Are you feeling more fulfilled now that you're back to work? This Friday. No. I need a vacation. See the movie that critics are saying is an awesome movie.
Look at that. Crowd pleasing. Fist-pumping. All-out brawl of a film. Right about that.
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Now, commencing. This is the Rich Eisen Show.
So far, so good. With guest host, WWE Superstar The Miz. I like it. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I feel like Travis Hunter is a bigger circus than Chadur right now.
Is he gonna play offense? Is he gonna play defense? That's all anyone's talking about is these two players. Am I wrong? Today's guests: former NFL quarterback Johnny Manzel, Cavaliers guard Max Streus, and Janelle sitting in Burridge.
WWE Superstar The Miz. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Rich Eisen Show. I am not Rich Eisen. I am taking over the hosting duties. I am the star of Marine 3, 4, 5, and 6, Christmas Bounty, and Santa's Little Helper.
I am the star of Ms. and Missus, which you can get all three seasons on Peacock. Very funny show. I am the star of Ms. Golf on YouTube.
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I am the Ms. Thank you very much for having me. Yes. I get claps. I get everything.
I love it. Let's get right down to business. Hold on a second. They made five Marine movies? Yeah, six.
Six. They made six Marine movies. I was a star of three, four, five, and six. By the way, nice Carnegan. Carnegie.
Look at you. Yeah, I'm rocking. Look at you. Ready to go. Pull over.
Pull over. He's already pulled over. It's Kernigan. He can't pull over any further. Look at that.
I don't know what movie. Wow, you're really going for your Kirk Cobain days, huh? Hey, look, man. Nirvana, let's go with Grunge. 90s Grunge days.
I'm in. You look great, Chris. Man, I can't keep up with you and the suits, and you and Seth have these crazy outfits. I can't keep up. No one can keep up with that.
That's your thing. This is my thing. Let's just talk sports. Cardigans are your thing?
Well, I have one. This is literally the only one I have. You want to talk sports? Let's talk sports. All right, let's get right down to it.
Shader Sanders, it's come out that. It's got an oblique problem, and it's gonna take him out for a significant amount of time. How much is significant? One week, two weeks, three weeks? Anyone have an opinion on that?
TJ? Nobody knows. I mean, it's so bleak, right? I i I think part of the problem, guys, is the guy wasn't getting a lot of reps in practice, right? He was what fourth on on the depth chart.
Right. All of a sudden, he's forced into a starter. last week. That's why he probably wasn't prepared. He probably threw the ball more in that game than he had probably.
Do you think that's going to cause an oblique problem? I'm just reaching. I'm not a doctor. I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I can do it.
I'm just looking for an answer. And that's the only thing I could come up with. But don't know much about the oblique area like we talked about yesterday. But you would imagine it was probably about a week or two. But for his development, you kind of hope it's not that long.
He can't afford to fall any further back, obviously. Yeah, it's too bad that the momentum from the start last week, which by the way, 2.2 million people I just saw watched that on NFL Network. I think a record for a live preseason game. Most watched preseason game in 10 years live. And now that's all been derailed because of this, which is super unfortunate for him and kind of unfortunate for shows like ours.
And now he's not going to play this week. Probably won't play the final preseason week. And now, you know, his chance of starting as slim as it was is probably now zero. Joe Flacco is in bubble wrap, as we said, and now it's still in Gabriel who's back. Is he 100% though back?
Like, is he 100% because he's been injured? He has been out and has missed time as well. But he's out there playing in practice, their joint practice with the Eagles.
So I imagine we're going to see him this weekend. And then it's Snoop Huntley. Probably the same thing that happened last week, right? Gabriel will play the three quarters like Shador played, and Snoop will get the fourth, and that'll be that as we get ready to go. I wonder if they're going to baby Gabriel a little bit because of the injury, or is he 100%?
I feel like you never know in the NFL what's going on with injuries. They kind of just tiptoe around everything. Why can't you just give me a solid answer? Like, look, Gabriel's going to play three quarters. We're going to have Snoop come in.
He's going to pay one quarter. Or Gabriel is injured still, but we're going to give him about a quarter. Like, why can't they just give us the information that we want and that we want to hear instead of just guessing all the time? Like, this is me just throwing stuff out here, and you can throw it right back. That's what I'm saying.
I mean, there's literally only injury reports because of gambling.
So if it was up to them, they wouldn't tell us anything about injuries. And Mike, do you really want the other team to get the drop on your squad? Like, you'd. Building. All that information out there.
But I don't want to know. I know you want to know. I want to know. And I know you've got a pipeline. You've got a landline to have grounds.
I do have a pipeline. Right, so you could, in theory, figure some stuff out that most people couldn't. But you know what? Everybody didn't know. It is kind of cool.
I'll tell you what. Like, one of my best friends is. Cleveland Browns Daily, Nathan Zagura. And I'll always call him, I'll be like, hey, man, what's going on there? And then I do have Kevin Stefanski's number.
So if I ever do need a good text, I could always do it. But I never. I never want to do that to like a coach, right? Like, I'll usually text him about golfing or something like that. I don't ever text him about football because I want to keep us at a good, you know, look, I'm not going to ask you these questions because.
I want to know? But I also don't want to over overstep my boundaries, if you will. Yeah, you don't want to take advantage of that of that relationship and and friendship. And speaking of Kevin Stafanski, he uh spoke this morning about it and was asked about what's going on with Shador's Oblique. Yeah, felt it early, I think warming up, and then felt it throughout individuals.
So, took a look at it. You know, if it's a right guard, you can play through that. When it's a quarterback, you kind of need that muscle to throw.
So, unfortunately, going to put him down for a little bit here. We'll treat it day to day and see how he responds. But, I want to be smart because he's a thrower, so you can't push that thing. A violent thrower. I like that.
He is a violent thrower. You know what I also liked? I liked, I saw another clip, and I think we have it, with Jalen Hurts. Talking, you know, talking to Shadur and basically saying, you know, hey, man. Like, if you have, he's, remember how we were talking with Kurt Warner yesterday, and Kurt Warner's like, I wish people would ask me a little bit more.
It feels like Shadur is asking the right questions to a Super Bowl. MVP, a Super Bowl winning quarterback in Jalen Hurts. Let's take a look at Jalen Hurts talking about Shadur Sanders. I keep the conversation intimate. We had a very lengthy conversation.
He came to me and. I just, you know, wanted to talk. And my wish there, as said earlier, of. giving my perspective on what I see and how I've gone about things and Ultimately, it takes a a great deal of patience and hard work and a sense of resilience. You know, you you gotta want it.
You know, you gotta want it. And so I'm supporting him from where I am and wishing him nothing but the best with his opportunities.
Now, no matter what you say about Shadir Sanders, it seems to me like he's doing all the right things. Kurt Warner yesterday was saying. He's disappointed in the lack of people coming to him. like rookies talking to him about Being what it's like to be an NFL quarterback.
Now you see and hear from Jalen Hurts. A Super Bowl winning quarterback. Shadur is asking him advice, asking him certain things, and they're in a practice going head to head together. Like they're in season. And this is Jalen Hurts talking to Shadur Sanders.
I mean, this is the kind of stuff I like to see as a Browns fan. These are the things that I want out of a franchise quarterback. I feel like too many times we see these rookies, I know it all, and you can see it. You can see what they're talking about, like in their interviews, and they're like, This guy just. He doesn't get it.
Shader gets it. I like it, and I don't understand if he wasn't, if he'd say he wasn't injured, he'd still be fourth on the depth shark. I don't get that. Can someone please explain that to me? I also feel When you watch some of these clips of Shador, right, interacting with his teammates, have you seen the clips of him and Miles Garrett kind of chopping it up?
And he's picking Miles Garrett's brain and then with the Jalen Hurts thing. And of course, he's got a relationship with Tom Brady, the GOAT.
So of course, he's picking his brain for knowledge. All these people seem to really love Shador, Mike. And so, what makes you wonder why? What makes you wonder what could have been so bad, guys, in those meetings? Because from all we've seen, Shador is checking every box.
He seems doing everything right. No one has a bad thing to say about him.
So, what happened, man? Is it an act? Do you think it's an act for the cameras? Like, he knows the camera's on, he knows he's mic'd, and so he's just playing the game. I think Shador, if you look back, Dion used to have a reality show years ago, and Shador, I believe, was 12, 13 when that show started.
If you go back, you find clips. That kid at 12 years old had more confidence in him than a grown man. Like, he's always been confident in himself. And growing up with that in that household, I'm sure that just boosted up his confidence. I just, I don't believe it's an act.
I believe that's him, and people are responding to him. Chris, 2.2 million people watched the preseason game between the Browns and the Panthers. Like, you think that just happened by accident? Yes, I. I do.
It's the Cleveland Browns. Everyone wants to know what we're up to every single season. Like, maybe, maybe 1 million. Just for the Browns. But the other 1.2, they came for Shador.
I don't see any way you can. You know, it's the thing too, TJ. We were at the Cowboy documentary premiere on Monday, and Jerry was talking about the popularity of the Cowboys, right? And it's the people who are the fans, and it's the people who want to see them lose, right? And so I think there is that kind of fascination with Shador, much like Floyd Mayweather, in a weird way.
Like, oh man, is this the time he's going to lose? And I don't want to be that negative, but it seems like probably a percentage of that, the people 2.2 million watching them, were probably maybe seeing if he would fail and see what he would look like. Right, they were there for him, but maybe they didn't have his best interest in mind in their viewing, but they're still watching him. You know, we heard some stories about the pre-draft process, some of the meetings where he was disinterested, took phone calls, had headphones around his. neck and playing loud music.
Maybe he thought that he was gonna go earlier. A lot of people were projecting him to go earlier. That's kind of the good and bad with the mock draft system that we have, you know, in in the pre-draft stuff now is, you know, look, People think they're going to go in a certain spot, and then there's inevitably the fall, the fall, the guys who drop in the draft. And maybe Shadora got caught up in that and thinking that he was going to be a top-five pick. We certainly all kind of had that feeling going into the draft that that was a possibility, definitely in the first round.
And so now expectations have to be reset. And it seemed like he's done a good job recalibrating his pre-draft expectations to what's happening now in training camp. And he's doing and saying all the right things. By all accounts, he's been a model teammate and a model rookie. And now he's getting his opportunity.
And it's too bad that it's been derailed by this injury. What's interesting about the city of Cleveland and it's it's a football city. When the Cleveland Browns do well, that city thrives. It really it really affects the The totality of a city. The Cavaliers, yes, it happens.
The Guardians, sure. But the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland is a football city. And when you are there, And you see the impact that Cleveland Browns have and the players have. On a city. It's truly you look at it and you go, man.
We just want to win. We just want to find that one special talent that sets us apart from everybody else. And I don't know if it's culture, I don't know if it's ownership, I don't know if it's GM, coaching, I don't know if it's the whole thing, I don't know what it is. About the Cleveland team, on why we can't get over this, this fact that we can't get. Our franchise quarterback.
I mean, you see the jerseys. I'm tired of seeing the jerseys. I'm tired of the names just going and going and going. Who's the next guy? Oh, we got Brandon Whedon.
Oh my God, he's going to be our guy. I literally thought Brandon Whedon was going to be our guy at one point. And then they, I'll never forget the, I think it was a preseason game. A flag goes over his head, and they're just, and he's trying to get out of the flag while they're doing the national anthem. I'm like, oh my God, this is my starting quarterback?
Yeah. And it was over right then. Deshaun Kaiser. Remember him? Yep.
Oh my God. He was the guy. Brady Quinn. Oh, I celebrated. I was like, yes, yes.
Give it to me. Here we go. I mean, Derek Anderson, I can go on and on and on about how many quarterbacks we've been through. Baker Mayfield. Oh, do you know how much of a dagger in my heart that was when we got rid of Baker Mayfield?
What a playoff game. I still don't get it to this day. It's almost like what I watched on Netflix with the quarterbacks with Kirk Cousins saying, don't let your backups go in, or watching him play injured because he wants to play through the injuries, but he's not doing what he needs to do. And he's not getting well. He's not getting healthy.
He's throwing interceptions. And I feel like the same thing happened with Baker Mayfield. And then it got him ousted from Cleveland, had to go to Carolina. I think he was playing defensive reps. And then literally got humbled, goes to the Bucs.
And now he's just, I mean, now we're looking at Bucs as a top 10 team in the NFL. I've hung out with him at the American Century Championship. That's a guy I want in my locker room. I want that guy in my locker room. Shotgun and beers with baseball.
We were playing. Actually, we were playing a game called baseball. I don't know if you've ever played this game, right? It's like beer pong and flip cup. All wrapped up in one.
Get this crew, right? TJ Oshi.
Okay. Myself.
Okay. Jason Kelsey. Travis Kelsey. Yep. Miles Teller.
My tail. I mean th I mean These are the teams, right? Yeah, yeah. It's pretty great. Baker Mayfield.
Yeah. Trevor Lawrence. A lot of beers. I mean, we're playing this game and.
So what you have to do is there's four. Four Cups stacked, right?
Okay. On each side. First base, second base, third base, four base, right? Home run. Home run.
Yes. And then there's two cups on the side. And a player can steal. Like, say, if I hit it in the first cup, that's a single. But then a guy can run, grab a cup, drink a beer, and flip it.
And the other guy has to get it before.
Now, if you flip it before him, That's a stolen base. He goes to second. But if he gets it for you, that's an out. Oh, fun.
So you play nine innings. Oh, shoot. And let me tell you. Playing with Travis Kelsey, like he's Like jacking you up, and you're like, oh man, okay, here we go. It was the funnest time I've ever had, and we were having so much fun and just watching everyone around.
And by the way, no cameras. No. No one, no one filming anything. Like, it was just guys hanging out. Having fun, enjoying the offseason, and just doing what you do, you know?
And it was one of the, I mean, I still, I have such fond memories. There's trophies. We had hats this year. Like, and everyone's celebrating, everyone's ready for this thing. It is the best time.
And playing with him, and I got to play with Baker Mayfield at American Century Championship, got to do 18 holes with him. And literally. I he started playing music. And I was like, What is this? And he's like, Dude, it's big booty mix 15.
And I'm like, What is big booty mix 15? But I'll tell you what, dancing in the middle of the fairways. We weren't playing very well, by the way. You can see this all on Ms. Golf, by the way.
Myself playing with Rich Eisen. I got to play with George Kittle. I mean, it is one of the most fun weekends that you will have-the American Century Championship. I mean, you have Travis Kelsey doing karaoke. Jason Kelsey doing karaoke.
I mean, the weekend is unbelievable, but sitting there and talking with Baker. hearing his stories, hearing his story. Of just having a chip on his shoulder, you know, trying to prove everyone wrong. It reminds me of myself. Like even in WWE, I feel like I'm still.
Trying to have, you know, I still have a chip on my shoulder. I still have people saying, ah, he's, you know, he's done all these things, but, you know, he's past his prime. I'm not past my prime. I'm still in my prime and I feel great. I feel better than everybody.
So I'm having a blast out there, but man. It irks me that we lost Baker Mayfield. And it's wild that a number one pick would still have that chip on the shoulder, too, you know, but he has it. Yeah. Well Yeah, you know, it is what it is.
Well, coming up next, we have Johnny Manzel.
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That's O'ReillyAuto.com/slash Eisen. Listen, the way you sleep is unique to you, and that's why having a sleep number smart bed is so crucial. Because you can adapt to your changing needs for just right. Can't wait to nestle into bed, luxurious comfort.
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Sleep number, official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. What does an NFL team get? With Jalen Hurts.
Well, I'm a dog. Um a relentless competitor. Um and I'm gonna work my cell off every day. Um try to win ball games. I mean, I've I've done a pretty good job with that and And just most importantly, impacting the people around me to my best ability.
I think that's the biggest thing is can a guy impact guys and um Bring guys with her. Oh man. You know, just just Bring a presence about himself to the organization and to the program.
So, um, Yeah, I'm looking forward to what the e the future holds for me and um I'll just continue to work my tail logs and Trying to take steps every day to be the best player, quarterback, and man I can be.
So, what questions are you asked? I mean, what more do you need to, in your estimation, put out there? that that you're being asked about.
Well, you know, Rich, it's a process it's a process, you know, and it's something that I've never experienced. And they pretty much just ask me questions to try and get a better feel of who I am as a person, as a leader. Um you know And that and they're at Pakba, right? Sh so it's It's very unique in my position because I've had so many different offensive coordinators and I've been around so many great minds in the game. These coaches simply want to know what I know.
They know I know ball. They know I've been well taught from each and every coach. Um me spitting back the things that I know and and showing them, you know, that I'm a student of the game and I'm very knowledgeable what I what I know and and what I'm doing. Our first guest. of this morning, this afternoon, wherever you are.
He is. From Ty V High School. He put Texas AM on the map. He is the most. Polarizing collegiate athlete to ever step foot in sports history.
Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Johnny Manzell. Yes, Johnny, welcome to the show. How are we doing? Thank you very much for being here. You are here today as a partner with Sling TV to promote its newest day pass, weekend pass, and week pass, launching this week just in time for the college football season and NFL.
Tell me about your partnership with Sling TV. Listen, it's that time of the year again. All the boring sports and all the like little lull throughout the season. It's college football season. We're back.
People want to watch games. I want to watch the SEC.
So, if we're talking about getting instant access instead of having all these subscriptions and all this stuff that just runs up your bills, everything. It's Link TV. You want to go watch a game for the day, maybe the weekend, the week, whatever you want. Starts at $4.99. How easy is it to just go click?
Go watch SEC football and not have to worry about it coming back to bite you in the long run. Love it. And how's your Aggies going to do this year? Feeling good about my Aggies this year, to be honest. Last year, you know, obviously towards the end of the season, I don't think it went exactly the way we wanted it to.
Showed some promise. One of those seasons where you get off to a decent start. You're sitting there, you know, five and two, six and two, and then you have a stumble on the way home. But I think a full offseason for Marcel Reed will be really good. I think Elko in his second year will be more prepared for what, you know, the SEC is a gauntlet.
It's tough. You're going to beat up on each other, but, you know, some tough tests throughout the season. Notre Dame, another tough test. But I'm feeling like they're up for the challenge and it looks good so far. Can they beat Texas?
And that's the question. Let's go. Obviously, last year was being at that game and the rivalry finally coming back. In 2011, when I was redshirting, I got to be a part of the last Heartbreak Justin Tucker field goal to knock us off for the last one. Obviously, throughout my time there in the past years, didn't get to have that game, but that is the game that circled on the schedule right now as they're going through training camp.
So prepare, boys, because you know, they're one up on us coming back into the rivalry. Do you see any collegiate athletes right now that kind of resemble a Johnny Manzel in the way you used to play in college? Um You know, there's some guys who run around a little bit. I don't see anybody out there that's necessarily doing the same type of off-the-cuff, crazy things that I was doing. But there are a lot of good talent at the quarterback position.
A guy that I've really talked to and got to know a little bit throughout this last year, Diego Pavia from Vanderbilt. The kid is an absolute stud, got a heart of gold, really solid kid. I got a chance to hop on a call with him last year and congratulate him for the Alabama win.
So I think with him at the helm at Vanderbilt, the guy plays, if anybody in the country plays, as similar to me as I've seen. Do you get to mentor a lot of collegiate athletes? Do a lot of them come to you and say, hey, do you have any advice? And what kind of advice do you give to them? You know, I always have, you know, people come into my DMs every now and then.
I was in Miami a couple weeks ago and ran into Carson Beck and had a nice talk with him for a little bit. Me and Marcel Reed spoke on the phone last week and talked about some stuff.
So, listen, for the guys who it is a tough world in college football right now, right? Dealing with money and fame and just kind of everything that comes with it. And it is very easy to let some of those things overtake what the main thing is, right?
So, as much as this money that you're making in college is amazing. life-changing really um The end goal is the second contract in the NFL and to get to the next show and the next stage.
So, my DMs are always open, and I'm always willing to give anybody advice for anybody that wants to reach out. Do you wish a 19-year-old Johnny Manzel had someone like you to talk to and kind of give advice on how to handle fame? I don't know if a 19-year-old Johnny Manzel would have listened to anybody. Nobody? Like, I was wondering that because, like, Tyvee High School is known for its military-like-esque type of training.
And then you go to Texas AM and it felt like, because I've watched, I watched your documentary Untold on Netflix, which anyone that hasn't seen it, it's amazing. It's a great kind of story of what your story truly was. And, you know, going to Texas AM, it kind of feels like it let you do whatever you wanted. Right. So, do you feel like you needed a kind of military style, or do you feel like no matter what?
Kind of style was in college, you weren't listening. I mean, I was just at such a point where, like, just was on such a crazy high of a roller coaster ride that, you know, I. I really don't think I would have. You know, I was throughout that period of time, especially when I was going through the NCA investigation stuff. You know, LeBron was on my phone every single day giving me and you know, just like, you know, keep your head up, you know, fight through this.
Like, there's going to be a lot of stuff that comes through it and a lot of stuff that you're going to read, that you're going to see, but continue to try and keep the main thing, the main thing, and just continue to work on your craft and try and get better and go have another great season. But, you know, it was really tough because, you know, you have all the access in the world. Nobody says no to you. You get to do whatever you want. And, you know, for me, you know, it was something that I just loved being in.
You know, I loved it. What do you think the Johnny Manzel era would be like if there were NIL deals back then? And there was a transfer portal back then. Yeah, I would have probably walked into the athletic building every day in a Rolls-Royce ghost with a fur coat and a bean hat on. I would have taken the Joe Namath route for sure.
So, is it a good thing that you didn't have NIL back then? Or how do you feel about the NIL right now? Do you feel it's a bad thing or a good thing? Because you were kind of a person that wanted that to happen, right? Yeah, no, I think for me, the way I think about it now, even though it is a little bit skewed and a little bit out of whack, it is in the players' favor right now.
And schools are having to adjust and conferences and everything that's going on. It is a little wacky. But at the end of the day, you know, to have kids that come through your school that move the needle, that bring in a ton of value and money and everything that comes along with it, they deserve to be compensated.
So the thing that's kind of really tough is like for me, during our time, we couldn't just hop in a transfer portal and end up somewhere in the spring. We couldn't just bounce and go somewhere else or get an offer for somebody. It was a full year you have to sit out.
So the opportunity that these kids are getting is amazing. But also, something that it's doing is: if you're a high school recruit, a two-star, three-star, there are so many people in the transfer portal that. There's not as many guys getting recruited out of high school because, you know, why wouldn't you go get somebody from the transfer portal who's already been in the swing of things and knows how to handle themselves and go to class? Like, it's a lot more difficult teaching a high school kid that than somebody who's already been in another program. Do you feel like the NFL or college can better prepare?
Kids going into the NFL, or do you feel like Do you feel like it's better now than it was back in your day? Or do you feel like there's still some steps that need to be taken to get a collegiate player ready for the NFL and what it brings? I think it comes down to school it's school dependent, right? Like, I think it comes down to the effort that the athletic departments are putting into making sure guys know about finances. Like, we would go into a rookie symposium and learn about, hey, You make a million dollars with your agent and your taxes and everything, you're really gonna see X amount.
Now, you can't have kids in college that are making a million dollars a year and not pay their taxes and have the IRS coming after them and everything.
So, you would hope an athletic department is sitting these kids down and really showing them that if you make a hundred grand. You don't get a hundred grand. You know, there's other things that come along with it. And, you know, for them, just trying to teach them and educate them, it should be better, you know, even though it is really hard to do that for 17, 18, 19, 20-year-old kids. I mean, I don't know if the kids today are putting their 100 grand underneath their beds like you used to do when you would do autograph signings and stuff like that.
Do you think that winning the Heisman as a freshman changed your life and changed your career? And if you didn't win the Heisman, like say Mantai Teo won, do you think that would have changed your career and your trajectory? I think 100% it would have. I think that trophy and breaking down that barrier of being the first freshman to win the Heisman, you know, changed my life forever. You know, something that throughout the history was really taboo at one point in time that a freshman couldn't win it.
And to finally, you know, knock that barrier down and then see the next year Jameis come in and win it as a registered freshman as well. It really just changed the game for that fraternity and for that award. And, you know, it changed my life forever. You know, I'm forever, you know, able to go to autograph signings or go to the award show in December and sign a Heisman helmet along with the rest of the legends there. And it's, you know, it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my life and something for me that I always dreamt about and got a chance to actually live a dream.
Talk to me about The popularity of Johnny Manzel, Money Manzel, Johnny Football. I mean, at your pro day. Like you had a former president, like George Bush and Barbara Bush were at your pro day. I mean, what was that like?
Well, I mean, you were hanging out with Dre, LeBron, Drake, LeBron, like all these. all these amazing people and you're still in college. and still going to school. Talk to me a little bit about that. Yeah, I mean it's It was unbelievable going through the pro day and being probably 10 minutes into the workout.
And then you see the garage door kind of lift on the other end of the stadium, and you see President Bush on his golf cart just driving through, not a care in the world. You know, I got to go sit down with him the night before and have a really cool dinner and talk and sit. And just, you know, being from Texas. Wait, what did you talk about? With George Bush, I got to bring my mom and my dad and stuff.
I think we just, you know, we talked a lot about just Texas. You know, we talked about what a great state it is, about Aggie football, about life. I think, you know, it's a memory that me and my family, you know, have framed in our house forever. I think it just, it meant a lot to us at that time and was really, really surreal. You know, when you're in college and they're like, hey, this is going to happen.
And I was like, wow, I get to bring my mom, my dad, my sister, and do this and have this whole experience. Like, come on, amazing. After the pro day, you're at the draft. Did you think Dallas was coming for you? Were you remembering for it?
I remember as it was going on, like, you know, there was always such a hope because we never really talked to them much throughout the draft. But I had been, you know, from my time when I was AM, been in Jerry's Sweet a couple times. I went to the Final Four that was there and sat in the suite. We always had great talks, always seemed to have a good relationship.
So when the pick popped up, you know, I'm sitting there crossing my fingers, hoping that that would be the case. You know, ultimately, for them, it worked out because Zach Martin was an unbelievable pick. Um And and I would say still probably even to this day, I'm a fan of players in the NFL, like Mike Evans, my guy. There's quarterbacks that I love to watch. But if there's a team that like really has like a place in my heart that I like, it's the boys.
Yeah. So you're in the suite with Jerry. Did you ever feel like he was picking your brain? Trying to see if you were the quarterback of his future, or was it more just small talk, handshake, smile, take a picture, see you bye. I think it was more just small talk and handshakes and hanging out and me probably trying to go in there and sneak a margarita or something.
Nice. And so you're at the draft. And You were falling. And then the Cleveland Browns step up and take you. What's that feeling like?
And by the way, I also heard that you did you text the offensive coordinator from the Browns and be like, come get me, or something along those lines? Did I read that? Did I hear this right? We were, he texted me a little bit, probably maybe after like pick 18 or something. It was like, yo, this is Kyle, right?
This was dialogin with our quarterback coach. He's like, be patient. We think we're going to come up and get you. The really interesting thing was, going into the draft, we felt like our floor was 23. Even though we didn't have any meetings with the Kansas City Chiefs, I think Andy Reid really liked me, and that's where I would have gone had the Browns not traded up one spot ahead.
Oh wow, I didn't even know that one. Wow.
So you get drafted to Cleveland. What's the immediate thought? You're happy or you're like, oh, God, it's Cleveland? No, or like I'm the guy that can change the trajectory of the quarterbacks. I think my immediate reaction was like, oh my gosh, like I'm a 5-11 quarterback who played two years in college and I just got drafted in the first round.
Like, wow. That was wait. That was it because the Johnny Manzel that I watched on TV, I would think he would be like, Yeah, of course, I'm going to the Cleveland and I'm going to be that guy that changes the trajectory. I'm going to do it all.
So, in the back of your head, you're more like, Oh my god, I've only played two years. Like, what is going on here? I mean, when I went to college, I never really wanted to get on the field and play college football. And then you look up, like, you know, 12 months later, and you're on a stage in New York and you win a Heisman. And then, you know, you go back for a second season and you play better than you did the year before.
And it's like, wow, I didn't come into this thinking that the NFL was actually going to be a reality. And then, you know, you turn your papers in later in the year and you get a first, second-round grade coming back.
So it's like, wow, I really have the opportunity to be able to do it. And then when Cleveland happened, You know, I didn't know anything about Cleveland. I knew going into the draft that they had two picks.
So statistically, You know, a team having two picks, there's a chance that they need a quarterback. There's a chance that I'm going to end up here. And then when I went to Berea for the first time the next day after the draft, I got to meet Ray Farmer and Jimmy Haslam and Mike Petton and stuff, and just really taking a look at the roster at the time, I felt a lot of confidence with the pieces that we had that I would be able to go in and be able to be a good fit for the organization. And ultimately, That wasn't the case. When did you realize that the NFL was different than college?
Because obviously, I mean, I mean, I imagine I don't know this because I'm not you. And I imagine you'll, you'll parlay the information to us, but you're going in, you're dominating college. Like, no one can touch you. You're just tremendous. You're polarizing.
Everyone wants a piece of Money Manzel. And then you go to the Cleveland Browns and you're like, I imagine you, if I'm you, I would probably be like, yeah, I'm going to do the same exact thing in college. And then you get to the NFL and you're like, wait. It's a job. It's not just playing on a football field anymore.
When was that realization for you? I think probably through the first training camp, you know, as we got out there and they started introducing some defenses. You know, the great thing about Texas AM and Cliff Kingsbury's offense and the offense that we ran there was more predicated on speed, fast, getting defenses uncomfortable. Um but I I wouldn't say we were Super dialed into the X's and O's of the game, right? Maybe you're looking at one high, two high, or if a linebacker's tucked in the box to make a switch and throw a bubble and like get the ball on the perimeter and play fast.
You know, when you get to the NFL and you're really starting to learn defenses, I felt overwhelmed. I felt swamped. Like I didn't learn enough that I needed to in college to be prepared for the NFL. And I remember being in practice, and it was probably maybe five days in a training camp. And The defense started putting in an 8 DB package where there's like eight defensive backs walking around everywhere, and there's only three down linemen.
You can't tell who's a down lineman or who to block, and there's just little guys all over the field. And I just remember walking off the practice field that day being like. That sucked. That was the day that was like, I got absolutely put in a blender and just like, this was where you're like, this is what they do, right? You're going to see three down sets, four down sets.
You're going to have guys walking around. It's not always going to be cut and dry, and four down, three linebackers, and everything looking perfect like it did a lot in college. Do you have any regrets? You know, I sit here today with like just a lot of regret with how I handled a lot of things. You know, I think I took a lot of my like similar attitude and like antics with me.
I think I got really comfortable in being in a position my first year there of being the backup and really not having a lot of responsibilities. I think I never truly embraced Cleveland. I think I went into it with a negative mindset from the get-go and never really fully put my heart around it and gave it a chance. Um, you know, being in Texas my whole life and then going there was just a little bit of a shell shock for me. And, you know, look.
A lot of people throughout that time supported me, bought jerseys. The city embraced me. They loved me. There was a lot of hope that I was going to be able to go there and make a difference for a franchise that's been longing for that, right? But you know, my efforts and my Determination and time that I could have put into the quarterback position is something that for the rest of my life will always haunt me.
That I had the ability to do more and I didn't because my head and my mind and things were in other places that weren't focused on what I was truly, truly gifted at.
Well, man, thank you so much for being here. I was one of those guys, by the way. I loved watching you in college. I even loved watching you at the draft. I remember where I was when you got drafted.
I was out of my seat. I was celebrating, high-fiving everyone. Every time I've met you and we've had conversations, you've always been amazing. And I love the person that you're becoming and all the lessons that you have learned. And I love the fact that you are talking to collegiate players and getting them ready to handle the stuff that you had to go through because you didn't really have anyone that knew what you went through because you're a one of a kind.
So thank you very much. It was a one-o-kind situation. I've always been a fan of you as well, my friend. You're. You know, you're one of the great ones.
So I appreciate you guys having me on today. I hope you have a great rest of your day. Much love. Thanks, man.
So I moved to the States on Southern 18 in August. With no English, I did not. Play any football. I didn't know, I just knew about football that people were running and hitting each other. That's all I knew.
And my brother played a wide receiver, he coached the wide receivers. At that time, I was like 200 pounds, 196 foot. I was very small, but I was very like clean.
So it's a wide receiver type of body. And my brother was like, okay, we're gonna try him as a wide receiver and see if he can catch the ball. Couldn't catch the ball. Uh detriment as a linebacker. There's a stuma stuff going on.
There's people moving everywhere.
So I was like panic attacked.
So these ponies just put me in a D-line and told me to go get the guy who has the ball. And I was always strong. I was like a strong athlete. From the CrossFit, so I was like, okay, see ball, get ball. I can do that.
And I just start, and I just start doing it. I just started like, I didn't have the hot to start costing my team so much penalties because I just start grabbing face masks, just throwing people, like tossing them. Exactly. You see, this is the word that I told my coach, and I was like, coach, I can't do that. What?
And he's like, in an accent. And he was like, right, every time I have to practice coach Mitch Olsen, he goes, Ahmed, no, you can't do that. And I'm like, oh, okay, fine. I'm not going to do it. Um but then one day where the D1, like, and the NFL dream started, I did not know what the NFL was.
One time I was watching the NFL and I saw Aaron Donald play. Oh boy. I was like, I mean, he was like dominating people and I was like, what high school he goes to? And he was, bro, that's the NFL. And I was like, NFL?
What's that? And he was like, bro, that's the National Football League. And I was like, okay, I wanna go there. I wanna play that. I wanna be like that guy.
And then he was like, okay, I'm gonna start taking you to camps and you gotta have to show yourself. I was like, okay, take me.
So he just started taking me to like winter circle camps and start taking me to like all these different camps and I just start going dominating people. I was literally watching YouTube videos about how to pass rush. And I was like, okay. A guy stopping me from getting to this guy, but there was one guy stopping.
So, how to either go through him or go around him? It is that simple. And I just simplified it. It is that simple. When you think about it.
And I just start dominating. Like, I start dominating people from modern day, boss cool, five stars, four stars. Like you name it, put me at the three, I dominate, put me at four, five, six, nine, put me whatever.
So offers start just rolling in, and people start knowing my name and who I was. And this is why I believe. And God such a like a good God and to To be the first Egyptian to ever do it. It's amazing to meet Spencer Danielson. He was the D-line coach back then.
Yes. He played with my brother at Azure Pacific in college.
So when I was getting recruited and getting known, He texted me and he was like, hey, loved your film. And I got excited that Boyd State texted me. I was like, wow. Brother, check this out. Had you ever heard of Idaho?
Never. Never. I only knew like Boji State was the blue field and I was like, so I literally like committed on the spot. Coach D called me in a virtual meeting and showed me the facility and he was like, I'm coming to your school. I feel like God called me to be here.
and best decision I ever made to be at Boje State. And it taught me so much other than football. It taught me how to be a man, how to lead men. How to be myself and just have so much energy and just dominate and have that mentality of like, well, I'll do whatever it takes to get there, you know, and just have that toughness and. you know, and just the work ethic, and I'm really grateful for Boise State.
And we're back. I am The Miz filling in for Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen Show. I was that guy, and then I would hear all the kids snickering and everything.
So, even when I'm reading anything, and I mean anything, I will hear everything outside of there, but literally. Being a WWE superstar, like we read a lot, we do a lot of like reads on teleprompters now. And being the host of American Gladiators, which will be on Prime Video, amazing show. It's going to be unreal. It has the old and the nostalgia of the old, and it brings the new.
The gladiators hit harder than ever. The contenders are, their stories are amazing, and their host is incredible. Prime Video, it's going to be amazing. But I got to tell you, I would practice all the time. When I first started in WWE, I would go into the pre-tapes room where the teleprompter was, and I would just say, Can you put anything up there?
And I'll just start reading because I'm a big person on preparation, always have been, always will be. And so now every time I read something, I literally go, I can hear everything. I can, I can, whenever I mess up a word, I'm like, oh, oh, I can hear a kid snickering. Like, it's just one of those things. It's crazy to me to be able to now do this.
And be here talking to you and be able to read on television because I still remember second-grade Ms. But I want to talk about something that everybody is talking about all over the sports world. And that is the New Heights podcast with Taylor Swift. And I know a lot of football people out there are talking: what does that have to do with football? It's got a lot to do with football.
Because Women love Taylor Swift. And men love Travis Kelsey, and they have two different audiences. And they're crossing over their audience together. Looking at Taylor Swift talk about X's and O's is amazing. and we're going to be right back to talk more about it.
Yeah. And we're still on Roku, by the way.
So I'm still getting used to the radio and TV.
So back to my Taylor Swift. I love seeing her talk about the X's and O's. I love seeing them together because I do think it's. It's a cute matchup. And knowing Travis for so long, like I've known him for 10 years.
I knew him before this huge, huge fame. And he is still the same person that I met 10 years ago. He's fun. And one thing that she said about him that I was like, oh, that's so true. When he walks into a room.
The vibes boost. And it doesn't matter what room it is.
So I can just imagine him in a Kansas City locker room. It's unbelievable. It's incredible. What did you guys think of the podcast? Because I know you both listened to all one hour and 44 minutes of it.
You see, I had some stuff to do yesterday, so I didn't quite know. You're telling me you don't know about the new album that is coming out with Taylor Swift. I do. And that she's got a song called Canceled, and it might be about the drama with Blake Lively. I don't know.
I'm just reading the tea leaves. Yeah, I didn't. Thank you for informing me. I had no idea. You guys are too old for this, man.
You got to get in with the no, you got to get in with the now. Taylor is bringing women to sports. She is bringing her fans. This is what I'm talking about. That's true.
With football, a lot of football fans are like, oh, you know, they always keep cutting to Taylor Swift. It's like. She brings ratings. She brings more fans to football. The owners like more fans because it brings more money.
More money means the guys that you love, that you're drafting your fans to football, can get paid a little more. It's like WWE. When we bring in celebrities in WWE, all our fans are like, why are you bringing in celebrities? What are you doing? Logan Paul?
Logan Paul? Logan Paul brings a whole new genre that he has with YouTube. And he'll bring it into WWE.
Now, granted, our fans will boo him like no other. Yeah, they go on. And they boo a lot of people. They don't boo Snoop Dogg. They weren't booing Snoop Dogg at SoFi when I was hosting, and he was giving me a Snoop elbow.
Pinning me one, two, three. That would happen out of nowhere, too. It did happen out of nowhere. Trust me, you have no idea. Boy, would I like to give you the behind the scenes of that one?
Well, Mike, you've got a mic, and we've got some time. I got 30 seconds. I got 30 seconds. I got a guy in my ear going, you got 30 seconds. I'm like, I'm not 30 seconds.
All right.
So I'm in the ring. Shane McMahon gets injured, like really injured. Tears both of his quads. And I'm in there, and I'm just, and I know the camera's on me, so I can't say anything because, but I'm going to look like I'm like, all right, all right, here we go, here we go. And then Snoop Dogg comes in, sucker punches me, puts it in.
He got the thing, but yeah, we'll be right back. There it is. There it is. I knew it was gonna mess it up. I knew it.
It was a perfect story. I am Michael Rosenbaum. I am Tom Welling. Welcome to Talk Bill. Where it's fun to talk about small books.
We're going to be talking to sometimes guest stars. Are you liking the direction Lois is going in? Yeah, because I'm getting more screen time. That's good. But mostly, it's just me and Tom remembering.
I think we all feel like there was a scene missing here. You got me, Tom. Let's revisit it. Let's look at it. See what we remember.
See what we remember. I had never been around anything like that before. I mean, it was so fun. Talk Bill. Talk Bill.
I just had a flashback. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Let's get into it.
