Charles "Peanut" Tillman, 13-season NFL star, pivots to the FBI, shares why he left bureau after 8 years, reflects on career near-milestones, why he hates the Super Bowl, parenting, his deepest heartache, and how money can't fix what truly matters in life

“I still haven’t got over that Super Bowl, I have yet to watch that game through because it’s that painful and I was that close to getting my ring. I hate the Super Bowl. I hate February.” Charles "Peanut" Tillman On this episode of The Pivot Podcast, former NFL star Charles "Peanut" Tillman joins Ryan, Channing, and Fred for an unforgettable conversation that goes far beyond the football field. Known for his legendary "Peanut Punch" and Pro Bowl career with the Chicago Bears, Tillman opens up about the highs and lows of life in the NFL, the mental grind of competition, and what truly defined his time on the gridiron. He shares how it's still difficult to think about coming up short in two Super Bowls and how it pains him to this day to watch football in February. He takes the guys through his infamous career, some of his legendary plays and how he was the only player close to reaching a historic NFL milestone, of the 40/40 club with 44 forced fumbles and two picks short of 40 interceptions. But his story didn’t end with football. In a tremendous pivot of honor, Peanut talks about his decision to join the FBI after NFL retirement—a rare and inspiring path for a professional athlete. He shares what drove him to serve in a completely different arena, the challenges of the transition, and how discipline and purpose continue to shape his life. Growing up with his father in the military, he always had a passion to serve the country and joining the bureau was his way to make an impact. But recent changes and demands in protecting the homeland led Peanut to abruptly leave the FBI after eight years of service, which he opens up on and shares why for the first time. Peanut also reflects on the most important role he’s ever played: being a father. He gets deeply personal about his family, including the emotional journey with his daughter’s health, and how that experience changed his entire perspective on life, love, and prayer. Fred deems his storytelling as his favorite share in our Pivot history. The guys wrap up talking ball, sharing career moments and reminisce he plays we never live down! This is an episode about resilience, reinvention, and real priorities. Don't miss this raw and heartfelt sit-down with a true game-changer—on and off the field. New episodes every week — Comment, let us know what you think and don't forget to subscribe-- so you never miss a Pivot. 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.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior-like beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  If all Charles Peanut Tillman ever did was create the Peanut Punch, y'all, then this could have been an episode that was just about football. But he's done so much more. I mean, he was an army brat that moved to 13 different places in 12 years. So you know he had to learn to code-switch early. Whether it was to cover up the fact that he didn't know his multiplication tables, or hide that bad haircut that his pops gave him in Germany, he learned how to blend in. He even knew that at some point, law enforcement was in his future. So it was no surprise that after a stellar 13-year career, he joined the FBI. And my God, does this man have stories to tell. He tells us about how quietly the FBI keeps us safe. But then he got into the reason he needed to resign. He also detailed what it's like to be a father as your baby girl awaits a heart.

• 1:14Ryan Clark?

  He talks about his best teammates, his best gridiron memories, even some of his best football pranks. He even shared that as a young man in college, he knew how to set goals and achieve them. I mean, Charles Peanut Tillman is a storyteller. And it was on full display as the pivot pulled up to Chi-Town. So please, listen closely as me, Chan, and Fred take a stroll down memory lane with the one and only Charles Tillman.

• 1:41Speaker 02

  What's going on?

• 1:42Ryan Clark?

  Ain't nothing, man. We having a... An argument about Christmas movies. Because you have a dog named after a Christmas villain.

• 1:48Speaker 02

  Yes. No suits?

• 1:50Ryan Clark?

  No suits, man.

• 1:51Speaker 02

  Why not?

• 1:52Ryan Clark?

  Well, the only person we ever wore a suit for was President Obama.

• 1:55Speaker 02

  I know, that's what I'm saying. I wanted to be presidential. I put a t-shirt on, just because y'all put t-shirts and hoodies on. But yeah, I was like, alright, am I gonna get the Obama shirt?

• 2:06Fred Taylor?

  We in your crib, we got a nice treatment. Again, your beautiful scary dog.

• 2:12Fred Taylor?

  We can't run in suits.

• 2:33Ryan Clark?

  Welcome to the show, Charles.

• 2:36Speaker 02

  Appreciate it.

• 2:36Ryan Clark?

  Peanut Tillman, one of the best to do it. We'll talk about the fact that you were kind of like two plays away from an historic milestone in the NFL. This is Channing Crowder, I'm Ryan Clark, this is Fred Taylor. Pivot fam, thank you for pivoting with us. So I'm trying to figure out like where to start, right? It's there's so much to your story, your journey and where we are today. And a lot of that deals with football. But I want to know, what is it like being a part of an FBI raid where the person in the raid goes, "Hey, man, ain't you Charles Tillman?"

• 3:12Speaker 02

  It's kind of funny, but I would always say you got way more problems to think, you got more important problems to think about than me being Charles Tillman like. And then once I said that, guys were like, "Oh shit." Like, okay, this is real. Yeah, I had a fanboy moment, but okay, I got some problems because I got the feds knocking on my door and it just happens to be Charles Tillman and a bunch of other federal agents. But yeah, okay, stuff just got real. And then it kind of Charles Tillman, the Bears, all that goes out the window and then they start thinking about like, "Damn, I'm finna get arraigned." Reality sets in really fast and my little blurb of like, "Hey, I'm Peanut Tillman, Peanut Punch," that goes out the window like real quick.

• 3:57Speaker 02

  Once I say, "Hey, you got more important problems to think about, bruh?"

• 4:01Ryan Clark?

  Like. I feel like I would play alone for a little bit and be like, "Oh yeah, man, you know, I had a lot of Forrest Fumbles, I played in the Super Bowl." You know what I mean? Like have a, you know, the autograph. "What up, bruh? You been punched." "Nah, your ass going to jail."

• 4:14Speaker 02

  I think one of the things that we did so well, though, the group of guys on my particular squad that I worked with. When I first, when I first started, I lied all the time. I lied about who I was. And if you give someone enough doubt, they won't believe it. They're, or they'll believe you if you just go along with it. But the group of people that I worked with, my partners or my squad mates, they would, they would do more lying than me. They're like, man, hell no, that ain't no damn Peanut Tillman. He look like a peanut. Why would Peanut Tillman be out here? Man, that's Wendell. That's Wendell Thompson. So that was like, that was like my alias, Wendell Thompson. So I started writing my name, Wendell Thompson, on like, on folders and stuff,

• 4:59Speaker 02

  just so people wouldn't recognize my name. And then they would say, hey, Wendell. Hey, what's up? And then like, damn, I thought, hey, man, anyone ever told you look like Peanut Tillman? I'm like, man, I get that all the time, bro. I get that all the time. Or sometimes I just be like, no, I ain't never heard that before. Who is that? I just, I play along with it. It was fun.

• 5:19Ryan Clark?

  I love the fact they went Wendell, because that's so black.

• 5:24Speaker 02

  Hey, it's a black man.

• 5:25Channing Crowder?

  I want you to answer that question that they would ask the, what do you call it, assailant? Why in the hell?

• 5:32Speaker 02

  I'm a pocket watcher. I looked up how much money you made.

• 5:35Channing Crowder?

  Why would you go be an FBI? That's dangerous. You played a dangerous game.

• 5:39Speaker 02

  Right.

• 5:40Channing Crowder?

  And then go and do something else dangerous? That don't make no sense, bro.

• 5:43Speaker 02

  It does because of how I grew up with my dad. So my dad was in the army. Right? My dad served his 20 years. And my dad was like, my dad was G.I. Joe. I'm an 80's baby, so roadblock, the whole G.I. Joe crew. Snake Eyes, Lady J, Hawkeye, like, all those, like, I thought that was just the dopest show when I was a kid, right? So my dad being in the military, I had access to tanks and Apaches and Cobras and APCs. The Deuce and a Half, like, I got to grow up around all these vehicles and this equipment. And I just thought it was the coolest thing, that my dad could do that. I would go to work with my dad when he could bring your kid to work day.

• 6:28Speaker 02

  And I just, I thought my dad was like, the dopest thing ever. And then we'd travel. I lived overseas. I lived in Germany. And I, I thought, to me, that was fun. So I always wanted to play football. Always, since day one. And I said, "Look, if football don't work out, I'm gonna go join the army. I'm gonna be like my dad. It worked out great for him. I had a great life." And then, alright, I get a scholarship. Alright, well, I guess I'm not going to the military right after college, or right after high school. I played my four years. I said, "Well, hell, if I don't get drafted, I'll go in as an officer. I'll go do some SF stuff, try to do something really, really cool and fun, because I like guns and shooting and stuff. So, yeah, let me do that." Well, I get drafted.

• 7:13Speaker 02

  Alright, well, let's see how long I play, and I'll just kind of go from there. And then, I just, I played 13 years. So then, when I retired, I still wanted to serve. And if y'all, if my agent was here right now, he would tell you. The day I was interviewing him, I said, he was like, "What do you want to do after football?" I said, "Probably federal law enforcement." And it was just something that I always wanted to, I just always wanted to do public service. I wanted to do my part and serve. It wasn't in the military, but I did it in a different way by serving in the FBI. And it was an amazing experience. I've worked with some amazing people. We've done some amazing things. You have no, you all have no idea

• 7:58Speaker 02

  what that organization does that you don't know about. And they're saving lives every single day.

• 8:04Ryan Clark?

  What are some of the things in what you can tell us? Right? Because we obviously know you can't get into detail about everything that you've seen or done or been a part of. But if you could just give us a broad view of what are some of the things that happen in the daily life of an FBI agent or the agency that saves lives that the citizens of this country don't know, can't recognize, or be appreciative of?

• 8:33Speaker 02

  Terrorist attacks. I'll give you one that was actually in the news. There was the, I believe it was the governor of Michigan. A few years ago, there was a plot to kidnap her. And through investigative means, the FBI were, they were able to infiltrate this, uh, this particular group. And with that, I believe there was an informant and he told his handler, they get the information. They make sure it's credible. Yeah, this is legit. We gotta go and protect or arrest these people before they kidnap this, uh, this governor. And they, they went and did that before.

• 9:15Speaker 02

  And I'm sure the people, the, the, the actors, the bad actors involved, they had no idea what was happening when the FBI hit their door and was like, hey, the gig is up. We know what you guys are about to do. And all those guys got charged like, so it's little, it's little things like that. It'll be, it'll be a bomb. You might have a, a, a, a person who wants to incite chaos and have a bomb and shoot people. And then you get a tip, you, you look into it, you do what you do and you figure out where they live. You do your surveillance, you figure out a pattern of life. And it's like, all right, what's the best time to, to, uh, take a course of action to arrest or take down this individual? And you do that.

• 10:00Speaker 02

  And for the most part, our missions are successful. And then you're just like, yeah, but it, we don't, you know, we don't sit down. We don't talk in front of a camera. You don't, you know? And to me, that's the coolest thing. Like they're, they don't, they're not looking for success. They're not looking for their name in the paper or a camera. They're just doing it just because it's the right thing to do. I'm saving lives. I'm protecting lives. You know, ever since nine 11, like the mission has, has changed. Like we gotta protect the homeland. And when you like legit do it, you're protecting the homeland and you see what this person was trying to do. And then you actually can save those lives and get it before it actually happens. Kind of like a Minority Report. You're just like, hell yeah.

• 10:43Speaker 02

  Like I, we just, we just rescued this, this, this lady who was being held against her will out of a house. Like that's something we did is we got a tip one day and it was like, hey, this person's being held against her will. Come up with a plan. And it's like, alright, well, what do we do? Alright, where they live at? This, and you're trying to figure out, alright, let's, let's, let's do a mock-up of the house. Let's do the mock-up of the house, and let's do runs. What I mean by runs is, runs is like a walkthrough. And you walk through how you're going to take the house. Alright, I'll be 1, 2, 3, 4, hit it, go. Alright, switch up the order. Alright, I'll be 2, just switch up the order. Alright, I'm the 5th man in, switch up the order.

• 11:24Speaker 02

  Alright, and you just have all these contingencies that are in place if something bad happens. Or just if something doesn't go as planned, which it always does. And you just gotta be able to react. Uh, Joe and I, we used to talk about this, it's performance on demand. Like, you gotta be, to be in that job, it's like a firefighter. It's performance on demand. You don't get to warm up, you don't get to, oh, let me get a couple of practice shots in to make sure my, my, my aim is on. Like, you have, it's something that you have to do right now. You're 2 o'clock in the morning, 3 o'clock in the morning, midnight, 11 o'clock right now. You gotta go.

• 12:03Speaker 02

  The active shooter in Highland Park, that was 2, maybe 3 years ago, maybe 3 years ago, 4th of July. I was at home, Highland Park's probably 15 minutes from here. Got a phone call, looked at it, I called my, my TL, I called Carl, I said, hey, man, I think there's an active shooter going on right now. I'm not, so he made a phone call, he called me back, and he's like, hey, deploy, get there now. I get there, everything had kinda taken place, and then, you know, it's bodies, and then, I mean, it was a pretty gruesome scene. I'll spare you all the details, it was a pretty gruesome scene, but then it's like, alright, let's go.

• 12:45Speaker 02

  This is, this is what we've been training for, like, let's, let's go find a guy that, that did this.

• 12:49Fred Taylor?

  Right. You mentioned performance on demand, right?

• 12:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 12:53Fred Taylor?

  The NFL and the FBI, two very different three-letter leagues. But there's some overlap.

• 13:01Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 13:01Fred Taylor?

  Right, in terms of discipline, structure, preparation. Your time in the NFL, how did the habits you created in the NFL help you be successful over at the Bureau?

• 13:14Speaker 02

  Processing information quickly. What I mean by that, and DBs, linebacker, you know, I'm saying, okay, I look at the formation. Okay, I'm eight yards off, we're in this man. Okay, let me do my back pedal. I'm gonna take two steps, I'm trying to include a three-step. Okay, once I include the three steps, he's back into a five-step. Okay, five-step, he's only can run so many routes in a five. Like, as the play is going on, I'm processing this information. When I, when we do our runs, we kick in doors, we do our CQB, I'm going into a house that I've never been before a day in my life. Like, and I have to process it as soon as I get in the door. If I'm the number one man, I go left, number two man goes right.

• 13:56Speaker 02

  Number three, he clears the center, but he clears it from, you know, right to left. The number four man clears it from left to right. And then we do our primary scan, our secondary scan, back to center. I got no work. Hey, where are my danger areas? Do I have an object in front of me? Do I do a route extension? Hey, left's clear, center clear, danger area left, moving, move. We move in the room, we go to the next door. Field one, field two, I got my breacher, I got my number one guy, ready, ready, on you, on you. Open the door, boom, and you just do it all over again. And you're constantly just reading that room. And you do it enough to where you get, you get good and you get, you get really good with the flow of how you, how you do things. You know, how you can do it at an HR speed.

• 14:40Speaker 02

  And it's, it's kind of, maybe I am crazy. It's fun, because you get really, you get really good at how to fight in rooms.

• 14:50Channing Crowder?

  Nut, football's fun.

• 14:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:52Channing Crowder?

  If I miss this tackle, RC will make it. They might get eight more yards, we good.

• 14:57Speaker 02

  Absolutely, absolutely.

• 14:58Ryan Clark?

  If he score a touchdown, got another drive.

• 15:03Channing Crowder?

  Go get him, offense. You're talking about this like you can't get your ass shot and killed.

• 15:09Speaker 02

  You can, you can, yeah. You can, you can 100% get shot and killed. Um, we're really good at what we do.

• 15:19Ryan Clark?

  But have you ever walked in somewhere and been like, oh no, hell no. Them motherfuckers in there, they in there going. Cause I tell, I tell all certain motherfuckers.

• 15:29Speaker 02

  I have, I have. When, when I didn't have the, the tactics, when I didn't have the training, when I didn't know how to do certain things 100%, I could think like that. But having the training, so I, I literally went to, ah, what's the name of the school? Uh, Mid-South, I went to Mid-South. It's in Mississippi. It's just like one of the number one shooting schools in the country. And they, they sent me and a bunch of other guys and we went there for, I think I went there for a week for their level one firearms. And all we did was just shoot for five days. And they just teach you how to get good at this shooting, shooting like that, that was all we did. And then you go to another school and you just learn CQB.

• 16:11Speaker 02

  And you're learning from like the top dogs and they come down and they teach you and you're just like, okay. And then I will come back here and then I would, myself and a couple of other instructors, like we would teach the Chicago division or I would go somewhere else and teach other people. I've been to Kenya and I've, I've taught, uh, like I've taught CQB tactics. Like it's, it's no different than being a coach. You know how they have all these internships with coaches and stuff like same thing with FBI. Like I, I went overseas and I, I taught some, some people how to, how to be better shooters, how to be better fighters in rooms, how to protect themselves so they can protect their citizens of their country.

• 16:53Ryan Clark?

  But the thing I, I want to know is, you know, and I love the parallel that Fred drew from or to the NFL and FBI and Channing saying, hey, the difference is though, these are life and death matters, right? It's not just about wins and losses. Also in football, you know, early on in your career, you know, you don't really have a conversation about how things are going to go, right? What you're going to be told to do. And then later in your career, you can talk to your coach and say, nah, coach, I don't like that coverage or I feel like this might be better for the team in the leadership role. But it feels like it would be different in the FBI. And so when you're asked to do something that doesn't sit right with you, you're asked

• 17:32Ryan Clark?

  to do something that isn't part of your constitution as a man, how do you deal with those situations when the job is so important, but also continuing to be the man you know you are is important as well?

• 17:49Speaker 02

  So, one of the reasons, let me, let me start off by saying this.

• 17:55Speaker 02

  FBI was great to me. I did awesome. I worked with amazing group of individuals. I think what, some of the things that they're doing now, I personally didn't agree with. Like what? Immigration. Like, I, I don't, I didn't agree with how

• 18:15Speaker 02

  the administration came in and tried to make individuals do things against their, it just didn't, it didn't sit right. An example being immigration, right?

• 18:28Speaker 02

  Everybody was told it's, you're, you're gonna go after like the most dangerous criminals. But what you see on TV and what actually was happening is like, people weren't going after that. You know, and personally, that didn't sit right with me. That didn't sit right with my conscience. Like, you have the ability to refuse an order. Like, just because they say, "Go arrest this person." Like, okay, yeah, you're my superior. Like, I don't have to go do that. You can't make me go do that. You know, I'm not in the military. You gave me an order, but I can, I can totally refuse that order. At the end of the day, I want to be on the right side of history when it's all said and done. Do I think

• 19:10Speaker 02

  their individuals and the organization, do they like doing some of the stuff that they're doing? Absolutely not. I, I think they hate it. I, I think, I was in a different position because of my previous career. I made enough money to where I could just walk away and say, "You know what, guys? I'm okay. I think I'm good." You know, my first eight years, I've been solid. We were doing some good things. Some of the stuff that you guys are doing now, I don't necessarily agree with. And that's not in Chicago. That comes from, that comes from, that comes from Washington.

• 19:48Speaker 02

  And I left in good terms with people and my friends and I don't, I don't have like a sour taste or bitter taste in my mouth about the FBI. I, I, I learned a lot. They taught me a good skill and I was looking at the, I was looking at the Obama

• 20:07Speaker 02

  pivot that you all did.

• 20:10Speaker 02

  And this, this holds true. And he said, don't ever think that you don't belong at a table. Yep. So when I went to the academy, I was, I was a little intimidated. I, I ain't even gonna lie to you. You know, I'm sitting next to somebody, I went to Harvard, and I'm sitting next to this lawyer, and I'm just like, damn, I'm just, I'm just, you know, I'm saying, I'm just from Copper's Cove, Texas, trying to, you know, I got a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in emergency management. It ain't, it ain't nothing in law or like Harvard. But when you apply yourself and you doing all the things that all the other people are doing from all these prestigious, like, these very prestigious institutions.

• 20:51Speaker 02

  And I sit right there with them, and I'm like, I'm killing it just like you. And you went to Harvard and you don't know how to do thi- are you serious? And it just made me think like, oh, man, why did I ever doubt myself? Why did I ever doubt myself? I can, I can do this job, I can do that job, or this job, or your job, or whatever. At least, like, I can, I can do these jobs. Like, just don't ever, don't ever doubt yourself. And that was something, when he said that, that was the first thing I thought about, was when I went to the FBI academy. I, I sat back and I, I actually doubted myself, because I was like, damn, okay, FBI, like, you got scientists, and you got accountants, and you got the upper echelon

• 21:35Speaker 02

  of smart individuals. Oh, man, I'm good. Is Quantico like the TV show? No. I didn't particularly like Quantico, because it was, to me, it felt fake. It felt fake in the sense of, you gotta think, I went in at like thirty, I went in at thirty, like, thirty-six. So I'm older, you know, like, I've had a career, I know how to talk to people. And the biggest thing that I noticed was... Individuals didn't know how to talk. Like, you gotta be able to talk to people to get information. And it's not, it's not a secret. It's just like, hey, Chen, how you feeling? How you doing? You know, like, depending on who my, the person I'm talking to, I'm gonna switch up my language.

• 22:20Speaker 02

  I can kind of code-switch a little bit to help, you know, to help the situation so we can communicate. Okay, if it's somebody on, you know, a different part of town, okay, I might use a little bit of slang. Okay, if I got a business guy, okay, I might not use the slang. I might use these types of words. Like, you just kind of, we used to say, you, me, same, same. Like, so, all right, whoever I'm trying to work with or talk to, well, let me implement some of what they're doing. If he's sitting like that, okay, I'm gonna sit like that. And I'm just gonna mirror him, and we gonna dialogue, and we gonna communicate. Yeah, okay, yeah. Like, you learn all these different techniques to help you engage with individuals as you speak to them. And it's just one of those things that, I actually took that in life.

• 23:04Speaker 02

  Like, I can use that in life, talking to you guys, talking, uh, just to individuals. And it's, like, I learned a lot of good skills, man, when I, when I worked there. It was, it was good.

• 23:15Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior-like beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 23:44Fred Taylor?

  That was a bold decision to leave the Bureau, I believe. And it made me go back to your Player of Tribune, uh, letter, the letter to your younger self, when you basically, you know, talked about how you moved around and was kind of telling yourself, these moves are gonna make you resilient. Much like that decision. One... I want to kind of get into a little bit of, you know, those moves being a military kid. But I also want to ask you, because the photo in the Tribune, did you tell your younger self to avoid that barber? Because he chopped you up, bro.

• 24:21Speaker 02

  Can I see the picture?

• 24:22Ryan Clark?

  That is, that's what I'm talking about. That's a bad picture, bro.

• 24:25Fred Taylor?

  He chopped you up, bro.

• 24:28Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 24:28Fred Taylor?

  Like, you smooth and the dreads was smooth, the locks. But he got you.

• 24:33Speaker 02

  Check it. So I lived in Einzeltum, Germany, right? And where we lived at in Germany, we lived in a small German town. And it was a nuke base. My dad worked at this nuclear, it was a nuclear base in Germany. And it was super small. So it wasn't like the traditional military bases that you see today. It was super small. So my dad cut my hair. All the dads cut their boys' hair. Because it was so far to go get haircuts, to go to the grocery store. So my pops had to cut my hair. Now, at the time, eh, that's Germany. That's like

• 25:16Fred Taylor?

  They don't really know.

• 25:17Speaker 02

  Eighties, nineties.

• 25:18Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 25:18Channing Crowder?

  I was fresh.

• 25:19Speaker 02

  I was fresh. Because everybody else had looked the same way.

• 25:23Fred Taylor?

  And then you a military dad, you ain't telling him too much. Ain't no backtalk.

• 25:28Speaker 02

  Everybody was, everyone's hair was the same way. But don't sleep on the female German barbers. I used to get chopped up by a German woman. All the MPs, all the little GIs, they used to come in there. And these, these, these, uh, these German barbers, they used to get up and just

• 25:46Fred Taylor?

  Ready to go.

• 25:46Speaker 02

  And they would, they would hook you up. Now, they didn't do a razor line, but for you to get, like that, they could do that all day. Maybe with not a razor. They could, I swear to you, they could do that all day long. Hit you with, you know what I'm saying, with a little even Steven. They could, they could, they could hook it up. You just had to do with what you had. That was, that was, that was all we had to work with. So from kindergarten to 12th grade, I went to 12 different schools. And third grade, three schools, sixth grade, three schools. Sometimes I was in school a year, sometimes in school six months. It just depend, it just depend on where my dad was or where we were going. And I actually enjoyed it. I enjoyed every minute of the schools that we went to,

• 26:31Speaker 02

  whether it was down south, on the west coast, in Germany, uh, the Midwest. Like they, to me, it was fun. It was an adventure. And I remember talking to a kid on the south side and I was, we're at my, my granny crib. And

• 26:49Speaker 02

  they were like, what are you doing? I was like, oh yeah, we finna go to Germany. I'm like, Germany? I'm like, yeah, you ain't never been? And to me, it was normal because all of my military friends, they had all lived in other countries. They lived in France, they'd lived in Italy, they, you know, so to us, all that was normal, like all the traveling. But I was talking to a kid and they had never even left the state. And I'm just like, why you ain't, how you ain't never left the state? Why you ain't, what, you ain't never left the city? Like, you ain't even never been downtown? Like, damn, what's, what's wrong with you? But in your mind, as a child, like, I didn't, I couldn't process that.

• 27:31Speaker 02

  To me, it was just, it was foreign, like, who would, like, everyone goes to Germany. Everyone travels because it was all I knew. I was born into it. So for me, it was, it was a normal thing for me to live overseas and have friends and try to learn different languages and talk and learn all these new things. To me, that was a normal thing.

• 27:49Ryan Clark?

  I mean, you couldn't write in cursive in third grade. That's pretty bad.

• 27:52Speaker 02

  Mr. Pinscher, that was his name. Uh, I went to, uh, South. I went to this school called South, Mr. Pinscher. And I was in Fort Riley, Kansas. And we, at that particular time, we didn't start cursive. It was like the next semester. And then I go to Ohio, I went to Urbana, Ohio. I got a story about that. I go to Urbana, Ohio, and he's like, all right, yeah, we writing in cursive. I was like, ew.

• 28:20Speaker 02

  I know about it, but. Miss Wolf at my old school, she ain't taught us shit. That was, it's on the lesson plan, but that's for next semester. That's in the springtime. We in the fall, boss. So he put a damn alphabet sticker and I just, I had to, I had to get it on the go. That was the one bad thing about school was you, if one school was doing something that the other school wasn't, and you hadn't started it, I was behind. Math, oh my God. I couldn't tell you how many times I cried doing multiplication or division. When I went to Ms. Harold's class in third grade and she was like, "Get on the board." And I was like, "I don't know my times tables like that to do the division."

• 29:05Speaker 02

  So I would like one times one, two, two, or five times one. And I would do the whole thing and she would just sit up there and everyone's looking at you. Aw, bro, that was the worst. That was the worst doing that in her class, like, god dang.

• 29:17Channing Crowder?

  Did it, did it build something in you? Cause it's funny to correlate like you saying, in any room you can talk, like you saying, we all do. I tell you, I do. I speak for myself.

• 29:27Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 29:28Channing Crowder?

  If I'm sitting there with corporate dudes, I talk differently.

• 29:31Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 29:31Channing Crowder?

  I'm with the homeboys and cooking barbecue on the back porch.

• 29:34Speaker 02

  I talk differently.

• 29:35Channing Crowder?

  They, there's, there's old saying, the military kids are weird. Because you, you don't really get a group to be with and all of that. Did you ever feel like, almost like an outcast going into a situation? Cause you were, you were American, now you're in Germany, you don't speak the language.

• 29:51Speaker 02

  So.

• 29:52Channing Crowder?

  You can't do cursive, like.

• 29:54Speaker 02

  I felt like an outcast when I wasn't around military brats or military kids.

• 30:00Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 30:00Speaker 02

  I remember coming here in like third or sixth grade. I had just came from Germany. And I go to a school on the south side. This is my voice, my dad.

• 30:14Speaker 02

  Didn't let us use certain words around the house. I was like, yeah, me and Ryan about, what'd you say? Sorry, Ryan and I are about to go to the store. We're about to, so my pops would correct me. When I went to Chicago and I started talking and all the kids, they from the city. Why you sound like that? You sound like a white boy. Why you talk white? Why you do this? Why you do that? I was like, what you talking about? I just, that's how I talk. Like, I can't, what y'all doing right there? I can't do that in my house. My pops don't stand for that. I, I have to say, and I speak in a certain way. He demands that, like, I have to do that. And I, I just grew up doing that. It was what I knew. It was second nature. And then having kids, well, my kids would say cer- uh-uh. What'd you, what'd you say?

• 30:59Speaker 02

  And I'm not even in the military, but it was the foundation for me. Well, no, we gonna sound like we got some sense. And we gonna talk and we gonna speak a certain way. And we gonna do things a certain way. Like, I just, prime example, we just came from a family reunion in Texas. And my youngest was, we finna go on the plane and she had this bonnet. I was like, okay, uh, we, we finna leave, you know, hey. I'm cool with you wearing a bonnet, but you won't wear this thing out in public.

• 31:25Ryan Clark?

  Straight up.

• 31:26Speaker 02

  You ain't wearing this bonnet out in public. But even on the plane, no ma'am.

• 31:30Ryan Clark?

  Yup.

• 31:30Speaker 02

  When you need to be in the house and put your bonnet on, by all means, wear the bonnet. Wear it all day, go outside, in the back, play, do, do you. Do you, boo. But it, when you with me, when you with pops, you will not be wearing that bonnet. Because I think you need to look a certain way when you leave your house. And I'm not even saying you gotta be all dolled up, but you won't be with a bonnet with me. I just, my biggest, my biggest pet peeve, America, my biggest pet peeve is when I see bonnets in public.

• 31:59Ryan Clark?

  Airport.

• 32:00Speaker 02

  In airports, I just, me, that's just my personal thing. Like, I can't do it, ladies, I'm sorry. Like, that's just.

• 32:07Ryan Clark?

  To, to your point about children, uh, we're all grownups.

• 32:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:11Ryan Clark?

  Right?

• 32:11Speaker 02

  I got three of them.

• 32:12Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, so we've all raised, you know, young women. And there's a different connection. Like, it just is. Like, I love Jordan. Me and Jordan have conversations, that's my son. We could talk. Me and Jordan could not talk. And I'm like, I know he's okay. If I don't talk to my girls for, my girls, you know, when they're older, if I don't talk to my girls for a couple of days, hey, baby, how you doing?

• 32:32Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:32Ryan Clark?

  Just wanna tell you I love you. I'm thinking of you, right? And for you, your daughter. Needed a heart. She needed a heart transplant. And you went through finding out she needed that transplant. You went through her getting the transplant and then the recovery. As a father, how difficult was it to deal with the entire journey of knowing that your baby could die and being there for as a dad?

• 33:00Speaker 02

  It was a beautiful experience. It was a scary experience. It was a sad experience. It was a lonely experience. I mean, I, I, there were so many emotions in that time when she got sick. And just, I remember the first day when the doctor said, she goes, hey, there's a chance your daughter might die. So you might, because I was, I was just like real cool, real calm, trying not to cry. It was like, ah, we good, we good. And she must have thought I was a little too calm. And she says, uh, hey, it's a chance she might die. So you, you, you might want to call some people.

• 33:44Speaker 02

  Because this is like, I don't think you understand, like, hey, this is like really bad. She might not make it through the night. So I was like, okay.

• 33:55Speaker 02

  And then we had a friend, Sarah, Sarah Buckley was there. So I said, hey, watch her real quick. And I went to the bathroom and just lost it. Cried my little heart out, hard. And I got on the phone and I called my dad. And I was like, yo, she, they say she finna die. And I'm like, and I, I was just like, they said she finna die. I just, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. And he said, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, son, son, calm down, calm down. Here's what you got to do. Be strong, take care of your family. I'm on a plane, I'll be there tonight. And I was like, alright. And it was all he said was like, hey, be calm, go take care of your family.

• 34:40Speaker 02

  So I gotta take care of my family. I, you know, I, um, I'm trying to take care of Jackie. I'm trying to be cool. And then I only had another daughter, one other kid at the time. We get to the hospital and they immediately put her like in this paralytic. They, uh, put her in a coma, self-induced coma. And we're there and we're trying to understand all these big words that they're expressing to you. And you just feel, you feel helpless. Like, we all have made enough money. So if something's wrong, like you can just go buy something or fix this or do that. It wasn't nothing money could do. And for the first time in my life, I felt helpless as a dad. Because as men, you know, you're a protector.

• 35:23Speaker 02

  You want to be able to provide and protect, uh, for your kids. And I was still somewhat fairly a new dad because my oldest was two. So I'd only been a dad two years. So that part was tough because I didn't, I didn't feel like, uh, I didn't feel like a man. I didn't feel like I was doing my job. One, as a man, two, as a husband, three, as a dad. So that part was hard to deal with. The other part about the whole thing was in order for her to live, your kid got to die, your kid got to die. You love your girls just as much as I love mine, right? Yeah. So I, I felt. What's that, what's that prayer like though?

• 36:08Speaker 02

  There wasn't, there was no prayer. I didn't say I stopped believing in God. I just didn't know how to pray for a heart. Because how do I ask, how do I ask God for a heart? But your baby gotta die. Somebody got, somebody has to die in order for your child to live. And I felt very conflicted praying, asking for a heart. It just, it did, it didn't make sense to me. And I got a phone call from Jared Baldwin, my, um, my, my, my college, uh, head coach. He recruited me at LSU? Okay, yeah, yeah. So Baldwin calls me and he's, he was a pastor.

• 36:51Speaker 02

  And he calls me and we have a discussion and he just was like, and I expressed to him the story I just told. And he goes, "Look Peanut, I don't have all the answers, but I do know one thing. You know how your coordinator, they got faith in you to lock down that number one receiver? And they got faith in you to come up with the game plan and you travel with this guy and you do your thing?" I was like, "Yeah," he was like, "Well, think of, think of God like in the, in the same manner." You know, he's the coordinator, but at the same time, you know, you gotta put faith in him to, to go lock this situation down. Think about you being a coordinator and he's gotta lock this situation down. Put your faith in your coordinator, or put your faith in the player. He gonna take care of everything for you.

• 37:37Speaker 02

  It's, it's, it's in his plan. He got it. Just trust me on this. Just... And I just remember sitting there thinking like, "Okay." He put it in like the most simplest football analogy. And I was able to understand what he was preaching or what he was saying. And that day, I started praying. That day, I started praying for a heart. And it happened to us twice. We were in the room and they said, "Hey, we got a heart. We're gonna go get it." We're waiting, we're waiting, and then probably about five, six hours into it, they say, "Yeah, it wasn't a good match. We had to decline it."

• 38:17Speaker 02

  And I remember watching Jackie just, she kinda like melted to the ground. And I, I, I just felt, I felt so helpless. I felt so helpless in that moment, just like, "Okay."

• 38:32Speaker 02

  It just wasn't, it wasn't right. Something, something gonna shake. And then maybe a month or two later, I was asleep. The doctor calls me, he's like, "Hey, I got great news. We got a heart." And I was like, "Hell yeah. Shit. Somebody died." Like, I'm, I'm waiting for this moment, like, and as happy as I was in like a second, it all just went, left my body and it was, I was filled with like sadness. Because I wanted to know about the donor heart, or the donor baby, or the donor family.

• 39:06Speaker 02

  And it's this weird like, yeah, she's getting a heart. Damn, somebody died. And then it goes away. And then you're prepping her for surgery and you're like, yeah, she's gonna get a heart. Yes, yes, yes. Damn. Someone, this is someone's worst day of their life. They're grieving the loss of their baby. So it was a great day, but it was also a sad day because I was, I was up and down. I'm, you know, and to this day, I'll still listen to her heart. You know, I'll, I'll sit there and just listen to it sometimes. And this baby Armando was, was the donor. And I got his name, I got his name tattooed under my, under my watch right here. He was a, he was like three, I think it was about three or four months himself and

• 39:52Speaker 02

  he had passed, but I'm, I'm, I'm thankful that his, his mom were able to donate his organs because her decision alone blessed us, blessed more families. And because of that, we started our foundation, the Cornerstone Foundation, Charleston and Cornerstone Foundation. And through her original blessing of just saying yes. And then what our foundation has been able to do to bless other families in the greater Chicago area and the Carolinas, you know, in the Charlotte area. Like it truly has been a blessing, a Godsend, and I can't think of life any other way. To me, it was like, it was just like our new normal.

• 40:38Speaker 02

  When she had her new heart and her zipper and, you know, taking to get the doctor to get meds and blood draws. Like to us, it was, it was just normal.

• 40:47Fred Taylor?

  We've done a couple, couple hundred shows, over 300. I don't know how many, but I can tell you hands down, and I'm not just saying it because you're here. But that's my absolute favorite story since we started, man. God is so good, bro.

• 41:02Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:03Fred Taylor?

  Man, wow, I'm sitting here thinking about John Q and different scenes in the movie.

• 41:08Speaker 02

  It was literally a John Q moment.

• 41:10Fred Taylor?

  You know what I'm saying?

• 41:11Speaker 02

  It was literally a John Q moment. Like, I would've did anything. Hey, take me.

• 41:16Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 41:16Speaker 02

  My boy is going to live. My boy will bury me. Yes, I felt the same way Denzel did in that movie.

• 41:24Fred Taylor?

  But you received the heart. She received the heart, but you weren't out the woods. Like, at what moment does a parent really get, you know, get opportunity to relax?

• 41:34Speaker 02

  You don't, because it's gonna happen again. At some point, I'll have to do the whole thing again. And it's even scarier now because she's 17. She plays flag football. She's on the dive team, wrestling team. Uh, she's done all these things.

• 41:57Fred Taylor?

  It's normal.

• 41:57Speaker 02

  She's a normal kid. She just takes meds twice a day, morning and at night, every 12 hours. But at some point, unless medicine changes, and it's evolved, but she's 17 years post-transplant. And I, I, I hope I'm wrong, but she, she will have to get another transplant at some point in time. And you have to do the whole thing all over again. And I don't know how I'm gonna do it this time, because...

• 42:25Fred Taylor?

  Does it, are there stats? Does it become harder, harder the older you get? Versus the previous?

• 42:31Speaker 02

  So there's no rhyme or reason to how long a heart will go. You can get a heart today and it'll...

• 42:35Fred Taylor?

  No, no, not, not in terms of the heart, but in terms of being a recipient, like finding donors.

• 42:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, so as you get older, it gets harder, because when you're younger, your immune system, if you're under a year, your immune system isn't fully developed. So you can get any heart. So that's what she did. She got, I think she's AB, but she's got a, a B positive or a negative heart. So you get more opportunity.

• 43:04Speaker 02

  As you get older, okay, she's 17, she's AB, so, okay, that limits it. She has to get someone who is, she has to get an AB heart or an AB organ or heart. She'll have to get the same exact blood type, which narrows it down even more because she's 17. Her immune system's developed, right? So that makes it even harder. Then it has to be, not necessarily in the age range, it's just, you're just looking for a healthy heart. You're looking for, it has to be in comparison to, you know, somewhat what your heart looks like as far as the size. You know, so it definitely does get harder as you get older. Wow.

• 43:46Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra because it's not just a superior light beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 44:14Ryan Clark?

  You win a Super Bowl, I mean, you go to a Super Bowl, you lose, I'm sorry, you didn't win it, I apologize. Ouch! My bad. Damn! Because I won one, I be thinking other people won one, but then I realized I'm sitting in a room with people who haven't. Let's jump in. You know, now I'm just. The three of us, we, we. Easy, easy work, right now. You play, you, you, you guys get to the Super Bowl. Which one? Well, you went in Carolina too, but you were injured. The, I'm talking about the one 06 against Indianapolis. Seven. One of the, one of the best defenses of our era. Urlacher, Briggs, you, I mean, just high level play.

• 44:56Ryan Clark?

  But you spoke glowingly about Marvin Harrison and what you learned that night, what it taught you throughout your career. When you get to the pinnacle and you fall slightly short, how difficult was it for you and your teammates to deal with that loss, especially with Urlacher saying, remember the feeling because we'll be back?

• 45:21Speaker 02

  I still ain't got over that Super Bowl. To this day, I have yet to watch that game all the way through. I've seen clips, but I have yet to watch that game all the way through. Because it's that painful. Because I was that close to get my ring. I hate the Super Bowl. I hate February. I absolutely hate it. We go every year because I do our podcast with the NFL Players Second Act with Roman Harper. And he be cheesing because he got his ring with the Saints. And everyone got their rings on and I was like, God dang it. I got two loser rings. I got two NFC Championship rings. I went to school with Ike and I'm just like, damn.

• 46:02Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 46:03Speaker 02

  We done lost all these games at UL and Ike got, I think Ike got two rings.

• 46:07Channing Crowder?

  Ike got two of them.

• 46:08Speaker 02

  Like, what I got, what do I have to do? I didn't, I bust my butt. I worked so hard. I did all the things the right way. I didn't smoke weed. I didn't go to this party. I turned this down. I went to bed early.

• 46:22Channing Crowder?

  I created a move.

• 46:24Speaker 02

  I did all the things. And I couldn't get, I mean, it still hurts to this day. To this day. To this day. I still ain't got over it.

• 46:37Channing Crowder?

  You made a football move. Football's been around forever. The peanut punch.

• 46:43Speaker 02

  It's kind of tight though. I like it.

• 46:44Channing Crowder?

  You have records. You've set records for force formers, all of that. They used to show us videos of you. Just do what peanut does. You think that's just that's it? I gotta wrap up. This motherfucker's just big. I can't just go punching out. You still upset about losing, bro? You good. You know you're famous.

• 47:05Speaker 02

  Ah, no, man. It's the championship. Like, I wanted the ring. I want, I've never won a championship in anything. Nothing in high school, nothing in basketball, nothing in track when I was good in track or triple jump. Like, I've just, I've never been, I've never did anything at a championship level. Even though I practiced and I had the work ethic, I've never received a championship of any sort. Like, never. I don't know what that feels like. And I'm just like, damn. Like, I went to the finals. I saw the Golden State. No, no, not Golden State. I saw the Raptors when they won and they beat Golden State. And I was like, damn, that's cool how they celebrate. And there's actually video of me.

• 47:49Speaker 02

  And Nate Vash, as we're walking off the field, and Nate's just looking at him, he was like, "Man, I'm just trying to see how they celebrate. I'm just trying to see how they do." And I was just like,

• 48:01Speaker 02

  I couldn't even say nothing, but I like that feeling when you've bust your butt at offseason, and then years, excuse me, months later, you can turn around and all that work we put in, the process, the running, the lifting, the sweating, and then we get to celebrate and we get to hoist this trophy up, whether it's high school or NFL, whatever. I think that's the cool, that's the pinnacle of sports. That's why you play it. That's why you play the game. And I've never done that, and it's so frustrating to this day. To this day, I'm still frustrated over it. I can't get over it.

• 48:35Ryan Clark?

  How frustrating is it that you have to go through a really illustrious 13-year career as an individual, the things you did accomplish as a team, and know that you probably dropped two interceptions that kept you from being the only human ever that could say, "I had 40-plus forced fumbles and 40 interceptions to put me in a 40-40 club that would have to be named the Peanut Club because I'd be the only person in it."

• 49:07Speaker 02

  During football season, that's the only time I think about it. During football season, or when I see someone drop a pick, or if someone plays a highlight or something, and it's a PBU, and I'm like, "All I had to do was just put another hand up there. Instead of doing this, I literally just could have did this." Doh! And then you think you're just like, "Such an idiot. Oh, my God. How did I not think that?" Yeah, it pisses you off. I get mad. I get mad at myself every time. But it only happens during football season, though. That's the only time I get mad at myself. If it's offseason, I could care less. I don't think about it. But once I turn football on and we start watching football plays, damn, I get mad. That's where it all comes back, like,

• 49:51Speaker 02

  but yeah, I think about that often. I had a buddy of mine, he was just like, "Man, if you get..." Because I was chasing it, like, I was chasing that goal, like, "Forget these forced fumbles. I need two picks. I want these two picks." I was chasing it, and I just... I just, at least in year 13, I was just like, I just couldn't, I couldn't get it. I didn't have the opportunities like I thought, but yeah, man, it hurts.

• 50:16Channing Crowder?

  The punch though, because that's what, if you say your name, that's what everybody talks about. How you can get that ball out. Was it something, is that God given? Because people try to rip at the ball all the time. We all tried to rip at the ball, but we wouldn't get it out like you get it out.

• 50:31Speaker 02

  Hell, nobody ever did. It was, honestly, it was a combination of talent, but I think a lot of it's just handout coordination. A lot of it was handout coordination. So I started boxing just so I could, you know, obviously, you know, being press man and stuff like the footwork and everything. So I started boxing, but really just working on like my hand speed. And when I was in college, we played Wolf, when I was at UL, we played Wolf for college. They ran like a triple option. I was, I played safety. All I did was just run the alley. They didn't have a blocker for me. And my job was pitch. Whole week was like, whatever you do, you the safety, just take the pitch. Just go hit him in the mouth. Bet, coach, I got that.

• 51:15Speaker 02

  I ran the alley the whole game.

• 51:19Speaker 02

  Ran by the quarterback and just hit the, hit the running back in his mouth the whole game. My D coordinator, or my D coordinator from high school, Rodney Southern, he comes, he came to the game and he goes, if you just would have swiped at the ball, you know how many forced fumbles you could have had? I was like, oh snap. It was like a light bulb went off. And you can ask anybody that went to school with me, you can ask Ike. I was so good at it, I would purposely take bad angles. And run a guy down, secure the tackle, and then I would punch it out. I would purposely take a terrible pursuit angle because I was like, all right, if I just tackle him, they're going to get the ball back, they might score. Nah, I'm going to take a bad angle, I'm going to let him get in front of me.

• 52:04Speaker 02

  Then I'm fast enough and I'm just run behind him and I'm going to just punch the ball out. Like literally did it all the time in college. For like the last three years of college, that was all I did. I would just take a bad angle and then just punch the ball out. Because I knew I was good at it.

• 52:18Channing Crowder?

  Right.

• 52:19Speaker 02

  Fast forward to the league, bro, we all fast. Running backs, D ends, offensive line, like tight ends, everybody fast. So, all right, I got to figure out a way to do this thing.

• 52:32Speaker 02

  And get it out and not take a bad angle. So my, literally my very first NFL snap, uh, we played at the old Candlestick. We played San Francisco and I was a gunner, running down the field, using my hands and guy didn't see me. I overran it. I came back around and I punched at it and, oh yeah, we got some. Damn, just like that. Just like that. My, my, we, we, I got something. We, yeah. And I, I knew it. I was like, oh, I could play with them. I got, oh, my first one, okay. Then it was just like, okay, I see you running the ball. Now I gotta like, okay, can I, am I good enough to just like punch that thing and make the tackle?

• 53:14Speaker 02

  Like as he's running like head up to me, let's try it. Cause all the other ones there had been like from the side and from the back. So then it was just like, all right, let's go. Let me see if I can do this. I'm pretty, I know when I'm punching it. I gotta, and it's the timing of it's here, it's here, it's here, it's here. Like when do you have to punch? So I was always like looking, I'm looking at his arm and I'm like, okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait now. And I would just like throw my punch at the last possible second. But when you throw it. Why did they run you over? Fred, you gotta commit. Right. Pettigrew from Detroit, the, the tight end, legit. I'm looking at the ball. The only thing I am thinking about is the ball. That's the only thing that matters.

• 54:00Speaker 02

  And as I'm punching it, he is stiff armed me in the face. And we're going back like this and the ball is going out. And the best thing about that was, and this is probably one of my favorite punches, or actually two, because I got him on back to back plays. I got him back to back. Like the first time he ran, boom. And he was like, all right. And then we're in the same exact play, except he was like, they dumped it to him and he was running like a little flat route. And he saw me, was like, "Yeah, mother, mhm." And I was just like, running, running, punch. And as he pu- as I punch, he stiff armed the shit out of me. My head went back, like he mushed me. My head went back, but I punched the arm. I pu- you know what I'm saying?

• 54:45Speaker 02

  I got the ball out. And then I was on my back and he was on top of me, but the ball's over there and we got the ball. And I was like, "Cool." It must've, you know what I'm saying? I sacrificed my body. I sold out for the team, but it, but it worked. But I just got really good at knowing where to punch. Like, that's the key. You gotta know where to punch, and you gotta punch with a purpose. There has to be intention around it. Guys just go in and just do this, and it don't come out. If me and you bo- Fred, if me and you boxing, and you, and you do this, I'm not gonna punch you right here. I'mma punch you on the side of the face. I might punch you on-

• 55:18Fred Taylor?

  I'm glad you mentioned it.

• 55:19Speaker 02

  Yo ribs, like, I'mma do something different.

• 55:22Fred Taylor?

  This is crazy. I'm glad you mentioned if me and you punching. I think the peanut punch is the only thing pre-2011.

• 55:28Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:29Fred Taylor?

  Before they changed all the rules. That's the only thing they allow physical in today's game. They allow it, but that's a whole nother story. We played Chicago, and similar situation. You, uh, you ran up on me, and you punched the shit out of me.

• 55:46Speaker 02

  My bad, my bad, my bad.

• 55:47Fred Taylor?

  He missed the ball, man?

• 55:48Speaker 02

  My bad, yo, my bad.

• 55:49Fred Taylor?

  I'm about to get up and fight. Like, hold on, man. The fuck this cornerback doing? But you was the only one corner that was as physical as you were, bro. And I always respected you from those, those moments that we, that we butted heads, which were very few. But when Spice left, he was telling me about another moment, like, some punching was going on. But it didn't involve you. You got a penalty, 'cause you went to save a teammate. Uh, Jeremy Trueblood allegedly was under the power of beating the shit out of Wale.

• 56:18Speaker 02

  Yes. Yeah.

• 56:20Fred Taylor?

  And he said, "You came to the rescue."

• 56:22Speaker 02

  So, we used to always ta- we always talk about team, right? Everyone talks about team. Don't let no one do this. Fight 'em like you're, you know, uh, uh, take, take it not too personal, but, hey, protect your teammates. It was a third down, or actually it was a fourth down. We're walking off the field, and Trueblood is just on top of Wale. Wale on the ground like this. Like, Wale is on the ground like this. True Blood is just motherfucker. Kind of like on Harlem Nights. When she's sitting on top of her. I told you to respect me. Keep my name. Out show. So it's literally looking like that. And I saw it and I just took off.

• 57:08Speaker 02

  And I mean, I hit the shit out of True Blood. I hit him hard. I just boom. And then Michael Clayton, LSU. Yeah. He turns and he sees me. And then I'm finna go at it with True Blood. And then Clayton, he hits me like blind size. I was like, oh no. Now I'm seeing red. I got nothing but rage. It's the same year my daughter was in the hospital with all that stuff. So now I get to take some of this anger that I have built up stored inside me. And his arm was like this. I ain't never told this story on camera before, but his arm was legit like this. And I went to chop his arm to break his damn elbow. And Alex Brown saved his life. Alex Brown grabbed me so quick.

• 57:52Speaker 02

  And I was like, what the are you doing? You never grabbed the homie. You never grabbed the homie. And I was like, I was finna break his arm. I'm legit finna break his arm. I went for the chop and everything because he had all his weight like this. And I was literally finna just, I went straight in Alex. I was, I'm still mad at Alex to this day.

• 58:11Fred Taylor?

  But I bought the pain man of the year though.

• 58:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, maybe that. He got me. But you, I was protect, I was, it was all from a teammates. But the best, the best thing that came out of that though, Olin Krutz.

• 58:24Speaker 02

  Crazy. Great teammate. Amazing teammate. He just goes, hey. Got my respect cuz like, hey, you about that life. Like I appreciate you. Hey, it's about the team. You saw something, he's doing something to his team. No different than what the offensive lineman do with the quarterback. Same exact thing.

• 58:45Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 59:14Ryan Clark?

  I have a question. If you're such a good teammate, why would you play that prank on, uh, what is it, Bob, uh?

• 59:20Speaker 02

  Babbage?

• 59:20Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, why would you do that?

• 59:22Speaker 02

  Oh, man. I'm, I'm the team prankster, baby, that's...

• 59:24Ryan Clark?

  So what'd you do?

• 59:26Speaker 02

  So, I love Star Wars. My dad grew up with Star Wars. He, he turned me on to Star Wars. So, Step Brothers. Y'all all seen the movie Step Brothers? Remember, there's a scene in the movie where John C. Riley is like sitting in his underwear with a damn shirt on it, and he's got the Chewbacca outfit, and Will Ferrell got the night vision goggles?

• 59:49Speaker 02

  And I was just like, that looks so dope. So I bought the night vision goggles, and I bought the Chewbacca outfit. I was just a big, rich kid, right? So I buy it, and I was just like, man, it's Halloween time. And I was like, man. So Todd Johnson's our safety. We all live on the same block. And I was like, damn. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Sarasota. So I say, you know what? I gotta scare Babbage. So I go to, I go, I knock on Todd. I go call Todd, walk over to his crib. He's like, come on, let's go. So I told his wife Nancy, I say, look Nancy, just let me know when he's on his way home. She lets me know, she calls me. We post up on the side of Bob's house. And me and Tilo are like, are you ready, ready? I was like, yeah, I think I'm ready. Trying to put the gloves on.

• 1:00:34Speaker 02

  And he opened the door, the garage door goes up,

• 1:00:38Speaker 02

  and then his dog kinda came running out, and he sticks his key in the door. And I got, I probably paid about $700 for this outfit, for this costume. It's legit. I got the fake fur and everything. And the head makes me look an extra foot taller. Man, I ran up on him, and I went...

• 1:01:00Speaker 02

  And he just went.

• 1:01:05Speaker 02

  He got in the smallest ball because he just got so scared. And it was the funniest thing. So then we take it to work. And Dan Tuohy, our, uh, our film guy, he put like the Michael Myers music on. And we played it for the whole team and he was just like.

• 1:01:22Ryan Clark?

  No, we gotta see this video.

• 1:01:23Speaker 02

  He was like, I think I got it for you. He was so, he was just like, you mother, I'm a.

• 1:01:29Speaker 02

  But there's another one though. So. Rivera, so I go to Carolina. We're.

• 1:01:36Speaker 02

  12 and 1. We had just lost our first game to Atlanta. And everybody, I call it the. Everyone got, everyone got tight. Everyone just was like. Butthole got tight. They just clammed up for whatever reason. I don't know if I can say that, but that's just what it was. Everyone was just walking like this. So. Shula, um, Coach Shula was our, uh, OC. He told a story about the 72 Dolphins and they did something with this alligator. So. All right, cool. I go on Pinterest or, uh, uh, not Pinterest, one of these websites. And I buy an alligator. I bought, I bought, I spent like $400. I, you, so first things first, you gotta pay top dollar for the props. Right? Drewski went top dollar when he played the white guy.

• 1:02:22Speaker 02

  He didn't, he didn't, he didn't just half ass it. He went all the way in. If you're gonna play a prank, you got to go top dollar. So I probably paid about $400 for this alligator.

• 1:02:36Speaker 02

  It comes.

• 1:02:38Speaker 02

  I get to work hella early. I get to work early at like five. I put this alligator, fake alligator, I put this fake alligator in his office. Or in the shower. So I go get Roman Harper and Kirk Coleman. And I was like, what you doing? I was like, man, I just put this alligator, it's gonna be so tight. It's gonna be hilarious. And then as soon as I said that, he goes. Who put this damn alligator in my shower? And as he said it, I was like, oh snap. Chico Hot, he like really. I didn't even say coach. I was like, damn, Chico Hot. And I was like, Timmy, did you, Peanut, you put this in my, my shower? And I was like. Ah, I can't lie, I can't lie. Now I'ma lie.

• 1:03:21Speaker 02

  Like, I got, I was, I got so, I was so scared. I was like, damn, this one of my jokes went too far. I can't shit. Um, yeah, it was me, coach. Get over here. You put this in my, and I was like, yeah, coach, I didn't. Then he goes, "Well, god dang, man, I think it's hilarious. That thing scared the shit out of me." Oh, my God. Oh, my, and I was just like, all right, my bad, my bad, coach. I was like, I thought you was, he was like, no. So the rest of the day, I scared everybody with this damn fake alligator. And it literally brought the mood back to how we were. We were like our old selves. And it was just like, that was just the one thing we needed, man. I'm, I'm a prankster by heart. I couldn't tell you how many times I prank, uh, Spice.

• 1:04:06Speaker 02

  I got a, out at, at some point, I'll, I have a folder in my phone of just me scaring people. It is the hilarious, it's so funny to me.

• 1:04:15Ryan Clark?

  Something really wrong with dude, man.

• 1:04:17Speaker 02

  It's hilarious.

• 1:04:18Ryan Clark?

  This is what happens when you move around.

• 1:04:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's hilarious.

• 1:04:21Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you like to enjoy it.

• 1:04:22Fred Taylor?

  Those kids, so check.

• 1:04:24Speaker 02

  I scared you with the dog. I was like, watch, watch, shit, and watch him get all scared. With my dog, like, I, to me, that is, your fear is my funny. Military breath. Oh, my God. Your fear is, your fear is my funny.

• 1:04:36Fred Taylor?

  So we, we, uh, everybody knows about the peanut punch. Now they just found out a little bit more about the peanut, uh, pranks.

• 1:04:43Speaker 02

  Peanut pranks. Oh, my God. That's a TV show coming.

• 1:04:45Fred Taylor?

  Tell us about the peanut pivot, the biggest pivot. That's that moment you can look back on and say, without this happening, or because this happened for me, I am because who I am.

• 1:05:00Speaker 02

  I got a couple pivots, but I'll give you one in particular. I failed, I failed a math class in high school. Sign me up. I failed a math class in high school. And at the time when I failed this class, I was in a class with my best friend at the time. One of my best friends, Jason Adams. And we were just like, we're clowning around. I'm thinking my grades are good, but I'm having a good time with my boy. And I end up failing this math class in high school. I had never failed a class before, but I'm a junior, I think. Yeah, I'm a junior and I failed. And for the first time, I wasn't eligible to play football. Or no, I'm sorry, it wasn't during football season, it was during track season.

• 1:05:45Speaker 02

  So I had to sit out for three weeks and miss three practices. And I was like, I'm not the dumb kid. Like, I go to school, my grades are good. But I was, I got too cool and confident in my, my skill, but I stopped doing the work. I stopped doing the work. And I just was kicking it in school. And we'd laugh and cracking jokes.

• 1:06:09Speaker 02

  Pour a car come out, I can't run. And one of my coaches sat me down and was like, you do realize, like, you're trying to go to college and play D1 ball. First thing coaches look at, how are his grades?

• 1:06:24Speaker 02

  And for the first time, I, that was when football felt like it wasn't possible. Because my whole goal in that life was still like, I gotta go to the league, I gotta go to the league. Ever since I was five, I knew I had to go to the league. And

• 1:06:41Speaker 02

  I know what I gotta do. I'm on a mission, I'm good. And that right there changed my trajectory

• 1:06:50Speaker 02

  to who you see today. I graduated on time, I go to college. After my first semester, I met with my, so my second semester, I met with my dean. I figured out my classes. I went to my room, I planned out the next three years of my life. I said if I take this many hours, this many classes, I need this many hours to graduate. If I do this, take this in the summertime, take this in the spring, I carry 15 in the fall. I'll take 20, 21 in the spring, I'll take nine in the summer. I can graduate in December of '02 because January '03, I'll be in the draft. I can train full-time, I can move, I don't have to worry about training, doing papers, going back and forth to Louise or Lafayette.

• 1:07:35Speaker 02

  No, this is what I'm gonna do. So I planned out the next three years of my life. And I stuck to that schedule for the next three years, three, three and a half years of my life. And then graduation came, I graduated on time, or I graduated a semester early. The spring came, I moved to Houston, I started training, did everything, went to the combine, did my thing. I get drafted, so yeah.

• 1:08:00Ryan Clark?

  That's awesome.

• 1:08:01Speaker 02

  By me failing that class, it made me wake up and think that, it let me know that my stuff don't stink, or my stuff, yeah, it made me realize that, yeah, I wasn't as good as I thought I was.

• 1:08:14Ryan Clark?

  Can I ask like one football question before we go?

• 1:08:17Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:08:17Ryan Clark?

  You played with all-time greats at different positions. The Keakleys, the Erlackers, obviously one of, to me, the most talented, transcendent players at his position. You also played with Cam in his MVP year.

• 1:08:34Ryan Clark?

  Which player that was a teammate of Peanut Tillman, do you think was the best player you ever played with?

• 1:08:44Speaker 02

  I'll answer that in two parts.

• 1:08:47Speaker 02

  If I had to call somebody right now to go sit in a foxhole with me, and I know they're gonna, performance on demand, be Lance Briggs.

• 1:08:56Speaker 02

  Lance was not the greatest practice player, but game time, I've never seen anybody just performance on demand. Like, he could go out and have like the world's worst practice, and he would give our linebacker coach a headache, and also, just like Lance doesn't know. Come game day, Lance knows all his assignments. Lance, he knows everything, and when you come across the hole or whatever, he gonna knock your ass out.

• 1:09:22Ryan Clark?

  That's crazy.

• 1:09:22Speaker 02

  Every time.

• 1:09:23Ryan Clark?

  That was banging.

• 1:09:24Speaker 02

  He's the only player I've known who just was not a practice player. But came game day, he played like an all-pro every single Sunday. Every single Sunday. He is by far the first person I'm calling to sit in my Fox up with me all night. Cause I know he gonna show up. Forget the walk through Lance, go eat chill, whatever. I don't care. When it, when it's time to go, you gonna go.

• 1:09:48Speaker 02

  Other one.

• 1:09:50Speaker 02

  Maybe Luke. And I say Luke because. Brian is good. Brian was good.

• 1:09:59Speaker 02

  Luke, I had never seen. Yeah, Luke Keakley. I had never seen him just call out the plays all the time. Like Brian, he could call out a play here and there. Luke did it all the time. Like, and he was like.

• 1:10:17Speaker 02

  Lee Wheat, Lee Wheat, Lee Wheat, hey, Lee Wheat, T T, Lee Wheat, Lee Wheat. Oh, sorry. I got, I got my dog. Hey, do me a favor. Go back on the bed. Go back on the bed. Go back on the bed. Sorry. I like that though. That's, that's funny to me how you got so scared. Humor hilarious. And he yell. Touch my knee.

• 1:10:39Speaker 02

  But like Luke would, Luke would go bat shit crazy. When he would recognize a, a, a, a play. And then it, it turns out he, he's right with the play. And you're just like, how does he, and all he did was, he was just, he was great. At his craft and I was like watching film. And I tried to tell a lot of young kids like, man, it's, it's all about the film. It ain't about the price. They telling you what they're doing. The play is telling you, you just gotta, you gotta watch enough film. To figure out what they're doing. And his ability is, is, is great as y'all think I am at the peanut punch. I think he's like that with determining what offenses are gonna run. Like his, his ability to do that, it's absolutely.

• 1:11:24Speaker 02

  It's amazing. It's great.

• 1:11:26Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I just, I was, you had so much happen in your life. It's such an unfamiliar story to a great football player that we spent 45 minutes just talking about life. We couldn't even get to football. But the journey has been amazing. Somebody that's from Louisiana that knew you were at, you know, University of Louisiana Lafayette with IT, Coach Baldwin who recruited me. And then all the things you've done, whether it's football, post-career, being a father. Just kudos to you, man, for being a great representation of so many different communities that need to be shown as to what they can possibly be. We thank you for sitting with us, bro. Thank you for pivoting with us.

• 1:12:10Ryan Clark?

  And just best of luck in whatever you choose to do or continue to do throughout life.

• 1:12:14Speaker 02

  I appreciate that. But I do, I want to tell you one more story real quick. I meant to tell you all this one story, so... This is an FBI story. I figured you guys would get a kick out of this. So, me and my guy, we're doing interviews and I didn't bring like half my stuff with me. I didn't bring a vest. I ain't bring nothing. I just was, I brought like a pen and paper. We just doing interviews. We go to a couple pawn shops, ask a couple questions, and the phone goes off. It's like, hey, that fugitive that we were looking for, word got back that he's at his house on 123 Main Street. We look in the mirror and it's like, "Bro, that's right around the corner." I was like, "Okay, I ain't, I ain't got my, like, I ain't got,

• 1:12:59Speaker 02

  I ain't bring my stuff." I'm still new. I'm still on probation. Like, I'm brand new. So, and he got like a bad hip leg or something. So, I was just like, "All right, this ain't gonna go well." So, we pull up to the house, and as soon as we pull up to the house, the target, he's walking out of the house. And I'm looking like... That's him right there. That's him. And he's like, are you sure? I was like, bro, I'm telling you 100% full confidence, high confidence. That's him. And he was like, it's just us. We gotta take it. I was just like, alright. And I was sitting in the backseat and I'm like on the radio. I was like, I'm texting the rest of the crew because the rest of the squads are coming to our location.

• 1:13:41Speaker 02

  I'm like, yo, positive, we got PID, PID on our target. Hey, where y'all at? Because he's rolling. We're south on whatever street. So he gets in the car. We're following him. Now, we're in an unmarked car, no lights, no nothing. So it just looked like a car is following him. So we're driving around and all of a sudden, he looks and then he starts making crazy turns. And it's on. Now he's speeding, now we speeding. We're on, we're on the south side, but we're like on side streets. We're not even on busy streets. So it's parallel car, parallel car, and then just our little car. We're hitting speed bumps, like I'm going up on the ceiling.

• 1:14:24Speaker 02

  And I was just like, ah, screw this. I put my seatbelt on. Then I was just like, I'm just gonna buckle up. He's on the phone or the radio trying to get more cars to where we are. Long story. He ends up turning on this block and he opened the door and he just ran out. And the car just hit another car. I knew he couldn't run, so I get out the car and I just take off running. I ain't got nothing to identify me as a police officer. I got nothing. It's just me. I got on some jeans, I got on a polo, and I got on some Jays. I always wore Jays. I'm a Jay guy. So Jumpman, I was like, I represented in the bureau. So I got on these, I think I had on the 12s.

• 1:15:09Speaker 02

  He hops a fence. Ah, they are. I didn't think I was gonna be running after nobody. My whole, so when I, when I had the job, like I didn't want to look like the police. So I would wear stuff like, I would wear that. I would, I didn't wear like the tactical boots and shoes. Like I, I was fresh. I thought I was fresh. So I pull my, you know what I'm saying? I, I unhostile the weapon and I'm running. And then he hops the fence and this was like so bad. I jumped the fence. I was, the athleticism, I hopped the fence. I hurt that bad boy. Close the distance, he hops another fence, I hop another fence. Then we're running down the alley, in this back alley, and I was like, oh, I got him now. This is, this is straight away.

• 1:15:57Speaker 02

  So I closed that distance, and then he hopped another fence, but I was so close to him, then I drew again. I was like, hey, FBI, don't move, show me your hands, you know, and I'm, FBI, don't move. Put your hands up in the air, turn around. And by that time, another, another enforcement car had pulled up, and he was like, you gonna cuff him? I was like, I'm too tired. You cuff him, you cuff him. So we ended up, we ended up arresting a cat. And then I was just like, bro, what you run for? And one thing, I will, I will say that holds true. Even though people did something wrong, or they violated something, we always treated them with respect. You treat them like a human being.

• 1:16:37Speaker 02

  You don't treat them like, ah, you're, you're just another old thug, and you're like, it wasn't, it wasn't none of that. I could, I could, there were so many times where we arrested people, and they were just like, man, you ain't like the regular cops I done been around. Like, y'all, man, you offered me some gum, because it's 6 o'clock in the morning, and I ain't brushing my teeth. You offered me some gum, you let me kiss my mom goodbye, you let me say goodbye to my little girl. You, you let me listen to what I want on the music, like, on the radio, like, I was like, yo, man, it's, I'm not here to judge you, bro. That ain't, that ain't, that ain't my job. We all human. You grew up a different way, maybe something happened in your life that chose you,

• 1:17:20Speaker 02

  that made you pivot to this route in life? I don't know, but I, you did it wrong, you'll get judged for, but that ain't my job. I'm just here to arrest you, but I can still treat you like you're a human being. And it was, it was cool. For me, I thought it was the coolest thing when someone said it, and I was like, damn, I just, we've taken away your, your freedom, but you're asking, you telling me how cool I am? Which leads me to believe that some people, they just do it, it's a power trip, and they do it the wrong way. It's a power trip.

• 1:17:48Ryan Clark?

  I tell you what, though. Could you imagine hopping out the car? Because, you know, my thought of FBI guy is gonna be some cat that been eating some bad food. You know, he don't really train like that. You hop on his peanut Tillman. Like, what's the, what's the chances that my draw is a Pro Bowler? You know what I'm saying?

• 1:18:06Speaker 02

  So I had a buddy who used to call me Trigger Mike. He used to call me Mike Lowry. He used to call me Trigger Mike. Just like, you would wear this out here, but you got this, this nice belt. I was like, it's the only one I got. Like, I, you know what I'm saying? I, I went to work with a Gucci belt versus like a, a cheaper belt or something like that.

• 1:18:25Fred Taylor?

  At least you didn't have on the six rings. Jordan.

• 1:18:29Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:18:29Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. Hey, guys, you want to talk about a pivot? We're talking about football to FBI. I mean, it all works when you chasing people.