Mm-hmm.

You know what I'm saying? Um, it's a championship mentality, a championship attitude that you gotta have, um, and a resilient attitude that you gotta have as, as a quarterback.

And so I'm looking for the ones who are mentally tough.

And so last year, you know, I just wanted, I wanted to give everybody a opportunity, man.

Um, you know, we had what we had.

This year it's all about pouring into those guys and making sure I get the most out of them every single day, and make sure that they mentally tough to go four quarters.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

The eyes and ears everywhere, because that, like I say, discipline is everything.

Yeah.

It's not easy at all.

We sacrifice a lot of time.

We put a lot of effort and energy into making other people happy and making sure that they feel, you know, good about what, what's coming, what's standing in front of them for that day, and it's a res- different responsibility.

And you gotta hurt feelings, and you can't be nice all the time.

And I kinda watched that and was like, man, I'm really different when it comes to football.

I'm a, I'm a peaceful individual.

... do this?

What's

the process been like? I've been extremely blessed to be put in this situation, but extremely humbled as well to step into something that, You've never been a part of.

You only dreamt of.

And then when it happens abruptly, you just kind of roll with the punches.

And, you know, I made it a point to call, you know, people who I looked at as as mentors, but not to be worrisome.

You know, it was something I a situation I got myself in.

I'm like, I'm a work through it.

I'm

[laughs]

It's their world.

And so I didn't do it b- for that.

I did it because I wanted to document a winning season, and I really mean that.

I thought it was gonna be a winning season, first year, just to see what it was like.

More of a Hard Knocks style type of situation, because I knew it was gonna be tough and what we wanted to put them through.

But a lot of storylines was, you know, being created within our team, a lot of amazing, uh, young men who g- are going off to do great things.

I love that it's a family story, too, for you.

Tell me what it means to you to coach in front of your community and be back home.

It means everything.

And before I get into it, thank you all for sharing your platform with Norfolk State.

That means, that means the world to us.

(Crowd cheering) You know, and we want to just continue to enhance the brand, and this is part of it, but, um, you know, just being from, being from here, the 757, um.

(Crowd cheering) God giving me the opportunity to come back and, and grace this place with a platform, with my platform.

Um, being from here, it means so much to so many of us.

What made you think about an HBCU and how has it touched you to be a part of an HBCU since you've been here?