Club Shay Shay - Adrian Peterson

Episode Date: February 15, 2021

On episode 21 of Club Shay Shay, Shannon welcomes in 7-time Pro Bowler, 2007 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 2012 NFL MVP: Adrian Peterson.Adrian Peterson discusses how he’s been preparing to come back for his 15th season in the NFL, viewing Tom Brady and Drew Brees’ longevity as motivation for his extended career, as well as his desire to win a Super Bowl. He dives into the Lions’ decision to trade Matthew Stafford, and the Rams’ 2021 outlook with the veteran QB. AP & Shannon cover the extent of Peterson’s career, starting with his challenging upbringing in Palestine, TX. AP revisits his time at the University of Oklahoma, including the team’s loss to his second-choice school USC in the National Championship. They also go through his experience joining the Vikings as the 7th pick in 2007, including the tragic death of his brother on the night before the Combine, and the strength of his draft class. Peterson names his Mount Rushmore of running backs, relays stories from his incredible rookie season and beyond, discusses things he would have done differently throughout his career and even rehashes his disappointment in Shannon’s comments about him signing with the Saints in 2017. One of the greatest running backs of all time sits down with one of his favorite tight ends in this compelling conversation.#DoSomethinB4TwoSomethin & Follow Club Shay Shay:                                                                 https://www.instagram.com/clubshayshayhttps://twitter.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.facebook.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.youtube.com/c/clubshayshay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns and church. Voila! You got straight away. They try to save everybody. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Shea Shea.

I am your host, also the proprietor of Club Shea Shea, the guy that's stopping by for a drink and conversation today with the unanimous All-American in his final season at the University of Oklahoma. He was NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2007. He was NFL MVP in 2012. A seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro, unanimous All-Decade of the 2010s, three-time Russian leader, two-time touchdown Russian leader all day. Adrian Peterson. I've been grinding all my life. Sacrifice. Hustle paid the price. Want a slice. Got the rolling dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life. AP, what's going on, bro? Not much, not much. How you doing? I'm good, bro. How you feeling? I'm feeling good, man. Feeling good. Feeling rejuvenated. Feeling fresh.

You're coming off of year 14. What have you learned about your body and what do you want to do? Well, I've learned about my body is, you know, taking care of it really pays dividends. So like this

at all my years, this probably has been the best offseason. Coming out, no injuries, nothing nagging, just feeling really good and feeling fresh, you know. So I look forward to continue to play this game as long as possible. So listening at you talk now, you say you feel refreshed, you're rejuvenated, you went into the offseason, you don't really have any injuries.

So it sounds like you're leaning towards coming back for year 15. Yes, sir. Definitely. You know, one thing I've always told myself is I want to play this game to the point where I'm able to retire on my own. You know, you know, if my body starts telling me something different, then, you know, I'll shut it down a little earlier. But, you know, when I look back, I want to know that I put my best effort out there. I gave everything I had and I was still able to play at a high level.

You said your body will tell you with your training. It was reported that you used to train five, five and a half hours a day. How have your training changed as you've aged in the NFL? I've cut back. You know, I can't say I'm the same like I was when I was 20-something years old, you know. Was that the hardest thing? Because I knew that the thing that hurt me is that as I started to age, I still tried to do the same volume.

I tried to do the same intensity and it was killing my quads. It was killing my hamstrings. I didn't understand. I felt great, but my body just couldn't take that. Is that what you're finding out that you as much as you want to, you just can't train like you could in your 20s? Yeah. Yeah. It's different, especially like the main thing for me is the recovery. Right. The recovery aspect of it is it's a lot longer, you know. Right.

I just can't snap back like I used to, you know. So I try to do things like pool workouts, pilates. I've picked up on a lot and to kind of tweak some of the things that I'm doing. You mentioned a couple of years back that you would like to try to play until your 40s. If I'm not mistaken, you're going to be 36 in a couple of months here.

Do you still have aspirations of playing until your 40s as a running back? I do. I do. I do. Now, you know, that's different than playing until your 40s as a quarterback. Exactly. Exactly. And people say all the time, but Tom Brady, he's 43.

I'm like, totally different positions, man. You can build those quarterbacks and they throwing the play. I got 11 guys coming at me. So would you like, it seems to me that, and we're going to talk about this a little later, that the Lions, you've just finished your last season with the Lions. It seems like they're going into rebuilding mode. Is that something that you want to be a part of?

I know you want an opportunity to compete for a title. Do you believe the Lions will present that opportunity for you next year? I don't know, to be honest with you, because like the quarterback situation that just took place, them bringing in, what's his name, Jerry? Jerry Goff. Jerry Goff.

I don't know how he'll fit within that offense. You know, I felt like they have the tools offensively, but there's a lot of guys that they were only last year. You know, Marvin Jones, I don't know Gallaudet. If these guys are not coming back, then it's really going to be a rebuilding, you know, situation. And, of course, that's not something that I would, you know, love to be a part of.

But, you know, at the end of the day, it's like, who's going to give me an opportunity to come in and play? You know, so that's really the most important thing. Obviously, you know, being on a great team is what I would prefer, you know, to have the opportunity to chase a championship. But at the end of the day, if that doesn't present itself, then I'm still trying to play this game at a high level and help the team try to accomplish that goal. Are you surprised the Lions traded Matthew Stafford

considering that what he was with that organization and how well he has played over the years. Are you surprised that they made this move? Yeah, I was surprised. I was surprised. And it was interesting that I was talking to my dad about this the other day, that it was a mutual, mutual, you know, understanding. Yeah, decision. I was like, hmm, that's that's very interesting. Taking that, you know, a couple other guys that played there, they didn't have that opportunity. Well, that's the way of saying that one party wanted to leave.

They said it was mutually. It's kind of like a relationship. When we get a divorce, it was a mutual parting of the ways. Now, somebody said we wanted out in the same face. We both wanted out. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was an interesting move. So what are your expectations?

Do you believe that Matthew Stafford coming to the Rams gives them an opportunity to win the title considering what they have around him, both offensively and defensively, and the great mind of Sean McVay? Yeah, I do. I do. You know, when they made the move, I was like, you know what? That was a win for the Rams because you think about Matthew Stafford and his game

and being around him for a year, he's a very smart, you know, quarterback. You know, some of the decisions that he made throughout the season, you know, was kind of questionable, you know. But I think that kind of stemmed from his competitive, he's so competitive, you know, and he's he'll hold on to that ball the very last second. And sometimes it kind of costs us, you know, four or five yards here. And our defense, we didn't have that type of defense

that the Rams have that they get through and out. They can overcome that, you know, so for his style, and I'm sure he also pressed a little more because, you know, defensively, we really weren't stout. So I think he was more in the mode of he had to make something happen. Right. So being with the Rams, it's a totally different, you know, environment that he's going to be around.

He's going to have way more opportunities. He's not going to feel like he has to, you know, force different things. Have to make every play. Every play, yeah. He don not going to feel like he has to, you know, force different things. Have to make every play. Every play, yeah. He don't have to do that now. So I think it's going to be a really, really good move for him. You mentioned Tom Brady earlier. Tom Brady is 43, playing in his 10th Super Bowl.

He said about four or five years ago, he said he'd like to play the 45. They asked him the other day. He said, yeah, I might be interested in playing beyond 45. Does that give you hope that Tom Brady thinks about playing to 45, maybe beyond? Does that give you that, you know what? 40 might not be out of the possibility, but that's a long ways away. That's five years.

That's five years for you. Yeah. Yeah. But it does, you know, it does. Like, when I look at guys like Tom Brady, you know, Drew Brees. Drew Brees played, yeah, 42. You know, I'm just like, that's, for me, that's motivation. Even though I understand that we play different positions,

based on how I know my body feels, like, that still is motivation for me. It's like, you know what? These guys are, you know, doing the impossible, you know what these guys are you know doing the impossible you know so why why can't I why do you believe uh Tom has been so successful for so long to be able to play at this level it doesn't matter the system it doesn't matter the players around him it seems it doesn't matter the coach that he's able to maintain and perform at a very high level what do you think are some of the keys to his success uh i would say number one is his is his mental you know um is his his mindset you know um just you just hear him talk to guys and like for instance after they won the nfc

championship game i heard one of the linebackers, he was saying that, you know, it was some guys crying or he was sharing a couple of tears and Tom Brady was like, you know, what the fuck you crying for? You know, it ain't helping, you know? So just like having that type of mindset, a lot of guys don't have it, you know? And it's clear that his work ethic has allowed him to play to 43 and i would say that's like that's a b you know i'm saying i mean one one b um as far as the work that you put in

because anything you do i've always been a firm believer in this is you get out what you put in you know so you can tell that not only is he a student of the game, but he works his mechanics and he's still been doing it for a long time. You know, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Who's retiring first, you or Frank Gore? Frank Gore. You going to wait him out? I got you. He already two years.

He got two years over me right now. So I'm playing catch up. Look, let's not beat around the bush. We know what you want. You want that 18,355 held by Emory Smith. That's what you want. Let's be real. Let's be all the way 100.

That's what you want. That is what I want. But I can't say I want that more here and say I want more than a championship. I definitely want a championship. But to sit here and say that 18 is, you know, passing the Emmitt is not something that I'm chasing to, I would be lying to you. I definitely want to do that.

But the thing is, the question that I have for you is that, do you think you're going to get the opportunities? Because you're a little over 4,000 yards away. Are you going to get the opportunities? Are you going to get the opportunities because that's a little, you're a little over 4,000 yards away. Are you going to get the opportunities? Are you going to get the carries? That's going to give you the number to get to that. I think it's possible. I really do. I really do. You know, get into a situation where, you know, I'm getting 200 carries,

160 carries, you know, making the best of those opportunities. It's all I can ask for, you know? So I feel like that opportunity can present itself. But you know, if you get that few of carries, you used to, you used to 300 carries. So, you know, you're going to have to average four and a half, five yards on that 150 to 200. I already know.

Hey, So my mindset into this offseason has been, you know what? I've been reflecting back on the last two or three years and I'm just like, you know what? Like what I said earlier, you get out what you put in. I've grinded the last couple years, but I haven't

put the work in that I know I'm capable of putting in. So from that standpoint, I know that when this season come around, when I presented with the opportunity, it's going to be something totally different than what has been, what I've shown the past couple of years. You mentioned you haven't put the work over the last couple of off seasons that you know you can.

Was it because of injuries or were there other things going on that prevented you from doing that? Yeah, there was definitely other things going on that prevented you from doing that yeah there was definitely other things going on um that prevented me from doing that you know and i just had to sit back and reflect on those things and eliminate those things those distractions and you know coming to this offseason with a totally different mindset there are some situations if i'm not we don't have to relive we know what transpired you got suspended you was on the commissioner's exempt list 2014 so that's 14 15 15 16 games you missed you got a injury about week three one year so that's another 13 games do you believe had you been able to fulfill that those seasons you would be a lot closer you probably say maybe a thousand yards 500

yards behind where you need to be right now if you were able to play in those seasons without a doubt i definitely i definitely believe that you know that's something that i thought about on several occasions you know it's like i really i really missed that's what keeps you up at night isn't it knowing that you missed that you up at night, isn't it? Knowing that you missed basically 30 games and basically in your prime, when you were like, you were all day and you were getting the lion's share, you were getting 250, you were getting 300 carries,

and you were averaging four and a half yards a carry, and you were 14, 15, 1600 yards, and you extrapolate that over two years, you're a lot closer now, you would have been a lot closer now than what you are currently. Without a doubt. And that's something that, like you say, I've laid in the bed some nights and been like, man, you know,

what if I would have been able to play those, you know, those 30 games? Yeah, I'd definitely be sitting in a different position right now. And really, you know, at 30, turning 36 here soon, approaching Emmitt Smith. I said something on air in 2018, and you took offense with it, and I want to get your thought process, and I'm going to give you why I said what I said. I said that AP can have a game.

And as we start to get older, AP, and I was one of those guys, I wasn't as great a player as you, but as I got older, I could have spot games. I could go get 100, a I was one of those guys, I wasn't as great a player as you, but as I got older, I could have spot games. I could go get 100, a couple of touchdowns, maybe once every month, but to be able to do that consistently, that's where I felt, and I felt

I didn't believe that you were going to get the opportunities that you have been afforded in Minnesota, the lion's share of your career. AD, all the carries you want, as much as you can take, you take them. Knowing that you were going to New Orleans and you're going to have to split carries with Alvin Kamara, knowing that you were going to other places, and now all of a sudden, I didn't feel that you were going to get the

opportunities to showcase what you could really do. You felt that I was taking a dig at you, I think. Why did you think I was taking a dig? Okay, so I didn't see it from that perspective, you know. Okay. So when it came across to me, it was more so like everyone else. That's where it kind of fell into that category of, oh, he's too old. He's not going to be able to be productive and produce

because we've seen, you know, other elite players of this caliber that once they got to that age, they want to be able to be successful and have success. But I tried to explain it. I said, yeah, as we get older, I don't believe, and I didn't. I didn't believe you could still be as dominant. But one of the reasons why you weren't going to get the opportunity to do that, you're going to be subtracting 100 carries. Well, 100 carries, even if you're only averaging four yards, that's 400 yards.

Well, 400 yards, you extrapolate that over three, four years, that's 1,200, 1,400 yards, which is closer to your ultimate goal. No, so, like, hearing you saying it now, I don't know what clip I read I see like so I understand your perspective you know um when you explain like that but then I also took it personal too because like I've always been a fan of yours you know right I looked up and I still do you thought I was taking a shot at you yeah I'm like man this is my favorite tight end of all time. Nah, nah, nah. I understand that me being the person and me being the player that I am, that when I speak, it carries a little more weight

than somebody that didn't play the game or didn't play the game at a high level. So I'm very cautious. I'm very mindful of what I say and how I say it because I understand I've been on the other side. I've been sitting where Adrian Peterson is sitting. And so to hear former players say things, especially ones that's won,

that's played at a very high level, they carry a little bit more weight. And so that's why I was trying to be mindful to try to explain. You have to understand, yeah, he's in year 12, but is he going to get the same opportunities? Now, Alvin Kamara's down there coming off an outstanding rookie season.

He's going to have to share carries with Adrian Peterson. He goes, I mean, excuse me, with Alvin. He goes rookie season. He's going to have to share carries with Adrian Peterson. He goes, I mean, excuse me, with Alvin. He goes somewhere else. He's going to have to share carries. He's not the, he's not the bell cow back anymore. And so I think when they brought it to you, they basically said what Sharon Sharma said, you washed up. See, that's how they told you.

But they didn't explain the rest of the part of what I was saying. Exactly. And that's, that's how I know him to go, too. You explain it just like you explain it, but then the headline will be something totally different. You grew up in a small town, Palestine, Texas. What was it like growing up in that small town? And did you always know you wanted to be an NFL player?

I did. You know, very small town. You know, I remember playing. I'll never forget the first time I started playing football, organized football. I was at my grandmother's house. It was like seven o'clock. My grandpa was up drinking coffee. We were reading the newspaper.

My granny was outside watering the flowers and my dad pulled up and she came in. She said, your dad said, put some clothes on, put some shoes on. He's going to take you somewhere. So I put my shoes on and we're driving. And it looked like we're exiting, we're leaving Palestine. Right. And we're going towards the complex. I remember it being out there and he makes that right turn.

He was like, yeah, I'm taking you up here. I'm going to sign you up for football. You know? So that's when I first started playing organized football. And from that point, well, I can't say from that point, because before then it was street ball. It was just, you know, with the friends and stuff like that. I always know I had some talent,

but once I got into the organized football, that's when I was really able to open my eyes and realize that, hey, you know, I can really do something if I continue to work and continue to grind, you know, with this sport. But Palestine, it was a small town. Everyone knows everyone there. Right. You know, I have on my dad's side, I have four uncles and four aunts. And then on my mom's side is five uncles and four aunts as well. So you can just imagine all of my family members. Right.

So just growing up in that type of environment, you know, always having, you know, someone around you, someone disciplining you, putting, you know, leading you in the right direction. Right. Giving advice and stuff like that. I think that is what helped shape me and mold me into, you know, the man that I am today. So, yeah. But then when they come back to the football aspect of it, you know, at a young age playing little league football, that's when I realized and understood that, hey,

I look past college and everything else. I was like, I'm going to play in the NFL. You come from good pedigree. Your mom was a three-time state track champion. She got a scholarship to the University of Houston. Your dad was a shooting guard at Idaho State who had his career cut short by being accidentally shot in the leg by his brother.

So your mom ran track. Your dad played basketball. You love football. What were the sports that you played growing up? Probably basketball, track and field, football. Which was your favorite growing up? Football and track was right there, neck to neck. Right.

Basketball, I'm not going to lie, like, I was a defense player, you know. So you coming in and getting the five fouls and get up out of there, huh? Hey, I'm going to give you some good defense, couple blocks, you know? So you coming in and getting the five fouls and get up out of there, huh? Hey, I'm going to give you some good defense, a couple blocks, you know? I'm going to give you, I'm going to get you 10 points just off of hustle. Okay.

You know, some rebounds, put back up and whatnot. Right. But yeah, my basketball game was terrible. If I got a steal, I'm dribbling straight right hand. But traffic was my love. There was also some tragedy that happened in your life early on. Your older brother got hit by a drunk driver when you were seven and night before the combine, your half brother was shot and killed. Talk to me about the impact that those events,

tragic events had on your life. You know, it was started with my older brother who passed when I was seven. You know, that situation was really, really tough, you know, and it's not something that, I've never sat down and talked. Like, you know, my wife's telling me all the time, I think you need to talk, you know,

to a counselor or something just to kind of let that, let it go, let it out. Right. But I feel like it helped. It matured me at an early age because at that time it was just me and my mom and my brother and we were living in Dallas. And when it happened, we ended up moving back to Palestine. Okay. When it happened, we ended up moving back to Palestine. And I didn't, you know, I missed a lot of school during that time because I was there, you know, it was really tough for us, you know. We were living at my grandmother's house and my mom, no lie, she cried for a year. It seemed like for a year straight.

Every night I would be in the other room and hear her cry. And, you know, I would go in there and just, hey, mom, is it going to be okay? You know, so I feel like it made me, it made me become mature at a younger age. It forced you to become an adult probably before you should have. Before I should have, you know.

So I'm finding myself taking care of my mom and being strong for her. And I never forget I remember telling myself because my brother he was way more talented than than I was you know and I remember telling myself at that age that you know what I'm gonna use this as motivation something to continue to drive me because I know my brother you know I know this is what he would have wanted for me and i know he you know we used to talk about you know he was like extremely fast i was 10-3 you know i was 28 i couldn't touch him so you know i remember the things we used to talk talk about the young age and used to race and stuff

like that so the things that i'm gonna do i'm gonna do it for him right now um so fast forward to the combine it was um i never forget man it's it was crazy i i woke up it was like two o'clock in the morning and i just woke up and i was sweating and it was just like one of those that feeling like something something right you know so i look at my phone and i see a couple um area codes from palestine that call no message yeah missed call no messages and i didn't really think too much about it put the phone down i had a big day the next day and close my eyes and go to sleep. I wake up. Now I see the text messages and the calls. And that's when I found out my brother was shot in third ward, shot in the back, got robbed. And it was just, you know, my heart just

sunk. You know, it was a tough situation for me because I had to go out and compete that day. But I remember talking to him a couple of days prior and he was just so, he was like my number one fan. He was so wired up about me being down at the combine and, oh, I know you're going to do this, brother. I know you're going to do that. Show them, you know, who the best running back in the draft is, this, that, and the other.

So it, I have to just kind of suck it up, show them, you know, who the best running back in the draft is, this, that, and the other. So I had to just kind of suck it up, you know, and try to focus on what I was trying to accomplish that day. And, you know, I think I came out and did a decent job with that, but that was probably one of the toughest situations I had to deal with. Because the combat is a job interview. If you play football, this is the biggest job interview you're the combat is a job interview. This is the big if you play, if you play football, this is the biggest job interview you're ever going to have. Because you got hundreds of eyes,

not just physical eyes, but electronic eyes, monitoring your every move. And you're dealing with this. And I'm not so sure that any of that anybody know that this has transpired, that this was going on in your mind. No. I don't think you probably didn't tell anybody tell anybody no i didn't say anything to anyone you know i just kind of you didn't want that you knew because you felt if you had told them they might if you don't run a

good time they're going to use that against you say he used that as an excuse exactly i don't even know that you know he was happy that i was here I know that he would want me to go out and continue to, you know, chase my dream. So I woke up that morning after finding out, and I was like, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to lock in, and, you know, I'll be able to deal with this a little later once I'm done. How do you get the nickname all day? You got a little taste of it earlier when my little man came in here. I told him like three times, do not come in here. It's full of energy.

You know, I was just electric as a youngster. You know, they would give me melatonin and all that. And I would bite through all that, scratch through all that. And I'm experiencing it now with my little man. But that's how I got it. I got the name. I was just full of energy, always going, like the energizer brain, always going.

Boy, get outside and play. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you would think that would work. But, like, I'd be saying it to him. They go outside. They'll play.

My oldest, that's in the house, he's nine. And they'll get out here and they'll run for hours. Axel, the youngest one, he'll come in here, take a shower. It'll be 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock. Bedtime is eight. You hear him coming down the stairs. What are you doing, man? What are you doing?

Two men pulling him down. He's just fighting through it. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes.

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I'm looking at you, what you were able to accomplish. You only played two years. If I'm not mistaken, you only played two years of high school football, right? Your junior and senior year. Was it because you weren't good enough to make the team or what transpired that you only got to play two years? Because I'm looking at your numbers. Your junior year, 2,051 yards, 22 touchdowns.

Your senior year, a little less than 3,000, over 11 yards to carry, 32 touchdowns. The final game, 3, 356 touchdowns, and you signed an autograph for the opposing players. Yeah. You know, my dad got incarcerated going into my seventh grade year. Uh-huh.

And this was, I don't know how we had two, I don't know why we have two schools in Palestine, but I was going to Palestine High School and the cross town school was Westwood High School. That's actually the school my mom went to. Right. So I transferred after my seventh grade year and went to Westwood. Right.

My freshman year, I actually was on varsity. There was a three-year school, a smaller school, and I tore my LCL. Okay. First game. So I was out that year and came and came back ran track made the state and then I end up going back to Palestine uh like this football season I already started my sophomore year right um so I played a little bit played a little bit uh a JV um the coach there he was from west orange start i never forget and it was clear that i was

the most talented player you know like we would go up against the the seniors i mean the varsity defense right and we would run through those guys but he never he he didn't he didn't he didn't move me up so my junior year his defensive coordinator uh which his name was Jeff Hurl, he ended up becoming a head coach. And I had kind of told myself that, you know what, I'm just going to focus on track. I'm not going to really, you know, I'm not gonna really get into football. So I didn't even start training camp my junior year until my dad called me. I'll never forget, my stepdad woke me up. It was like 8 o'clock.

He was like, hey, your dad is on the phone. And I'm like, what's up, dad? What's going on? He's like, boy, what are you doing? I'm at the house relaxing. He was like, I was sleeping. He was like, should you be in two days? I'm like, dad, I don't think I'm trying to play this year. I think I'm going to focus on track.

And, you know, I think I'm going to go in that direction. He was like, boy, I'm going to call those coaches tomorrow. And if they tell me you didn't come up there today, when you come see me, we're going to have an issue. We're going to really have a problem. I'm just like, all right, man. So I ended up getting up and going, you know, going up there. And they told me, hey, you can come back tomorrow.

And then from that part, from that moment, things just kind of took off for me. Ironically, the first game of that junior year, we played Huntsville. And the same coach, I think his name was Sum Tummins, that came from that left Palestine that came from West Orange Start. He was the head coach at Huntsville and the same coach I think his name was some Tummins that came from that left Palestine that came from West Orange start he was the head coach at Huntsville oh we went down there I had 305 yards like five touchdowns and you killed their defense you know what I'm saying so like it was a little you know little revenge on my part as well but that's kind of like what put me on the map. And it just kind of took off from that moment.

So I'm looking at your high school time. You say you ran 10, 300 meters. You ran 20.8 in the 200 meters. You were 47.6, 400 meters. So of those, what do you think your best event is, was, and do you believe at your apex you could outrun Tyreek? Tyreek? Tyreek? Yeah.

I'll give him a run for his money now. If I really would have, you know, focused on track like I wanted to because I wanted to run in Oklahoma too. But I feel like I definitely could have. You got too big. You weighed too much. I was like 205 in high school, though. Running that kind of time?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And my favorite run was the 200. And I never really wanted to run the 400.

But now that I'm older, once I got older, I'm like the 400 would have been my race. Because of just my mindset and you know, just having my... That's my favorite race. Yeah. All the races. I like the 400 meters and the 4x4. That's my race. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That 400. There are a lot of people that believe

of all the guys that played in the NFL before you and after you, they believe there were two people that could have come straight from high school and gone to the NFL before you and after you, they believe there were two people that could have come straight from high school and gone to the NFL, yourself and Randy Moss. Do you believe that you could have played in the NFL after your senior year in high school?

I do. I do. I do. I never forget going to a Cowboys game, excuse me, my senior year once photographers invited me down and ended up going to a Cowboys game, excuse me, my senior year. Once photographers invited me down and ended up going to the Cowboys game and going to the locker room and all that after the game. And I'm just I'm looking at those guys, the running back. I'm just like, he's not really, you know, I look a little bigger than you. I know I'm faster than them because I just got the red of the 10-2-6 at State.

Right. I'm just like, OK. And then, you know, once, I know I'm faster than them because, you know, I just got the red of the 10-2-6 at State. Right. I'm just like, okay. And then, you know, once I got to college, that was kind of like confirmation for me after that freshman year. Right. You know, what I was able to accomplish. And you see a guy like Cedric Benson who ended up going, like, top five that year.

That could have been me, you know, one year out of high school. But I definitely felt of one year out of uh out of high school but I definitely felt like I could have came straight out of high school and played you had offers all over the country USC Texas Texas A&M UCLA Arkansas Miami Florida what made you choose to leave your home state and go to Oklahoma and how many people were upset that you chose to go to the across the river as opposed to stay in state yeah it was a lot of people that was hot arms on my articles in the newspaper I was like god can they can they print this talk about a high school student but the work ethic that I seen when I went on my visit to Oklahoma um that was something that pushed me to to go there because I really had appreciation for

how they developed their players right and like for me I grew up a longhorn I remember being in eighth grade because my uncle played his name was Chris Smith. He played tight end for Texas when Ricky Williams was there, Prince Holmes, Applewhite. I remember being there after a spring game, looking at the stadium where I was empty, like, I'll be back. I'll be back here one day. Right. But experiencing that Red River shootout,

I see a lot of guys that are from Texas that end up going to the University of Oklahoma. And I'm just like, okay, like, what's the difference? Like, what separates the two? The work ethic. I feel like the University of Texas had more talent, but I didn't feel like that they developed their players. And that's why Oklahoma was tapping that butt every year.

You know, so that was really the main reason. tapping that butt every every year you know so that was really the main reason and then also I went down and when I was talking to Matt Brown I I came to him and this is the approach I have every coach that I sit down with I was like hey the only thing I ask is will you guys present me with an opportunity to compete compete for the job. You know, I got Pete Curl. I got, you know, Nick Saban. I got, you know, Bob Stoops telling me, yeah, if you come in, you earn a position, it's yours. We don't care if you're a rookie or not.

Texas, they were like, well, Cedric Benson decided to come back for his senior year, you know, so we're going to show some loyalty to him because he was projected to be a top five pick and we're going to let him finish it off. And, you know, after that, of course, we'll let you compete for it. So in other words, they said, no, we're not going to let you compete for the starting job. You wait your turn and you said, okay, deuces.

I'm going to owe you. Yeah. I didn't tell him that either. I was just like, but my mind had already, deuces, I'm going to OU. Yeah. I didn't tell him that either. I was just like, but my mind had already, I already, I already. That was it. Yeah. So from that point, it came down to Oklahoma and USC.

Like it was really, really a tough decision for me because I went out to visit Eric B. Enemy. He left Colorado because he would recruit me at Colorado. He went to UCLA. So I went to college and hollered EB, man. So He went to UCLA. So I was like, holly EB, man. So once I got up there, I was like, man, LA, nice. But if I come here, I need to go to the best school, you know?

So that's how USC came into picture. And even with Reggie Bush, Lyndell White, Herschel Dennis, the guys they had there, Pete was like, Pete was down there. And my basketball, Jimmy Palastine gym in Palestine shooting like yeah you come down you can compete you're on a spot we're gonna play you you know so it came down to um just being close to the family Oklahoma um was like a forward job for my hometown right and the development of the players and stuff too played a big role why do you believe you were able to have such an immediate impact? You said an NCAA freshman record you ran for over 1,900 yards. In 2004, you set 1,100-yard gains by a freshman,

and you were a unanimous All-American. Do you believe – two-part question. Do you believe that you should have won the Heisman that year? And looking back at it, do you – you sought out some games that you said, you know what i should have got that two grand i should have got two bands and because that's gonna be something that 2 000 yards as a freshman somebody might come get 2 000 after that but i would have been the first to do it yeah yeah definitely that crossed my mind before i'm like man i was so close

i could have easily got you know 2 000 things but it just played out a little different for me. But I was so young then, you know, I was just having fun and trying to win championships, you know. So that was like the most important thing for me. But when it comes to the Heisman Trophy, I definitely feel like I should have been the first freshman to ever win. You know, I feel like they robbed me. You know, I had the most votes by a freshman at that point ever.

Finished in second place. And it was just, for me, it kind of helped me out. That situation helped me out a lot too when it came to, you know, how people perceive you or how people view you and your talent. Because it told me a lot. It was like, okay, I'm up for the Heisman Trophy. Me, Jason White, Lindell, I mean, Richard Bush, and... Matt Liner.

Matt Liner and Alice Smith. So I'm like, I'm up. I finished second. And then I don't win the Dole Walker Award. So I'm just, I'm up. I finished second. And then I don't win the Dole Walker Award. So I'm just scratching my head. I'm like, how do Cedric Benson win it, you know? So I feel like I got robbed for the Heisman. And then not only that.

Got robbed for Dole Walker. Got robbed for Dole Walker, too. I was like, man, I don't care about these awards, man. You know what? I'm just going to focus on getting to the NFL and then I'll, you know, I'll go from there. But definitely got robbed. You played that team in the national championship game

and people were expecting the game to be close and it was really never close. What transpired? Why were you guys so outplayed, so thoroughly defeated in that game? I think USC came in with a different mindset than us. You know, me being there and present during the week, it was a lot of guys that they weren't locked in.

You know, we were down in Miami. Guys were, you know, breaking curfew. Not a lot of guys, but, you know, just things like that that you shouldn't have if you're in that type of environment playing for a national championship. You know, so guys were breaking curfew. You know, I seen guys meet with agents and things like that. And, you know, we started off good.

We scored first and ended up getting the ball back and stopping them. And I think it was a punt. That's what it was. They punted the balls to us and our punter dropped the ball. Well, it bounced and it bounced like towards the 10, 15-yard line. And he tried to pick it up and they hit him and got the ball and ended up scoring maybe like a play later.

And then we came back the next drive and I don't know what Jason White was thinking he just threw the ball up in the air and I don't know what he was thinking and they end up picking it and it was just like the momentum just changed right and it just went downhill that was the first time I had ever been a part of feeling like guys gave up like I actually felt like guys gave up during that game. Your final game, a lot of people remember the Fiesta Bowl, the Statue of Liberty with Boise State. Did you know going into that game, when did you know that, I'm out of here,

I'm declaring for the draft. Did you know going into the game or it was after the game, after you lost it, you said, okay, I'm out? I knew before the game. I knew before the game or was after the game after you lost that you said, okay, I'm out? I knew before the game. I knew before the game because I had broke my collarbone earlier that year. Right. And I had missed the rest of the season.

And I came back and played in that game. That was my first game back in like weeks. And so during that time, I had a lot of time to just reflect on the past couple of years and how things have went. And I was just like, you know, that collarbone could have easily been an ACL, could have easily been something else that, you know, now they're like, okay, he for sure has come back and has to prove himself. So he could have went a lot of different ways. Right. And I remember talking to my running back coach kel gundy and uh i was like coach what's your thought what do you think you think i should you think i should come back for

my senior year or go ahead and go he was like you gotta go you know he said as much as i would love for you to come back and play you know i wouldn't be you know being 100 with you and being real with you if i told you to come back for your senior year you know so i was okay you know so that was something that kind of helped me make that decision as well and and uh go ahead and enter to enter into the nfl so here's a funny story a lot of people don't know about okay so i came back for that for the fiesta bowl right the second series i remember again i remember taking a hit and i'm just like you know it was my first time playing since the collarbone right i didn't really i didn't really think too much of it played the rest of the game later on at night my neck like literally swole up like all this was

swole right and it ended up you know subsiding and it went down by the next day. So I didn't think much about it at all. It wasn't painful or anything. So I get down to Arizona, the API was training there. So I'm probably like a month and a half into training, doing bench press and all that. And one day I was just like, this collarbone just feels weird, you know? Just not getting my full range of motion.

So I just went to see a doctor to just get it checked out. I had rebroke it. Wow. Yes, I had rebroke my collarbone. So when I was at the combine and all that, my collarbone was still broke. It was still healing, going through that process. And that was like one of the red flags that I had

because they knew that it was still cracked. Wow. At that time. I'm looking back at your draft, and the draft is known for who went number one because he didn't pan out, Jamarcus Russell. But if you look at who went number two, Calvin Johnson is going to the Hall of Fame. Joe Thomas is going to go to the Hall of Fame. You were the seventh pick in the draft Calvin Johnson is going to the Hall of Fame. Joe Thomas is going to go to the Hall of Fame. You were the seventh pick in the draft.

You're going to the Hall of Fame. Darrell Revis is going to go to the Hall of Fame. You got Marshawn Lynch was in that draft. Patrick Willis was in that draft. You guys had some players in that draft. Yeah, we were deep. I mean, people look at, you know, Jamarcus didn't pan out. Gaines Adams didn't pan out.

Levi Brown was okay. Le'Ron Landry, nah, he didn't do too much. Greg Olsen had a great career. But you guys are going to have four or five Hall of Famers in that draft class. Yeah, yeah. That's something I think about sometimes. Like, man, you know what?

We can compete with a lot of different draft classes. Yeah, yeah. We had some guys that put in some work and were really like, you know, Calvin Johnson. I can't say he's the best of all time, you know, because you got – He up there. He up there, though, you know.

So we had guys like that. Even Patrick Willis. Patrick Willis from the time early. We up here talking – we up here comparing him to Ray Lewis. Joe Thomas went to a bunch of Pro Bowls, all pro a bunch of times. Let's talk about your rookie season. Your rookie year, you set an NFL record with the most yards in a single game, 296.

Also, you had a 200-yard rushing game that season. Talk to us about your rookie year. What was your expectations going into it and in that game did you know that game was going to be special because sometimes you get a feeling like man you get a get a big run you get a nice carry you like this might be a good this might be a good this might be the day here so did you know that game was going to be the game I didn't I can't say I did I didn't but I went't say I did. I didn't. But I went into that season, and I was just like, you know what? I had so much confidence in myself because of the work I had put in.

I was just hungry just to, I'm here now finally, right? So I had the confidence. But that game in particular, I didn't, it felt different, especially that first half because the offensive line, they were doing a great job. I found myself being too fast in some situations which end up, you know, hurting the play. Right. I remember talking to the offensive line

and telling those guys like, Hutch, man, listen, you guys just keep doing what you're doing. Like, it's going to hit, you know? Like, I should have been more patient to let this play. It was an outside zone play. Could have took a 50. Let it develop. Let it develop.

I said, but you guys keep doing what you're doing. We're going to get on track. And when it's a halftime, I think we had, like, 40-some yards rushing as an offense. And then came out the second half, and it was just like, I don't know. It felt like an out of body experience. You know, it was like, it was just so, I was so locked in and everything was just working out. It seemed like everything just kind of fell in line and the big runs just

started ripping, ripping. And before I, before I knew it, here we, here we are in the fourth quarter. I got 296 yards. Do you wish you had went back in and got one more carry and got three bills? Here we are in the fourth quarter. I got 296 yards. You know? Do you wish you had went back in and got one more carry and got three bills? Not a doubt. And that's what I tell people. I say, you don't understand. I mean, at the time, you're like, nah.

But then you look back at it, and then somebody gets 297 or somebody gets 298, 300. That's the benchmark. Because, you know, maybe somebody's going to get it. But to say, who's the first guy to ever rush for 300 yards in an NFL game? Yeah. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

So why do you think you were able to have so much success your rookie season? I think just the guys that were surrounding me. And I feel like the coaches really put me in a great position and then um just just me and my mindset you know i wanted to go out there and improve to organization my teammates that you know i'm putting my best for my best foot forward to help us win a championship chase a championship 2009 was as close as you came to winning to getting to the

super bowl and possibly competing for that. You guys signed Brett Favre. What was it like playing with Favre? And did you think that was going to be the season that was going to get Adrian Peterson to a Super Bowl and possibly win the championship? Yeah, I thought that was going to be the season, especially once he stepped into that building

and we got out there for that first practice and seeing how he was able to operate our offense it was okay that's pretty much what we were missing because our defense was stellar you know big pat williams you had um you know the henderson henderson chad greenway uh antoine whitfield. Like, we were stacked. Safety, sharper. You know, like, we was good on defense. Offensively, we had a lot of pieces, too.

And we just needed a quarterback. Right. So, Barr came in there, and he's just, like, being that leader and being, you know, the veteran that he was, he was able just to transform our offense into a machine where we were working and everything was clicking on all cylinders and we was just able to do some incredible things offensively. And with that type of defense, it was like, okay, there's no reason we shouldn't, you know,

make it to the NFC Championship game and win a Super Bowl, you know. So, but just having an opportunity to play with Brett, man, it really taught me a lot. You know, his locker was right next to mine. So, I was able just to see how he carried himself, you know, how he was. He was just like one of the guys. You know, he was cool, cracked jokes, you know, mixed with guys and, you know, just had a great personality.

And that's kind of what I assumed from watching the interviews and just watching them interact and stuff. And it was just a blessing to be able to play with him those two years and just have that experience with him. You played the NFC Championship game in New Orleans, and it would later become known as the Bounty Gate. Did you think they were playing dirty? Did you suspect anything was going on, or you thought it was just hard-nosed, clean football? They were just, hey, everybody wants to get to the ultimate

goal, reach the Super Bowl, and this is what it's going to take. They're in our way. Let's try to just play hard, tough football, snap the the whistle and leave it at that or did you like hold on man these hits coming a little late they coming a little low yeah I thought um I thought it was these guys out there playing ball right I I felt like there was like one or two dirty hits on on Brett that was questionable you, as far as it was late. But outside of that, shoot, we were laying that wood. They were laying the wood as well. Right. And it felt like it was a tough, hard-fought game.

2011, day before Christmas, played in Washington, carried just like you carried the ball a thousand times in the NFL before. They hand the ball off to you did you know when you got hit that something was wrong with or when did you realize something was wrong immediately immediately as soon as I got hit I knew I didn't know exactly what it was but I knew that I was done for sure because. Because you had never had, had you ever had knee issues before? No, not like that.

I had the LCL in high school. Okay. Before that. Right. So you tore your ACL and your MCL, which is the day before Christmas. The season's going to start back up. You got OTAs going to probably start up in April.

You got mini camps that's going to start in May, June. April you got mini camps that's gonna start in May June and you got training camps gonna start late July why were you so determined I'll be back in eight months why were you so determined because that's normally guys come back but they're not the same you came back better and now the gold standard of anybody coming back from acl is adrian peterson um i think the one thing that really pushed me the most is just like all the negative talk right that that really motivated me a lot too because a lot of people were saying you you know, he's not going to ever be the same. You know, should he go ahead and retire, this, that, or another? Like, you know, this is nothing but an obstacle that's in my way that I have to overcome.

You know, I have to get through. I have to grind through it. You know, so that was my whole approach. And it started that day. Like, when I got to that locker room, my dad was at that game. And I remember coming to the locker, coming down there, and I was talking to him. I was like, you know what?

You know, it is what it is. You know, now is the moment that I have to accept it for what it is. And what are you going to do about it? So did they tell you on the field or did they get you to the sideline before they broke the news and say, AP, you're AD, you tore your ACL? Yeah, they get you to the sideline before they broke the news and say, AP, you AD, you tore your ACL? Yeah, they took me to the sideline, you know. When they did the test on the field, I knew then. I was like, okay, because it was moving too way too much.

You know, and I could see the look on their face too. So they got me to the sideline and just to confirm it was like yeah acl mcl and i remember telling my dad i said you know what i'm gonna come back and i'm gonna be better than i was before that same day but i mean to say that and everybody say oh i'm gonna be oh i'm gonna be this i'm gonna be that but hey i don't know if you realize what you did. You come back at eight months. You go 348 carries, 2,097 yards, which is the second most in a season. You win offensive player of the year, MVP. You needed 209.

You needed 208, the final game, to get the record. You get what? You nine yards short. I know you play that scenario in your head. That probably keeps you up at night as much as anything because not only do I have the most rushing yards in the season, I'm the all-time. So which keeps you up more? Not getting that record or possibly not getting Emmitt's record?

Ah. Because I know both are way on your mind. they do i do they do the one that way on my mind the most is is not getting air dickerson's yeah i thought so so because everything that i i had to go through to get to that moment right to be just eight yards away from it. You know, a record that stood for so long. Yeah. I was right there after ACL and wasn't able to get it. And the thing is, two Texas boys, ED's from Sealy, Texas, you're from Palestine,

and here it is. Did you think you had an outside chance? Because 208 yards in the final game knowing that you need to win that game so in green bay like nah we're not gonna let them win this game because if you don't win you don't make the playoffs so you had to win that game yeah yeah yeah i remember coming into that game and i was thinking you know what let me not worry about the record let me take this approach if it happens it's, it's meant to happen. If it doesn't, then it's not.

Because I had a couple weeks prior, we played the Texans, you know, came here and played. And, you know, I was focusing. I was like, you know what, I need to get by 175, by 200 against these guys to get myself closer. Right. And I was thinking, I was pressing. I ended up like 47 yards, if that.

And after that game, I told myself, you know what? I'm going to go out there and continue to do what I've been doing. I'm just going to play and let the chips fall where they may. So I actually went into that last game with that mindset, you know? We need to win this game to make the playoffs. And if the record is meant to be broke, then I'll break it. That's why I was so surprised when I did the interview. She was so how you feel about being eight yards short i was like eight yards short and she's like i was that close i was like oh so so so did you so you didn't know you were that

close so they didn't keep because normally in a situation like that uh ad they keep you abreast like man you need 50 man you need 75 normally, man, you need 50. Man, you need 75. Normally, that's how they – so no one was telling you how close you were actually to the – because it's hard for me to see that they would have threw any passes. They're just going to keep feeding you the ball. Yeah, no one said anything to me. But that's the kind of approach I have.

It's like I don't want nobody to say nothing. I'm just going to go out there and play, you know. But had I have. It's like, I don't want nobody to say nothing. I'm just going to go out there and play, you know. But had I known. If you had known, would you have been willing to sneak back in the game and try to get those eight? Oh, yeah, definitely. I would like to. Call that timeout.

I'll be like, I'll go straight to go. Call that timeout for me, man. Let me get another run in there. Looking at your career, 14,820 yards uh that's fifth most 118 rushing touchdowns that's fourth you had an eight game span and that's in that in that season in 2012 1322 yards which is the most over eight games you have the most 60 yard td runs 13 tied for the most 50 yard runs in a single season seven tied with the most 50-yard runs in a single season, seven. Tied with the most 200 games of a career with OJ, yourself and OJ. Derrick Henry coming for that one, I think.

And a three-time rushing champ. Of all the things that you've accomplished thus far, what record are you most proud of? Man, that's a good one. I would say just climbing that all-time leaving rusher list, you know, because there's a lot of guys on that list that I've passed that inspired me to, you know,

to continue to play the game at a high level, you know. So to be in a position to pass guys like, you know, so to be in a position to pass guys like, you know, Terrell Davis, you know, LT, you know, OJ. Jim Brown. Jim Brown, you know, it's just like, Jerome Bennett is just like, you know. So that right there means the most to me for that reason. And you might be, I don't know if there's going to be very many guys that's going to ever win a running back to ever win that award again, the MVP.

It's a quarterback award now, AP. It is. Yeah, I mean, the guys throwing for 40 and 50 touchdowns, they're getting 3,500 and 50 and 5,000 yards. Unless somebody goes in today's game, I mean, can a running back, with the way teams throw the football, can someone actually go get 2,000? Maybe Derrick Henry? But that's what...

Yeah. So, I like to do this a lot. Give me your Mount Rushmore running backs. You only get to put four on Mount Rushmore. Of all the great running backs, I need to know who's on AP's Mount Rushmore. Okay. Okay.

Got to go with Jim Brown. Okay. Got to go with Jim Brown. Sweetness. Walter Payton. Barry Sanders. Three. Ooh.

What's up? That three. That four one is tough though Somebody gonna get left out I don't know Emmitt I don't know if you gonna make it ED I don't know if you gonna make it LT

Oh man there's a lot of Texas boys On this thing Ooh LT from Texas Earl from Texas ED from Texas Ooh Yeah

I wanna put Emmitt Smith up there I got I have to LT from Texas, Earl from Texas, ED from Texas. Ooh! Ooh! I want to put Emmitt Smith up there. I have to. I have to give him the respect where he's number one, you know, no matter how it was done. Like, he's number one. What do you mean, how it was done? Oh, you talking about that offensive line that he had?

They were good. They were really, really good. Oh, yeah. Just imagine Barry Sanders had an offensive line like that. No. I don't know. You know what? Sometimes I think, I think,

I don't know if we'd have been able to see the Barry that we saw. Because the Barry that we saw had to have a terrible offensive line because he needed to make 17 people miss in order for you to see all that. So just imagine Barry just running straight ahead. He's not Barry. No, it's just like that. I can see that perspective. Give me your top running backs today. Who does Adrian Peterson, if he's at home,

he's watching Monday night, he's watching Thursday night, or he's playing them in a game, he's standing up watching or he's looking at the jumbotron um derrick henry is one of the guys i just love how physical he plays the game um saquon barkley okay he's a guy that i like i feel like he has some great potential. Dalvin Cook is a guy that I like as well for his size. He's physical, great speed, great vision. Yeah, I think that's probably it.

I'll just, you know, be sitting there. I'll stand up and be like, okay, let me see. Let me see what he got. Right. Who has the best stiff arm, Derrick Henry or Adrian Peterson? I got to give it to him right now. I feel like I got a good stiff arm, but some of his stiff arms I've seen, it's like, whew.

When I cornerback so bad in our game and josh norman had them lean sideways he got me right now so if if i can say okay i want you to build the perfect running back and i'm gonna say i'm gonna hear some of the the traits that I want. And I'm going to say the first guy that comes to your mind. Instincts. I got to say myself. Burst. Davin Cook. Elusiveness. Who's elusive? Man, you bet.

But one guy going go get that one. Barry. Okay. I'm thinking something like current, like right now. No, no. I want you to build. I'm build. I want you to build a perfect running back.

And so we're going to take. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. What about, okay, vision? Vision, I'll say sweetness. Size? Vision, I'll say sweetness. Size.

Size. Let's put all this in a bite like Jerome Bettis. Okay, what about power? Power, Eric Hamble. Speed. Eric Campbell. Speed. Chris Johnson. Durability. Oh, man.

Emmitt Smith. That's your complaint. 14, 15 years. Ain't never take no big here. Ain't nobody get no shot on him. Can't nobody say I blew him it up. no big here. Ain't nobody get no shot on him. Can't nobody say I blew him it up. You said in the past that you're the LeBron and Jordan of the NFL. What do you mean by that? You're dominant. I mean, you're sized. I mean, because we never,

I mean, like you said, you believe that you could have gone straight from high school. That's saying something because the NFL, you know, like you said, you believe that you could have gone straight from high school. That's saying something. Because the NFL, you know this, is a grown man's game. Yeah. I mean, they're grown men. You ain't playing for no books. You ain't playing for no training table. Men got wives.

They got kids to feed. They got college tuition to pay down the road, mortgages. So they're not, see, if you lose your spot in college, you just go to the bench're still on the team you lose your spot in the nfl you're probably gone somebody taking your job they're taking food off your table yeah so when i make that when i made that statement it comes from the standpoint of like talent right the god-given ability do you believe you're the most talented running back ever? the most talented running back ever? when you combine everything, size, speed

durability athleticism I think I'm right there with Walter Payton you believe he's one of the most talented the most talented he didn one of the most talented. The most talented. Yeah, well, you can say...

He didn't have the perfect... I mean, he wasn't a big... I mean, what was Sweeteners? What, 5'10"? Maybe 2'05"? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would say, like, okay, well, Bo Jackson is definitely, you know...

He was on a different level. Yeah, Bo. When you look back at it, do you wish you had handled things differently in Minnesota? I mean, now that you look back at it, you probably should have stayed, maybe not asked for a trade. Do you think back like, man, you know what? I should have stayed my buddy in Minnesota. I think about that sometimes and the thing is I never like demanded a trade or asked for a trade you know I remember when that season ended when I had my ex's meet my exit meeting with those guys it was like you know so after the towards the end of the conversation they were like so are you

willing like is something you want to come back I, yeah, I wouldn't mind finishing my career here. You know, and that's kind of how I left it. Right. And next thing I heard from them, I was in San Antonio on vacation. And, you know, they had signed the Murray kid. Right. That's when I knew it was okay, you know. But I was okay with that, you know, at that point.

You know, there was a couple things that had transpired and that we're over was okay, you know. But I was okay with that, you know, at that point. You know, there was a couple of things that had transpired and that we're over that now, you know, but it was some things that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. And so I was at the point where I was just like, you know what, if this is the end of the road, then, you know, I'm fine with that. When it's all said and done, would you like to sign a contract and retire Viking? Oh yeah. Yeah. Without a doubt. Without a doubt.

So looking back at your career, is there anything you would do differently or what were some, if there, if they are some of the things you would like to do differently, what would they be? As far as football aspect? Yes. Yes. Yeah. Football. You know, I can look back on a couple off seasons where, you know, I didn't really put in the work

like I should have. And I was able to see, like a lot of people probably don't realize, but I was able to see how it affected me during the season, you know. So I would definitely change that, take advantage of that. You know, being 14 years in now, I may look back because I'm getting towards the end of that road. I wish I could have did some things different.

Outside of that, you know, I've always tried to take care of my body and put the right things in my body. and put the right things in my body. You know, I feel like at a younger, once I, my first four or five years in the NFL, I think I took a lot of things for granted as far as like really getting into that playbook and, you know, executing, you know, because I think that would have presented different opportunities for me within within

the offense um so you believe you were too good for y'all you were you were too good for your own good because things came so easy that you like man this is easy yeah yeah yeah yeah i put in the work but when it came to like being in different positions like being in there on third down and being spread out you know know, those types of things. You know, I was just like, you know, I'm running about 300 times. So, you know. So who cares if I catch 25 passes or not? Exactly.

So the next stop is going to be after your career is going to be Canton. What would that mean? That would be, you know obviously that's the culmination what would that mean to you to to to go and have a bust in the halls of where the guys that you modeled your game your heroes and to know that you're sitting right next to them you know i think that's that's the peak you, it doesn't get, you know, better than that. You know, in my mind, that and the Super Bowl was like right there, you know, on the same level,

in my mind personally. But that's something that I also thought about when I was a youngster is, you know, being a Hall of Famer, being considered the best to ever play the game. So in my mind, it's like, okay, well, if that's the bar that I'm setting, then X, Y, and Z should follow. Right. Hall of Fame is, you know, falls within that.

Man, well, good luck. You don't know what the future holds, but I hope it's bright for you as far as your NFL career. I know you want to continue to play and get closer to that record and eventually pass Emmitt. So I wish you the best of luck along the way. And thanks for joining me today on Club Che Che, bro. Thanks for having me, Shannon.

Appreciate it, bro. Have a good one. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price. Want to slice, got to roll the dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life. I'll see you next time. We'll be right back. media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.