Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - 327 | our throwback series (ep. 1) the day i made the nfl

Episode Date: September 3, 2026

Welcome to our newest nostalgic series — where we’re going back to the old days and telling the stories behind our careers, our relationship, our adventures, and all the little moments that made us who we are today. 🥹 For Episode 1, we’re starting with his NFL career — what life was really like back then, the highs, the lows, the behind-the-scenes moments, and the stories we haven’t really talked about until now.And this is just the beginning…As the series continues, we’ll take you back through our Olympic and gymnastics days, football stories, our first dates, the early days of our relationship, career milestones, and all the funny, crazy, unforgettable moments in between.Basically… we’re opening the memory box. 😂 So, let’s go back. 🤍 → www.https://kachava.com — Use code EASTFAM for 15% off your first order. → www.https://betterhelp.com/EASTFAM — Sign up and get 10% off. → www.https://dupe.com — Paste any product URL or upload a photo to find similar items for way less. → www.https://gominno.com — Start your FREE 7-day trial today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And that's why I'm so glad that I played the games that I did. As few as they were. We should bring in a therapist for this. I think more people should be like that. I know I'm not a Hall of Famer. Any football fans out there like, these guys are freaks. But did you meet T. Swift? What's up, everybody?

Welcome back to a couple things. With Sean and Andrew. We are going to try something a little different. I was telling Andrew, I've been reading all of your guys's comments on the couple of things, Instagram and on the YouTube and on the YouTube and on all of our social channels and for so long we've been coming up with topics to talk about in more of a vague capacity like let's talk about marriage but I keep seeing comments that are like can you please tell us about this story or can you go back and tell us what it was like to go to the Olympics or can you tell us about

the NFL and it has dawned on me that We keep a lot of journals. We've done a lot of interviews. But there are so many wild things you and I have been able to experience in a short 35 years. That, one, I selfishly would like to record and have someplace so I don't forget because my memory is already going on me. And two, that we've really never talked about before, whether it was in interviews. And so we thought it could be fun. to go down

memory lane and do a nostalgia nostalgia or nostalgia nostalgia I kind of like a ja nostalgia themed

podcast where we just kind of tell you some crazy stories that we have experienced and at length we tell you all the little details of everything

of what I experienced and he experienced and What better way to start this off than by celebrating that football season's back. Come on, baby. Come on. And can I start with a small story? Because it as your wife almost brings me to tears.

I actually feel tears coming out, which is crazy. I must be an emotional state right now. This past weekend, jet our five-year-old. is playing flag football. The boy came out wanting to play football. We in no way, shape, or form have indoctrinated our children to our sports. We hardly even tell them what sports we did growing up. But this boy came out wanting to play football.

You mean came out of the womb. Literally. Built. Play football. Anyways, you are coaching his flag football team. You're one of the coaches. And I have seen this evolution since you played. I got to watch you play college ball.

I got to watch you play NFL. I watched you almost run away from the sport for a while and be turned off by it. So much so that you didn't want to watch football on TV. Football season was not a thing for you. You didn't go back to college to watch games. And I'd say probably around the five-year mark, something started to shift. And I think it started to shift last year when Jett started playing flag football. and this year seeing you coach,

I've seen that passion and that love for the sport that I saw the first time I got to meet you and you were playing college ball and you were like in the throes of it and loved it. And it truly almost brought me to tears the other day because Jet was like ecstatic about playing and to see his daddy, not only coaching,

but be so invested in you're such a phenomenal coach. It was really special to watch. To see you back in your element like that was really, really special. I appreciate that, babe. It is fun to look back on what was such a huge part of my life. And now more fun to share that with the people in my life. The relationship that I have with football, I feel like is pure again.

You know, like I feel like you get to college and it gets a little more complicated and layered. And then the pros, it's like, it's just like super complicated because there's a transaction, the profession, the pay. paycheck, you know, the expectations and the performance. And it's like there's no grace of what if you mess up or whatever. So now to be able to just be out on the football field. And I think of Arthur Brooks where, you know, he talks about aging well. And I invested so much. I invested about 20 years in football.

And now to be in a place where I aged well in football, I gave it my all. I showed up every day. I was fully present. and to share that in whatever way I can with these little kids is so fun. It's so fun. And it's like I actually know a decent amount about football. You do. And I know places to make it complicated, places to make it simple, little drills that I've done since I was seven years old and I started.

But today we thought we'd start this new bucket of content by talking about my first day in the NFL. because that was such a pivotal moment and one that, you know, took decades to build up to. And I'm excited to go through the series. I have been enjoying the series that we've been doing. Like the marriage report card was actually pretty cool. By the way, we made a web page link for that you can find in the show notes. You can like fill it out.

It's pretty cool how it was built out. So we'll try to do show nuts for every episode that we do. So check the description for that. Also, to start out this series, whether it's consecutive or we split it up, it's up to you guys. If there are any specific stories off the top of your head or things you want us to talk about from our past, whether it be personal to our dating or marriage or it be Olympic, upbringing, coaching, school, NFL, whatever it is, please drop that down in the comments below so we know what you want to hear. because I was sat through five minutes in the office thinking, wow, there's a lot of different stories I could tell that I've never shared. It's been fun the last few months we've kind of reflected on what content does well,

what content we want to make. And it seems like nostalgia is a big part of our stick. So like stories that we've experienced, I mean, we have. Which is honestly my favorite. Yeah. I love talking about stories because I feel like there's always a lesson to be had. And we've largely thanks to you and your background, been able to do a bunch of incredible things that people are interested in.

And then hopefully we can have an interesting lesson as a takeaway. But I hope this doesn't ruin this series by me starting us off because everyone usually wants to hear your stories. Well, there's two different perspectives here. We talked about this. I was with you on your first day of the NFL. So I'll give you my side as well. And then we'll jump to the next episode. and we can do the Olympic side to go ying and yang it.

So I pulled up photos here to help jog our memory. This is May 2015. I actually remember this like it was yesterday. Oh my gosh. This is crazy. Okay. So Sean and I flew to Chicago. If you are watching on the YouTube version of a couple things,

we will post some of these pictures for you. So you can see it as well as hear it. We flew to Chicago because there's my sister-in-law's birthday. My brother was living up there. He went to Wheaton College. On May 2nd, we went to a Cubs game. Forecast. The what?

Forecast. Foreshadowing. Foreshadowed. I was like, forecast for what? How's the weather looking? But this was during the last day of the NFL draft in 2015, May 2nd. So I had watched day after day the NFL draft happened. I was supposed to get drafted.

Mm-hmm. We're sorry, not supposed to. Let me rephrase that. You were projected. I had been told by teams that they would maybe draft me. And leading up to this point, to this day, it was months of training for the combine and pro day, getting in front of coaches.

I traveled to Kansas City and did like an official visit. I'll never forget. I think it was like the first time I got room service. I ordered a stake to the room. And I felt I like, you know, left the team, hundred bucks because I ordered some fancy rib-eye or something. I felt guilty about it. I think the NFL is doing just fine.

But we had multiple coaches, special teams coordinators from different teams, Patriots included, Kansas City included, come and visit me at Vanderbilt and do multiple tryouts, like they came down several times. Those stories can be for later episodes, but those individual tryouts when the teams flew to Nashville to put you through workouts. and like scout you were very eye-opening to what each team's vibe was. I'm so glad that you were there. Also, I'm spoiled because frankly, a lot of people were excited that I was dating Sean.

And so she would always be able to tag along for the workouts. Like you'd be out in the field. They would let me come. Yeah. Which normally is like a huge no-no. Yeah. But they're like, yeah, Sean can come watch. Yeah.

But these tryouts, they're not like. intimidating. It's not like a bunch of people standing there with a stopwatch. It's more, hey, let's see you do your thing like a normal practice would unfold. Except one of them. Yeah. And then we did do some whiteboarding sessions, which I did terrible at because I was so nervous. But I had done a, the Senior Bowl, All-Star game, the Reesey Senior Bowl. Shout out Patrick Wu down in Mobile, Alabama. That January, and that's like the all-star game. I was tickled to make that. Also, that is the all-star game.

And I remember when you got that call. And somehow, we've shared a lot of stories about Andrew's dad. Somehow your dad found himself on the field. We were like, where did dad go? And you're playing. And all of a sudden I'm like, dad's on the field. My dad filmed every high school football game, start to finish. If you ever wonder where our proclivity towards recording and filming things comes from,

it came from my dad, which came from. his dad. I said this before, but we have my dad's second Christmas filmed. And I have this, I have all these digitize now, so it's really fun to look back on.

Anyway, come to college, my dad continued to film whatever he could. So like, we're talking SEC primetime games. He's there during the coin flip.

And it's like, you're not supposed to be there. He would chalance his way. We use the word chalance as like, schmooze, you know, talk his way. but he would not be credentialed.

He would not have the access. And he would talk to someone and he would disappear. And all of a sudden, there's dad, middle of the field. So on brand for my dad. It stressed Sean out so much because she's like a textbook rule follower. It did. And I did not really grow up in that environment. So that's the months leading up to this day.

And I was told that I might get drafted by two different teams. And so. I'm watching day in and day out. I didn't think I'd go the first day of the draft, which is like the first and second round. But I still watched it. And it was really fun to see players that I had known and grown up with or been to the senior bowl with get drafted.

It's like a really fun day. Second day came and went, which is rounds, I don't know, what is it, three to, maybe it's two to four. And the last one is five, six, and seven. Something like that. Don't quote me on it. But I was like probably not a chance I get drafted on the second day. but the third day came.

Yeah. And that's like the later rounds. And I was a long snapper is what I is what I was going into the NFL to do. I played linebacker in college, but, but I was not nearly as athletic as I needed to be to do that. And so the third day comes. And I realized how unless you're the first overall pick in these drafts, no matter what sports,

it's an emotional roller coaster and you feel let down. Imagine being the second pick, right? And you're like, oh, I thought I was going to be the first pick. I was projected to be this or think about the money this. But me being projected to go late, I watched the draft come and go and I didn't get picked up. And so I just felt like I let. I felt like I failed. I felt like I didn't perform as well.

I felt like all the coaches who had invested so much in me. I felt like I let them down. But then as soon as the draft ends, you start getting calls for free agency. And I got a call from the Chicago Bears. I got a call from... Cardinals. The Cardinals.

And I got a call from the Chiefs. And I think one more. And so... Was it the Seahawks? North... Yeah, it would be Seahawks. I was like, I remember it being in the Northwest. Yeah.

It's probably Seahawks. So we're sitting at this Chicago Cubs game. I'm there with my whole family, which is so fun. For sister-in-law's birthday, and we are so distracted. The whole family is distracted. Yeah. We're just sitting there on our phones.

I don't even remember the game. Well, we wanted to go to the game because I wanted to distract myself away from the draft in case I didn't get picked up, which I didn't. So it was nice. But then I started getting calls, and we're in this crowded environment, and there's, like, all these special teams coaches who are, like, pretty big wave, you know? They're like, they're high up there in the NFL. And I'm getting these calls trying to hear that. what they're saying, but I remember the bears had a good offer. And the way free agency works is like the draft has preset positions, preset contracts, preset signing bonuses. A little bit of

this has changed since 2015. But the free agency kind of works where I can now choose where I go to play. So on the table, we had five offers. Yeah, I think that's right. And then each of them said, hey, we can we can give you this signing bonus or whatever. So the chiefs came with the strongest signing bonus. And I remember after the game ended, we went back and I printed out this contract. I'll never forget reading through that contract, the first one that my agent sent me,

and you're like, you see the clauses. And it's like a three-year contract, but it has this clause that says, this contract is only valid for as long as a player meets the team's expectations. And so I was like, okay, well, I hope I make the expectations. Today's episode is sponsored by Kachava. Some flavors can take you straight back to being a kid. For me, it's cinnamon and breakfast for dinner.

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It's an easy option when the day gets moving quickly and there are no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners. Plus, no soy, gluten, animal products, fillers, or preservatives. Treat yourself to a childhood favorite. the Kachava.com and use code EastFam for 15% off your first order. That's Kachapa, K-A-C-H-A-V-A-com, code EastFam. I remember as all of this is going on, it was really fascinating to me because I was retired.

I had like gone through, you know, not negotiations by any means, but I've gone through the agents and the, you're kind of using a middleman to negotiate your, all these things with your teams. and I remember feeling for you so much. Like I, it's like your soul and heart and brain were in my body. So it's like, oh, I know what this feels like in such a different context. But I remember after all five offers were on the table, they have like running clocks to them. Yeah.

These, these offers don't stay valid for longer than a certain amount of time and they tell you how much time. I remember by the end of the day, pretty much by the end of the hour, you had to choose. I remember how stressed you were of like, how do I make the right choice? Because the draft, a team picks you. Now you had to flip your expectation and all of a sudden you had to choose the team. Yeah. And we chose Kansas City. The coach there told me that the job was mine for as long as I wanted it as long as I didn't lose it.

And so I made that choice. They gave us a signing bonus. I'm going through these pictures and the timeline is insane. So signed on March, sorry, May 2nd. I had to miss the graduation for my business school. You sent me this picture from graduation. I got my MBA and had to miss like the walking ceremony, which is part of the reason why I wanted to do the ceremony for my doctorate and show up for that.

But then I got golf with a mentor mine who had played in the NFL for like 15 years, took a goodbye picture of our old apartment. That was when Robbie and I lived together. Look at this. Hold on. Can you see that picture? Do you remember the... Disgusting.

Oh, my gosh. He's showing a picture of disgusting, dirty toilet that you and your college roommate never cleaned. So, but then it was a week after I signed. It was only a week after I signed that I moved to Kansas City. And... It was actually a large... That's a large amount of time to move. Like, when we...

later got in later years. We're in the throes of the NFL. Your time to move sometimes is 24 hours. Or like, hey, I just signed. Can you bring my suitcase and meet me here? But so we had a week to move up to Kansas City. And then my first practice was on Monday, May 11th. And I remember showing up to practice.

And I'm like, holy freak, dude. They got my jersey with the whole, you know, my new number on it, with my name on it. I'm like, this is a dream come true. And I was just so tickled by the fact of like, oh my gosh, I'm here. And I show up and I remember there was maybe 25 other rookies who had signed, drafted or undrafted. And we did this workout on the indoor field. And it was like a conditioning test. Oh, this is a big test?

It's like a football version of it. So it was like gasser's for time. You had to make it in. What are gassers? Sorry. If you look at a football field, it's 120 yards long, including in zones. And it's 53 and change wide. And a gasser is you start on the sideline, run to the other side and come back.

Half gassers, I guess, officially. And so I'm there. And it's all rookies. I remember expecting everyone to be freak athletes. And I remember looking around and saying like, oh, I'm doing pretty. well like physically I walked in like trying to be the meathead I was I wanted to be more physically prepared than anybody else come to find out that's not all the NFL is yeah it's just which was my blind spot in the whole thing but I remember like doing pretty well and then I remember it was

like it might have not been the first day but I think it was within the first week my first buddy got cut he played just up the road I didn't know him but like we kind of vibed over the Nashville, Tennessee connection and he got cut. I remember it happened so quickly. Like he had just moved up here. We were all talking about how fun this is. Oh my gosh. And then I see him in tears in the parking lot.

We were all kind of like shocked. And it was a rude awakening to, oh, this isn't college where we're boys for the next four years. It's still hard for me to wrap my mind around that concept. Like that's back to the five-year-old flag football. these kids could be together for months. You know what I'm saying?

It's so fun. Let's get to know each other and hang out. And that got, it just like was a, okay, this is not the same game we're used to. Just kind of shaking, shaking you awake type of thing. I think one of the hardest things for me to watch was the unfolding of the realization that it was not college ball in the sense of college ball or flag football. not really college ball anymore. We could do a whole podcast on that.

But old college ball, in any old style college athletic team, you would throw who you thought were your best options, you know, into the ring together. And you would say, okay, we have X amount of months in this off season to figure it out together. Yeah.

To be the best team we can be. Yeah. And that's what we all grew up with. Yeah. It was like, I don't like you. We might not vibe. together, we might not be each other's best match, but you know what, we have seven months to figure out how to be.

It's a team. It's a team. And then you get thrown into the NFL. And I remember some of the phone calls that you had with me because I was still in Nashville. I had moved up to Kansas City, but I was kind of going back and forth to like pack up some stuff and figure out what life was looking like for us and all these things because we weren't engaged at the time. Which, by the way, another crazy timeline thing is I found this.

And that's on March. I moved up there March, May 9th. And I started shopping for rings May 19th. Aw. Anyway. Yeah. She's lucky. But I remember some of your like discouragement calls where you're like, this is different.

And I being removed is like, it's a business. This is very different. Because it's no longer trying to figure out a vibe. It's if you don't vibe, you could be the best athlete out there. But if you don't vibe, it's not worth my time to invest seven months to figure it out. It's worth my time to say, no, on to the next. Well, but by vibe, that could mean different things for different people. Really, it's do you meet the performance thresholds?

And if you don't vibe in that sense, see you later. I don't, like, there's a long list of people sitting at home. But there's no investment to a certain extent. And every coach's expectations are different. Every team has different styles. every, so like you, the hardest thing for me to get into your head during these times, because you were having such a rude awakening happen where you're like, this is different. I don't know how to do this, was this idea of, it's not that you're not good enough. You now have to fit a puzzle

piece perfect to a team. You've met the threshold. You've met the performance threshold. Now you've got to figure out where your place is. And that's, that's something. you always had a hard time wrapping your head around. You're like, I'm just not good enough. And that was false. It's just in that setting, in different settings, it was a hard fit. I'm so curious. I mean, you were a professional gymnast for nine, ten years from 12 to 22.

Your understanding of sport was way more on the professional side of things, where it's like that cutthroat mentality than mine was, which is like this soft. Oh, hey, we're a team, let's help each other get better, rah, rah. And come on, buddy. Let me help you work through this tough time. It's like that was my whole experience with football, which is what I loved. I loved like being the locker room guy and encouraging. And then, by the way, I'm not talking bad about the NFL now.

I think I'm saying many of the same things I did right after I first got cut. But my perspective on it is way deeper with understanding where it's like, no, that's like, that's the way it needs to be thank goodness that's what makes it such a great show on sunday when i first got cut it was like they don't even care about the team and whatever whatever i just didn't understand how it worked and no one really gives you the heads up but real quick just a anecdote my oh shoot moment like you had when your buddy got cut was one of the very first times i reported to our camp so it's the same thing like we have to report to a camp and that's where you're going to you're tested on your, like, performance and your abilities and your strength.

And I remember, we're kits. The dynamics definitely different, but there is such a high expectation of, like, your demeanor and all these things. I remember we, like, lined up. So you would line up and kind of get your assignments for the day, what you're, what you needed to do. And one of the girls was just, like, being a girl, being a little girl, and she, like, giggled, and she got cut right there.

Yeah, well, y'all was those cut through. And I was like, yeah. I was like, what do you mean? What do you mean cut? Like, you're done? And she was done. Yeah. This just changed the game.

Well, yeah, I remember Charles was that guy that I saw in the parking lot. And I was like, oh, my gosh. And I said that I was just, I couldn't believe, you know, my name was on the back of this chief's jersey. Everyone acts like, you know, hey, act like you've been there before and stay composed. There was none of that for me. It was like a dream come true. And I wanted to freaking live that. You know what I'm saying?

I wanted to enjoy that. And I'm in the locker room with Jamal Charles, insane running back, with Justin Houston, insane linebacker, Alex Smith. I grew up watching these people. And it's so, it is so hard to separate your, I played football because I loved football. Not because I was a professional at football when I started out. So then I'm watching these people that I loved watching.

I'm in the locker room with these guys. and anyway, I still think, like, I said this in our book. There are professional football players, and then there are people who were in the pros. I was definitely more of that second bucket of like, I just found myself in the pros. I was not like this buttoned up. I'm here for business. I was like, holy frick, dude, we're playing professional football. This is crazy.

And that ended up to kind of be my downfall. But anyway, I remember at first day, too, we had, we started the morning with, I'll talk about my first practice and I'll talk about my first game and we'll keep it tight. Can you tell us how many gasserers you did? No, I think it was maybe like 10. It wasn't, we used to do like 20 at a time in college. But yeah, then you start to understand because people haven't been on their college team conditioning for the last like six or seven months. Some people just didn't upkeep their physicality.

But I remember we started that day with a lift and we did like these RDLs. and I was like trying to do a form fit, trying to impress the weight coaches, which I thought would get me on the team, which it doesn't. And then we did like these hip strengthners with the bands around your knees. And I was trying to do form,

perfect form of everything. And I was like, I had never done this hip stuff. So my legs were just roasted. And so I found myself like wobbling around practice the rest of the day. And I was like, ah, maybe I should like chill out.

But it's funny. to think about that first practice in the NFL for the Chiefs. Fast forward, what was it? That was 2015, 2018, so 15, 16, 17, four and a half years later because I was May and then I played my first game December of 2018. My whole approach changed to pros, where I was like, it doesn't even freaking matter.

I don't need to show up shredded with the six-pack, running a 4-7 and like have these crazy physical numbers, they don't care about that at all. No one cares about it. It is all about can I do what I need to on the field? Mentally, you know what I'm saying? And that's kind of the part where like it took me a little bit to adjust, a lot to adjust.

And so I remember I showed up for my first game. I got to, we were in New York City with some friends. I got a call. This is fast forwarding to 2018. Yeah. So now I'll talk about my first day in the NFL. Jersey, like uniform on Sunday. Oh, that's what you count?

That's what I count. I count. She used to be in day one. So you're saying you count your first ever in-season official game as the first time you are ever in the NFL. This is interesting. Yes. And that's why I'm so glad that I played the games that I did as few as they were.

We should bring in a therapist for this. Today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. If I could wake up tomorrow and be better at one thing, it would probably be putting my phone down and being fully present. Not just physically in the room, but actually listening without thinking about the next text or task or thing on my calendar. I think you do a great job of being present. Thank you, babe.

Your presence is a present. You know that? Mine, if I could improve one thing, would be handling stress before it spills over onto everyone else. Sometimes the people closest to us get the most hurried version of us, even though they matter the most. Better is a feeling defined by you. And for BetterHelp, it's a BetterHelp therapist who really gets you.

It's a focus on global, emotional well-being with thousands of therapists and millions of members in over 100 countries. It's progress. And it's getting better at being present, responding thoughtfully, and noticing the patterns that you want to change. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com slash ESFAM. That's BetterHELP.com slash ESFAM. When people say, you know, people listen to this and be like, Andrew didn't even really play in the NFL.

And it's like I feel like I can rest easy saying I played in the NFL because I played games in the NFL. And I would argue from my perspective that you were in the league for four years. As soon as I signed that first contract. Absolutely. It's such an annoying question for me to ask like, how long did you do the NFL thing? When I talked to these other NFL guys, like, how long were you in the league for? and it's like, eh, eh, kind of four years.

Bounced around is what I say. But I showed up in Jacksonville. I had been bouncing from team, but team, played in multiple leagues, tried to make the USA rugby team. Crazy stories there. We shared some of them.

I played for the, what was it, the AAF, the Alliance of American Football for that Memphis team. Do you remember that? And was still signed to them. You showed up to practice

and they didn't even have to. football hilarious out that was actually one of the most fun times I had playing football because it was like you actually had league guys and they were like what what are we doing there were great players and it was an unorganized league and so it just made for this like incredible experience of dude we're all just out here kind of playing backyard football but uh got a call in new york from the redskins saying their guy had been hurt can i come that afternoon to do like a quick try out and then sign That was a Friday, I think, and I think they had a game on Sunday in Jacksonville. So I leave breakfast, coming straight from New York, do like 10 minutes on the field for this tryout in front of Warren Moon, this quarterback who was working for the Redskins at the time.

Met Tress and Dustin, the kickers and punter for the first time, did what I needed to do. Showed up, like, again, just all I, I don't need to do anything impressive. show my fancy muscles or anything. It's just like, can I snap the ball? So that's all I was focused on. Did that, signed. And then flew to Jacksonville with the team. I'm sitting there with Adrian Peterson on the bus for my first.

Who's awesome. Hall of Fame running back. He's sharing his Chinese food with me. Oh, dude. It was like, it's again surreal. And I will talk about it giggly because the whole thing is absurd. And I freaking loved every second of I can't believe that I got to do it. And I think more people should be.

like that. I know I'm not a Hall of Famer, okay? But it is freaking fun to be with elite athletes. These guys are freaks. I got a lift with Todd Gurley in L.A. when we were teammates. Aaron Donald, teammate. Travis Kelsey, Khalil Mack. Any football fans out there, like these guys are freaks. But did you meet T. Swift? Never met T. No. No. I don't think we did meet T. Swift. Okay. I just, I know people are wondering. play that in yeah you did yeah so first NFL game I'm in Jacksonville I really haven't practiced formally like I hadn't worn helmet his shoulder pads because I hadn't been with the team since August I was with the Jacksonville Jaguars in August and now I'm playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in December and I hadn't worn pads since then and the cool thing is though that I understand differently now that I did then.

Don't take this out of context, but like I knew that I was capable of doing what I needed to performance-wise. So it was just like maintain that confidence. One of the hardest parts of parenting is finding something the kids actually enjoy watching that we can also easily say yes to without hesitation. That is why Minow has been such an easy fit for our family. Minow is the number one source of Christian content for kids with hundreds of of shows that help kids know and love God and the Bible.

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That piece of mind means the kids can enjoy the story without us hovering over the screen. If you want a faith first place where your kids can have fun and you can feel good about what they're watching, head to gomino.com and start your free seven-day trial today. For a couple of years as you bounced down in the NFL, you are so... You were white knuckling, finding a place, and doing everything. How do I say this? You were a phenomenal long snobber, and you had fun in college. And then all of a sudden you went to the league and you were like,

I need to do anything and everything I think will get me on the team, which was everything outside of just having fun and snapping. Yeah, it's crazy. And you, like, changed your entire philosophy and strategy as to how. how and what made you a great snapper. And I think because by 2018, you had gotten to a point where you're like, I don't know if the league is even for me.

You took a breath away from the sport to a certain extent for those four or five months. And so when the now Washington football team called you, the commanders, you were like, why not? And you and I kind of giggled about it in New York. And you're like, yeah, I'll go snap a ball.

I'll see. Crazy. And you found yourself on the field? I mentioned my dad filming everything. I realized in the turmoil of trying to make the NFL that I needed to find another passion. And so that's how we stumbled in the YouTube in December of 2015. So I got cut in May, sorry, August 2015, did some tryouts and signed, I think, another contract. And then it pretty much sat on the couch for that.

that fall until December 2015, I was like, we got to find something else. So started looking into the YouTube world and fell in love with the camera hardware and editing. And oh my gosh, there's this whole, there's this whole world that I love. And so by the time we made it to 2018, the whole white knuckle,

I need to make a career out of football. You had made a career out of something else. And then you were allowed to just have fun with football. Yeah. And I remember walking out on the field, again next to like Vernon Davis who I watch yeah you know him well I'm hysterical we had done a show with him yeah we done a show with Vernon and I was like looking up to him I watched I remember watching sports science on the power of Vernon Davis and now I'm his teammate still insane to me

but we walk out and they had this in Jacksonville the situation was they had like this uh there's like a citizenship ceremony for some new people they're were doing on the field. I went out there and did my warm up. I'm looking around. It's like, I, oh, I got, I got chills. And, and then they pull out this American flag that's the size of the whole field. On the other team, the sniper was Matt Overton, who was like a coach and a mentor. He played for the Colts, which was always a team I, I, um, Rudefort growing up. I look up in the stands and there is you, my dad, my mom, I think Grant came down there. And I, because I wasn't in this, oh my gosh, stressed out moment, I have to make a thing of this. I remember just looking up

there and with a clear mind being able to see the beauty of the journey of like these people all invested in me to be here. I, it. I gave my dad the jersey from that game. And I just said, thank you for allowing me to believe that anything is possible. And my dad was a dreamer. We know that. But like,

they had, if I told him I wanted to play pro chess or whatever, my parents would have done that. But we had this silly goal of like taking football as far as we could. And then you look up and you realize, I'm such a small part of this story. Like not even in like a belitting way. You're like the coaches, the teammates, the travel of the parents and the family,

your patience with me as I recalibrated my life. I was like, oh, my, this is an honor. And maybe it's a shame that it took me having to have my definition of the first day be there because I should have seen it clear before. But like. No, but maybe you appreciate it more. Oh. That was a, that was a good moment for me.

And then I tried to carry it forward to say like, I'm still a small part. Like, it's not about me and my goals. It's fun to have your own goals so that other people can support. But like, also how am I supporting other people? Anyway, the game was crazy. I got in a fight. I almost had like a turn. Which I'm like, Andrew Dean East.

I found myself on the sideline of the Jaguars where I, again, had previously been, and I was trying to, like, strip the ball to get a fumble. And the guy had just, like, pushed me to get off. And then there's a sick picture of the whole Jaguars team and then me. Who's the guy who had you by your pads? Khalil Matt, or no, sorry, Callias Campbell. Oh, so I'm out there against a 6-8, 330-pound beast. at my first play. I just picture you giggling.

I remember looking up, I was like, oh my gosh. I don't think I'm going to be doing the NFL for very long. But we had like a game winning field goal. You had some trick play. No, that was two games later. But I just remember that first day being not what I thought it would be. And thank goodness for that. I think about my college career.

it was not what I thought it would be. Thank goodness for that. And I think the lessons that I learned and the differing timeline of how I wanted things to unfold made all the difference. And thank you for being my partner through all that. I just remember sitting in the stands praying to God.

Geez, just over and over and over again. And I'm just like, I wanted you to be able to take every ounce of it in. I wanted you to feel proud. I wanted you to feel confident. I wanted you know that we were so excited for you, but we also didn't care. You know, like, it's such a weird, it was such a weird feeling as a wife to see you get that opportunity and to finally be, you know, in a game, which is kind of what you had been talking about for a long time. and I wanted to like celebrate you

but I also didn't want to celebrate you in a way that you thought I in any way shape or form needed it you know I was just like there for you in any capacity and it was so it was

you were very gracious you were very gracious thank you it was really special yeah it was yeah this is fun those are good memories

Yeah, I'm excited to hear your equivalent of this as we talk through things. But I, yeah, there are certain moments in life where you're like, I could remember every detail. The flyover, it's just so dope. You're like freaking standing on the field. I remember after the game coming up and giving you a kiss. Remember we had like the little fan. Because by now we're married. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, 2018. We'd be married two years. But what's surreal now is Dustin Hopkins was a field goal kicker. That was our first weekend getting to know the Hopkins. And literally the last week of real time currently, we have seen them multiple times. You just did a dance class with Gabby. We went on vacation together.

We're neighbors. It's like, they moved to Nashville because we bonded so well. Yeah. We lived in their basement in Washington for three weeks. The little ripple effect of all these things is really fun to kind of see how it pans out. So, um, good memories. Great memories. I'm really proud of you.

Thank you. Who's your NFL team of choice? Who do you root for? NFL team of choice. It feels so weird to say an answer. Who'd you grow up rooting for? Nobody. Iowa doesn't have NFL.

Vikings or anything? You didn't go. No, I feel like Iowa is either split between the Chiefs or the Vikings. But Iowa cares so much more about college football. So I always cheered for the Iowa Hawkeyes. That's how I am with baseball. I'm like, I just didn't have a team growing up. So you ask me, what's my NFL team?

I would literally giggle and say Vanderbilt. Come on, girl. Go doors. And because we were, because we bounced around. and the NFL was such a different type of organization. It was more like individual than it was like a team to a certain extent. I am cheering for individuals on teams because we know so many individuals more than I am cheering for like. Yeah.

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spend the money. Using it is insanely simple. Go to dupe.com, paste any product URL or upload a photo, and it will show you similar items for way less. There's also an app and browser extension. No account is required and it's totally free. Start saving today with dup.com. I do want to clarify it. Like, don't take, if you're listening, don't take this as advice for how to approach sports. This is very specific to if you're potentially in the NFL in that process. Because I think the team dynamic in college, as we were describing it, needs to be preserved.

Team dynamic in high school needs to be preserved. Yes, it does. And all that pressure, it's like, you know, take it all with a grain of salt. I felt like I was worried about letting down all the people who had invested in me. I get that.

Because I just want to, I feel so spoiled with, all the people that have been put in my life that I want to live up to what they've invested in. So anyway, that was fun. Also, elephant in the room, this is our first episode with this backdrop. Yeah. Shout out to Sean, who, it looks so good. I love it.

It does look good? Great work. So it's a fun assortment of words in our background. If you're on YouTube, there's Andrew at Vandy. I don't know how. You could see it on there? Probably on YouTube. I gotta zoom in.

But most of those are Sean Awards. No, they're not. No, they're not. I get, it's fine, babe. They're not. Okay, stay tuned next week for Sean's story. we're going to hopefully continue this nostalgia series. And football is back, baby.

I cannot wait. Watch some football, college football on Saturday. More this Saturday. I love football. It's so freaking fun. It is. I'm glad you have fun with it again. Thanks.

I love you. I love you too. That's all we got. I'm Andrew. I'm Sean. Until next time.