

  I got a coach named Quentin Victory. He don't play that. You remember on Martin when it's back to scratch? On the episode of Martin, what's back to scratch over there? That's him. He the coach, he gonna send you back to zero.

• 50:13Fred Taylor?

  Got it.

• 50:14Speaker 04

  I'm talking about you do a thousand up downs and zero, start over.

• 50:18Fred Taylor?

  Wow.

• 50:19Speaker 04

  So when the kids hear Coach Q, they tighten up. And that's my guy, man, who he's two years younger than me. He played high school ball with me, but he's my head JV coach. And it's just like a college program, you know, when winter workouts come around, usually the weight room coach is the guy who manages the team. Yeah, the head coach is busy doing so. It's one of those deals that we got going on with Coach Q. While I'm gone until February, he's going to manage everything, make sure the guys are lifting, going to class, doing what they're supposed to do, while I get to focus on football.

• 50:50Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, and you gave those kids like a real NFL style training camp, prior preseason, where they had to sleep in the gym, I saw the sleeping bags. High schools don't do that.

• 51:02Speaker 04

  Right.

• 51:03Fred Taylor?

  Like, what was the mindset or the thought process in making sure they all came and this is what we're doing? This is how we're gonna bring the West back?

• 51:10Speaker 04

  Right. And it was, I just wanted to do something that had never been done before. And I wanted to bring the kids together. Because oftentimes at an inner-city school, you got guys who are ball players, then you got guys who are ball players who on the fence. You know, they got the girls, they got the streets, they got fast money, these different things. And it's like, let me just isolate these kids for about five days, keep them together, and really watch them grow and get to know each other.

• 51:40Fred Taylor?

  Got it.

• 51:40Speaker 04

  And I saw it all, man, in that training camp, man. It was first night, man, we had a kid pour some hot sauce on the kid, man. I'm talking about, man, listen, pour hot sauce on the kid, it got in the kid. I don't even know if I'm supposed to say this, but, man, it got in the kid. I saw, I'm like, they wake me up like 2:30 in the morning. I'm like, man, y'all gotta be playing. The kid like, Coach, man, they poured some hot sauce in my eye. I'm mad, I mean, what the fuck? You know, snap and found out who it was. I got everybody up. It's 3:30 in the morning, we running the stairs. We running stairs. I cut my truck on because the lights off. We doing elbows and toes on the wet grass. It's like, man.

• 52:25Speaker 04

  But they needed that. They needed that.

• 52:26Fred Taylor?

  But a lot of kids would quit. This is high school. Like, it ain't like I walk out, what happens?

• 52:32Speaker 04

  Right.

• 52:33Fred Taylor?

  Why, why did they? Did you lose any kids?

• 52:36Speaker 04

  None. None. And, and it actually had other kids like, man, I wish I was at the West right now. Because, like, the parents, for one, the parents loved me for this. They love, hey, five days without my, my child in the house? Oh, go ahead, Coach. Go ahead, you got them, Coach. But the kids, man, they really like got, got a feel for each other. Like, first night, we had the incident. Next night, something else happened. I got them up again. But after that, it was like, okay, we get it now. Like, we know, we, we, we piss Coach off, and we do something dumb, we all gotta suffer. And it's just, it's just a team. It's not just one person. So, no one quit, man. We had kids who actually wanted to transfer in just for training camp.

• 53:18Fred Taylor?

  That's amazing.

• 53:19Speaker 04

  And, and they loved every moment of it. I loved it, man. Even though I was missing my bed, I was sleeping on a bed, a cot about this big.

• 53:26Fred Taylor?

  Sacrifice.

• 53:26Speaker 04

  Yeah, but they loved it, man.

• 53:28Ryan Clark?

  I think too, not only have you been to the highest of highs and played in the NFL, you're from where they're from. You're not just president, you're a symbol of what can be.

• 53:39Speaker 04

  Right.

• 53:39Ryan Clark?

  And so if you're saying, hey, no, this is how I did it. These are things I've been through. This is how it can help you bring you together. I think there's a way that resonates that's different because, what was it? When we talked to Rex that time, what he said? They don't, they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. They know you care because you don't have to be there. You know, we talked about it too, you know, you guys win the rings. You know, is there a way? Because we want to donate as a show, I want to donate individually, that other people can, you know, donate or find a way to give to help you guys get the rings to represent the championship?

• 54:12Speaker 04

  I got a foundation that, you know, if anyone wants to donate to, man, it's called Be The Bridge Foundation. And, you know, we gonna make sure that these kids, man, get some nice rings and do them right, man. They deserve it. I'm happy for them, man. Happy for the community, happy for administrative support staff. Everyone played a role in our success this year. Be the bridge? Be the bridge. Be the bridge, I got you, brother.

• 54:37Ryan Clark?

  Teddy two gloves, where'd it come from? I've been, this is my second question. It didn't matter. I tried to separate them, so I didn't ask two silly questions at once.

• 54:45Speaker 04

  Nah, so when I was down here, you know, it was warm year round, so you don't need the gloves. Then I went to Louisville. I was a mid-year guy. And first time in the snow and everything, had to figure it out in spring ball. I couldn't grip the ball for real. We were throwing the GST ball, the orange ball at the time. It's like, ah, I can't really get a good feel for this ball. I was like, you know, I'm gonna put the gloves on. It's cold outside. I started spinning it. I'm like, oh, I could do this. This feel good. And I had flirted around with it in the past because I played a little receiver, would go from receiver to quarterback mid-play. But, once I got to Louisville, it was like, yeah, this official. And then, you know, of course, my pro day came.

• 55:29Speaker 04

  My pro day came, man. My pro day came and it was like, man, I was training in South Florida with Chris Winkie. Throwing, it was warm at IMG, it was warm weather. Football's brush. Pro day come, I get new footballs. They not broke in. I'm like, man, I'ma still just try to prove a point that I could throw without these gloves. If the balls were broken in, I probably had a better day, but it was some trash balls. But at the end of the day, I snuck it up. I snuck it up, yeah. Now, I look back at it, I laugh like, damn, man, like, this shit was bad, man.

• 56:00Ryan Clark?

  Did you feel the pressure of stinking it up, though, while you were doing it?

• 56:03Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, man. When I, I threw a poster out to Damian Copeland one time and that thing went to helicopter in the air.

• 56:11Speaker 04

  I said, man, I got guys out here diving for the ball at a pro day, man. I knew I ain't getting drafted. I said, it's over with me, but I'll never forget, man. Gus Bradley came in, that's why I love Gus Bradley. That man came in, he say, I bet you think it was bad, huh? I'm like, hell, yeah, it was bad. What you mean? I know you saw what I just saw. He like, nah, man, you lit it up. And that's just Murphy's Law. I'm like, what the hell is Murphy's Law? He like, well, anything bad that can go bad, goes bad. I'm like, damn, man, okay. He making me feel good.

• 56:45Speaker 04

  You know? Then Norv Turner came in, all cool and stuff, man. I'm like, yeah, I could rock with these dudes, man, so.

• 56:53Ryan Clark?

  Man, that's amazing. We always ask our guests, what's their biggest pivot in life? The moment that brought them to where they were? And without that moment, you know, Teddy Bridgewater wouldn't be the Teddy Bridgewater that just led his high school to a state championship. What would that moment be for you?

• 57:12Speaker 04

  When I was 15 and my mom was going through breast cancer. And I had stopped going to school, stopped playing ball, everything. It was one of them deals where I was like, man, I gotta be the man in the house. And let me wash some cars, cut some grass, find a little hustle. And my mom sat me down and she just told me, God blessed you with some gifts, man. Like, don't cheat yourself in life. Like, use your gifts to the best of your ability. And from that moment, I ain't looked back. And I told myself, man, I'm gonna be something. And here I am today.

• 57:48Ryan Clark?

  Man, that's beautiful. When they showed, there was a tweet that said you had just won a state championship. And Randy Moss actually retweeted it and put two gloves on it. So it just kind of full circle to what Fred asked you and talked about. You, um... The amount of respect, man, you have amongst us. Whether it's former players, current players, was always an immense amount. After speaking to you today, dog, and listening to some of the things you poured in to what you've lived away from the field, for me, that respect has gone up exponentially, man. Thank you so much for your time, bro. I appreciate you, fam.

• 58:25Speaker 04

  Appreciate you, man.

• 58:25Ryan Clark?

  Yes, sir. Well deserved.

• 58:29Ryan Clark?

  Honestly, though, hot sauce in the eye is diehard. Yeah, that's crazy. But did you make him run too?

• 58:37Speaker 04

  The kid who did it?

• 58:38Ryan Clark?

  The kid that had the hot sauce in his eye?

• 58:40Speaker 04

  Nah, nah, nah.

• 58:40Ryan Clark?

  I'm about to say, that'd have been foul. That'd have been foul.

• 58:43Speaker 04

  But the thing is, the kid who had the hot sauce in his eye, he was like, "Coach, man, I don't even want them boys to get punished."

• 58:47Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 58:48Speaker 04

  I said, "Damn, man, I got a team here," you know what I'm saying? So, but man, yeah, it's fun, man. These kids, man, number two, Nick, sophomore, that's the other kid, man. Nicholas Manette.

• 58:59Ryan Clark?

  And Tim, you don't want to be the team snitch either.

• 59:01Speaker 04

  He don't want to put hot sauce in it.

• 59:02Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you don't want to be the team snitch.

• 59:04Speaker 04

  You know, you got a knucklehead.

• 59:05Ryan Clark?

  He's a knucklehead, he's a knucklehead, he gonna make all the plays.