Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 5/6/19: Khari Willis 360

Episode Date: May 7, 2019

In Part I of our Colts rookie 360 series, Michigan State's Khari Willis goes under the microscope. Willis was a two-year starter and captain for the Spartans at safety being used in a variety ways as a Swiss Army Knife of sorts. Willis racked up the numbers on the field, but also displayed amazing character traits off the field too.Wil Hunter of Locked On Spartans stopped by first to go in-depth on Willis' strengths along with how he fits in Indianapolis alongside Malik Hooker. What are some of the best moments from Willis' career in East Lansing? Wil has plenty that will make you excited for what he brings to the Colts' secondary.Then, Willis' B1G 10 Luncheon speech is played in full. This showed off the man Willis is off the field, one Chris Ballard and Co. obviously fell in love with trading up on the beginning of Day 3.Finally, we bring on two of Khari's brothers, Terrence (older) and Bobby (younger). This was an awesome chat with two of Willis' siblings about when they knew he would be a special player, plus much more. What was it like being in the room when the Colts called him? Stick around for bold predictions from Terrence and Bobby for this upcoming season as well.The 360 series will try to cover as many Colts rookies as possible, so stay tuned and thanks to Wil, Terrence and Bobby for making Part I happen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome to Locked on Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Today, as always, I'm your host, Evan Satter. I'm joined by a very special guest today. He came off our special Colts 360 Draft Series, Will Hunter, the host of Locked on Sparring Series. Talk about Kari Willis. How you doing today, Will? Good, Evan. How you doing? Doing great, man. Doing great. I'm glad you came on and glad to kick off this series with you. Let's dive into it with Kari Willis, the guy who the Colts actually traded up for in round four, picked 109 overall.

And Chris Bauer actually let us know after his post-draft press conference that they're actually considering going with Kari Willis at 89, but they instead chose Bobby Okereke, the linebacker out of Stanford. But when you look at Kari Willis, 6'1", 215 pounds, he was a team captain, definitely checks a lot of those B batter boxes, so to say. Definitely versatile as well. He finished with 77 tackles, one and a half sacks, and an interception this year.

What was your overall thoughts, Will, watching Kari Willis the past four years of Michigan State? First, I just want to say, man, I wish they would have gone with Kari Willis instead of Okereke because of that Pat McAfee pick that he made at the draft. If he could have ended that, Okereke comedically was a hilarious name, but if it could have been Kari Willis, that would have been great for the Michigan State Twitter community. It would have been awesome. But yeah, just in terms

of overall impressions of him. So he's a guy who came in kind of typical for Michigan State, although they do recruit some high-end defensive back talent, he was a little bit unheralded coming in. Took some time to find his way on the field, played special teams early, became a starter his junior year, and then, you know, co-captain, senior year team leader, leader of, you know, last year's no-fly zone, all that stuff. And really developed from, you know, I don't want to say he was a liability when he was younger, but safety at Michigan State is a tough position because of where they're asked to play. It's kind of, you know, they're a box safety. Both the safeties are box safeties at times. It's

why Michigan State has great run defense, but then they're also asked to play deep quarters in terms of coverage. So there's a lot of quick decision-making close to the line of scrimmage. And so it can be tough for a guy to adjust. And Kari picked it up relatively quickly by his junior season. He was a solid player. And then he developed into an all-Big Ten type guy by his senior year. Like I said, a co-captain, leader, all the, you know, I'm sure we'll talk about the intangibles and things like that. I'm sure you've been hearing all about it. But just really an all-around solid football player. Sometimes, you know, he's drafted as a strong safety as a box safety. And I think in the NFL, he'll play some linebacker

hybrid type stuff. That's kind of in his potential. But I think he sometimes gets unfairly labeled as a box safety, because he's a big, strong guy, a hard hitter. He can he can cover guys too. He's quick in terms of, you terms of covering slot guys and things like that, has great hands in coverage at the line of scrimmage, can defend, like I mentioned, deep quarters and things like that. His pro football focus grade was actually better in coverage than it was in run defense. He had like an 86 or something like that, and coverage was one of the better safeties and coverage grades this year. So he's just an all-around really solid football player who I think can play, like I said, multiple positions, whether it's a box safety, hybrid linebacker,

slot nickel type guy who can cover the slot. So he's just an all-around good football player and a really great locker room presence. Yeah, he definitely checks a lot of the box the Colts are looking for. And after Clayton Gathers has a one-year contract this year, I think Corey Willis could be in line by 2020 to be the starter long-term next to Ohio State, Buckeye, and Elite Cooker. But if we want to go back just to one moment, maybe the past one or two years past Corey Willis has been a full-time starter, what's the biggest moment that stood out to you where you thought,

wow, this guy's going to be a stud? I will give you – it's actually back-to-back plays in the Purdue game. I know – so, you know, Indianapolis there. How familiar do you think your listening audience is with Purdue football and who Rondale Moore is? Oh, absolutely. He's a folklore around here. Yeah, okay.

So we know about Rondale Moore. We all got absolutely. He's a folklore around here. Yeah. Okay. So we know about Rondale Moore. We all got to watch that amazing game against Ohio State and what he did to that entire defense was incredible. Well, the next week, Purdue traveled to East Lansing to play Michigan State and Kari Willis drew the primary coverage on Rondale Moore a week after he lit up the world. And Moore finished the game with 11 catches on 16 targets, but they only went for 74 yards and did not get into the end zone. And really wasn't, I mean, he was a factor certainly in the game, but was not nearly the explosive playmaker that he had been all season. And there's two plays in that game you can watch and you can go back and check it out if you want to sort of see what makes Kari Willis special. Maybe the best way to say it

is he plays beyond his measurables, his test scores and things like that, because on paper, a guy like Rondale Moore should be able to just absolutely roast Kari Willis in terms of speed and quickness and things like that. But it just didn't play out that way. The first play, it's a third and three late in the game. Michigan State's up, I think it was three points, like 16, 13 or something like that. And more motions from one side of the formation to the other. Kari Willis goes with them. And as the ball is being snapped, the idea behind this play on offense with Braum is it's a late motion meant to sort of get defensive backs confused. And you run a pick route, and Rondell Moore is completely freed up on this quick sort of jet out, if you want to call it that.

And with a guy like him getting the ball in space, he makes someone miss and he's gone. And on third and three, that should be a first down. But as the ball is being snapped, if you can go back and find this video, the ball is halfway back to the quarterback, and Kari Willis is looking back to Justin Lane, the corner, the outside corner in this play. And he's signaling to him, he's doing a push motion, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay. And he's communicating this

in just an instant, a half a second. And what they end up doing is they pass off the coverage where instead of them getting picked, Lane backs out and then jumps on the out. Willis takes the inside route, which was like a post-type route, and Lane is there quick enough to deflect the pass away from Rondell Moore to force fourth down. So just a really quick, cerebral, smart football play made by Kyrie Willis before the ball was halfway snapped, before the quarterback even got the ball. And then in the next play, Rondell Moore lines up in the slot. Kari Willis is manned up on him. No motion, so he stays with him. He runs a slant. Kari Willis is not fooled by this, mainly because he gets his hands on Moore.

And like I said, he's got great hands around the line of scrimmage and is a really strong guy. I had 22 bench reps at the combine, led all safeties. So he gets his hands on Moore, does a good job being physical with them, has great coverage. Moore is able to catch the ball on a fourth and three crucial play. Catches it one yard down the field, and Kari Willis tackles him immediately at the spot for a one-yard game to basically switch the ball over on downs and prevent Purdue from driving any further.

And they had just crossed midfield at that point. So those are two plays that I think really, if you can go back and find those and watch them, it'll show you a lot about just his intelligence, his speed, his power, his quickness, and his tackling ability. Yeah. When you do look at Kari Willis and his combine stats, Will, you see he ran a 4.52 and he's a guy, like you mentioned, you let all safety to 22 bench press reps at 213

pounds at 5 foot 11 that's pretty i saw a picture of him as well at rookie minicam he's pretty staunchy and pretty as far as like rips so to say he's probably the most good prospect in the colts right now to be honest and that's saying what does that say about just carrie willis and you see him up close i mean you probably see him up close as well how much of this a physical freak is he in person uh he's like he's a really solid athlete like yes he is he's jacked he's very strong um that's his i think his biggest strength is uh is his actual physical strength uh you know four five two at his size is solid you know he's a little bit short i think for i think he measured in at 5 11 you You know, he's a little bit short. I think he measured in at 5'11", you said? Yeah.

So he's a little bit short. So he doesn't really profile as that, like, freak. Because we always think of guys who are 6'5", 260, and are just cut out of stone. But, like, make no mistake about it. Like, he looks like a safety. Like, he's jacked. I'm sure he does well when he goes to the beach with his shirt off and things like that. But that's, again, just if you look at all his numbers, like his combine numbers in the percentile and where he ranks and things like that, he's just a good athlete. He's that kind of stuff where he lacks a little bit maybe

in speed and quickness like I mentioned with Rondon where he's able to make up the difference with his hands and his intelligence and he's just a really smart cerebral football player so you know not the biggest freak but you know it's the NFL they're all freaks in their own way but he's yeah he's just a good solid athlete and is very physically strong cut out of stone all the stuff uh you want to say about that yeah he definitely fits that mold for sure going here to the other side of the coin so to say will to his character and just leadership he's a captain there i think that's what the colts value most what chris bauer the gm says that locker room is really valuable to him They moved up 20 spots in the fourth round

to get Kari Willis, and I think they value that presence. What do you see as far as his leadership qualities? Yeah, you know how there's this thing in the NFL, it's an established rule. Like if Bill Belichick wants somebody or if Bill Belichick's making a trade or moving up in the draft to get a guy,

that kind of piques your interest. You're like, oh, he knows something. Well, Chris Ballard, for me, is starting to sort of earn that. I know it's a newer regime here in Indianapolis, but I really respect him as a football evaluator. I think he's really sharp and makes prudent decisions. So for him to move up 20 spots to grab a guy like Kyrie Willis, I think speaks leaps and bounds for what they really think of him. And in terms of character, you're going to be really hard to find a guy with better actual human character and then football character, which if we want to sort of divide those things. And human character,

Kari was a champion for community outreach, community service, great at camps with kids, signing autographs, all the really good stuff you want in that regard. Just a good dude, has a good family, comes from a good family. His dad was a coach. I think he has eight brothers, like eight or nine brothers or siblings. So a big family, really good family. Comes from a really good high school and things like that. Has a really good background and just a solid person. And then you talk about football character, which is a great locker room presence, a leader, someone guys always look to, someone who's going to be, you never, I promise you guys this, you will never have to worry about Kari Willis causing some sort of headache in terms of mouthing off or loafing or being a locker room cancer or any sort of thing like that.

If Kari Willis doesn't pan out for the Colts, it's going to be an injury or he just didn't have the physical skills to make it work in the NFL because he's going to do every single thing within his power to make it work. Like I said, guy wasn't a crazy high recruit, was a really good running back actually in high school and turned himself into one of the best safeties in the Big Ten over a three, four year span. And at Michigan State, you don't see a lot of freshmen playing, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It's always a top five, top 10 defense, and you really have to earn time on that side of the ball. It's like Alabama light on that side of the ball. You really have to earn time and pay your dues, put in the work to be able to play

on that defense. And so I think just that speaks volumes for the type of guy Kari is. He came in, played special teams, did the grunt work for a while, earned his job as a starter, became a captain, and is just someone, like, you can't find someone to say a bad word about him. And that's, you know, like I said, it's that combination of actual human character, moral character, and football character, locker room stuff, leadership, football IQ, all that stuff that just, like, his intangibles are absolutely off the charts. I have a two-parter here for you, Will, and it's about Michigan State and also just about NFL as well.

When you think back just about your overall career watching Michigan State football, is there a defensive back that compares to Kari Willis? Do you think it's – where do you put Kari Willis as far as on the pedestal of Michigan State defensive backs? And also, you did throw like an NFL comparison out there for some Colts fans who don't really know about Kari Willis who would you do a comparison for them? Let me think on the comparison by time I'm done talking I might have one for you in terms of

Michigan State defensive backs so there have been a handful of guys who have come out of Michigan State who are really good safeties. The most heralded guys have been cornerbacks. Dark West, Denard, and Trey Waynes are both high first round picks. And we've had some other guys in the D'Antonio area that have come out. But in terms of strong safeties, the guys have really been free safeties. Monte Nicholson is one who plays on Washington right now, who's a free safety, who's made it. I don't know. You may remember his name is Isaiah Lewis. He played for the Bengals for a little bit. I think he was a fifth or sixth round pick is similar to Kari Willis.

You know, he's just, you know, just a really solid overall football player. Lacks a little bit in physical traits, but like I said, makes up for it in mental and things like that. He's almost like, gosh, I don't want to call him like Tyron Matthew or anything like that, but you know the versatility that he provides? It's similar to that because you'll watch Tyron Matthew play and he'll play slot corner, he'll play safety, he'll play box safety, he'll sometimes move over to free safety, he'll play safety he'll play box safety he'll sometimes move over to free safety he'll play in linebackers linebacker at sub packages and things like that and I think Willis is similar in that mold you can really move him around a lot he's going to be someone who can probably contribute on special teams right away be an extra safety in case of injuries or anything

like that in the 4-3 base. Can play linebacker in pass downs and pass situations in different sub packages. Can guard the slot and things like that. So he's just like an overall really versatile guy. Maybe not quite the nose for the ball like a Tyron Matthew and is a little bit physically stronger than him. But they play, I I think a very sort of similar role in terms of how they fit into the modern NFL and as far as maybe that's really good points to bring up there because I think Corey wills I remember dark was the nerve from a while ago when I was growing up and he's a long lanky guy you hope he pans out and the next team he's on because I don't think it's gonna work out there in sensey or maybe it will just because you see some tangibles there. But overall, if you had to throw – I'm looking at mockdraftable.com, Will,

and his main athletic comp is a guy like a Patrick Chung, a smart guy who was a really helpful guy during the Belichick New England days. He still – well, maybe Patrick Chung along those lines is a good comp for him. Sure, yeah. That's a solid one. And really, Chung's the same way in terms of scheme versatility. And we know how things operate in New England. They sort of switch out things schematically from series to series and game to game. And so you need

just good, smart, versatile football players in that defense. But yeah, I would think so, because Chung is not a guy who's going to pop off tape or anything like that but uh has over the years repeatedly been involved as a presence there makes big plays as someone who's just a really solid football player that you can rely on and yeah I like that in terms of athletic comparisons I don't know Chung's testing numbers or anything like that but I would think because it's on that type of website they're probably pretty similar to Willis's um but in terms of, yeah, role and schematic fit and things like that, yeah, I think that's a good comp for sure. Yeah, over his last year starting, Corey Willis averaged six tackles per game, which is pretty darn impressive. He had 71

in 2017, 77 this past year, which totaled up seven tackles for loss as well. But before I let you go, Will, what do you think about the Colts comparisons here? I mean, you throw them in here with a guy like Malik Hooker long-term. I imagine you probably saw Malik Hooker in the last 10 days. What do you think about adding a box, really a Swiss Army knife, so to say, with Corey Willis with a ball hawking safety and Malik Hooker long-term? Yeah, and I think that's, it's not a coincidence.

And like I said, I have good, great respect for Ballard and really what the Colts did schematically defensively last year, sort of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts type thing. That was a really solid defense. And I've really, I'm really happy that Willis ended up there. But Malik Hooker is kind of like, yep, that's the guy Kari Willis should be playing next to at safety just because of the different skill sets. Hooker is someone who can absolutely ball hot, can play that center field type thing, can play the deep middle and cover three. I know the Colts like to run some cover two and things like that, and it's just a really good deep safety.

Kari Willis is someone who is going to stick his nose in there more uh doesn't have I wouldn't say he has missed tackle issues but occasionally he'll miss a tackle and things like that but he's absolutely going to put his nose in there like I said safeties at Michigan State will play seven yards off the ball at times and in the NFL you're getting 12 to 14 yards and things like that. So he is very much a guy who's used to sticking his nose in there and playing like that. And I think it really is a good fit with Malik Hooker down the road. We'll see what happens with Gaithers in terms of next year and things like that. And like I said, I think Willis sees the field this year as a rookie and could

potentially take over the starting job depending on how it goes. But down the road, yeah, I think those two are going to fit really well together in that Col colts 4-3 scheme yeah it really wouldn't shock me at all to be honest will if he does beat out clayton gathers in camp if he just impresses like i think he can in camp but before before i let you go will i really appreciate the time as always but if there's any michigan state listeners out there who don't know about locked on spurs where can they find you at uh my personal twitter account is at Will underscore underscore Hunter. So I only have one L in my name and then there's two underscores in the middle. It's a weird Twitter name I know.

So it's Will underscore underscore Hunter, one L, two underscores. At On Spartans, if you want to follow the Locked On Spartans Twitter account, you can find us on Facebook too as well. And I always just say, if you listen to podcasts, search Lockdown Spartans, wherever you get podcasts and hit the subscribe button, just like you do four or five shows every single week. And yeah, you can find all my stuff on those Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, or just listen to the podcast on your favorite podcast service. Awesome. Hey, this was really fun. Well, appreciate the time. Yeah, definitely happy to help out.

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Good afternoon. It's truly a privilege, it's truly an honor to be here, to be able to speak on not only behalf of myself and my family, but also my schools, my teammates, and my fellow student-athletes. Coach D initially told me that I was speaking. I was kind of nervous, not going to lie, but he told me there was an opportunity for me to tell my story. So I wanted to accomplish two things. I wanted to tell my story, but I also wanted to tell a story that I know a lot of other

fellow student athletes can relate to and that a lot of people are going through at home. So a little bit about me. I grew up in a small town about 35 minutes away from East Lansing called Jackson, Michigan. There I grew up on the south side. My mother and father had 10 kids. That's a lot, but yeah, it was 10 of us. And I had a lot of older brothers,

so I grew up fighting for breakfast and things like that. But my mother always made a point to us that faith was very important. She taught us to trust God. She taught us to fear God, to honor God. She taught us to trust in his divine plan. She taught us to trust in ourselves, those. She told us to trust in ourselves, those around us, and in him, and by doing that, he'll be able to open doors for us, and he'll help

us along our journey. Although my father, he did install those same qualities into us. He made sure that we went out and did things in the community. He made sure we were involved in activities. I personally think it was his way of kicking us out the house, but he definitely made sure that we did that. One of those things for me was college football. Every Saturday, my brothers and I, after we got done fighting for breakfast, we would huddle around the TV and we would go watch Braxton Miller, we would watch Darquaz Denard, Denard Robinson, Kirk Cousins, and all the great players that came before us in this conference.

And what that inspired for me was a sense of just a dream. It inspired me to dream that maybe one day that I could partake in those activities, and thankfully I was able to. Another thing I noticed at a young age on Saturdays was the sacrifice that I saw, not only the players, but all of the communities and all of the people coming together, putting everything aside

to honor these gifts that my mother had to say we got from God. On these Saturdays I noticed that it was something special going on, it was something different. It was multiple different people from multiple different races, multiple different people from multiple different races, multiple different people from multiple different backgrounds, different schools, different flags, different political

affiliations, different religions all coming together to celebrate these gifts. And it inspired me to dream and fast forward a few years I was able to have opportunity. So I come on to Michigan State campus as a freshman, I have to come in and learn a new position. We have some sets, we're coming off of a 2014 Cotton Bowl Championship year. The next year I come on, we go on and win a Big Ten Championship. I had some success early on. I was able to play as a true freshman, end up starting a few games. I also learned that when you're starting, you don't play that well, you

get benched. So I got benched as well. So I'm going and I'm learning. I'm experiencing the highs and the lows of college football. I'm experiencing what it's like to be, to go home for people that want to talk to you all the time. I'm experiencing what it's like to conduct yourself out in public. And the very next year, we come in and we drop the ball. We go 3-9 as a team. One of the worst seasons in school history, the absolute worst season, in the Coach Mark D'Antonio era here at Michigan State.

And during that time, our team was hit with a lot of adversity, both on and off the field. And we kind of struggled throughout that season. But in off season, we kind of based our bounce back off of a term that our head strength and conditioning coach used with us. That term is reaffirmation. Reaffirmation is a reassertion or confirmation of a fact or a belief.

So what we literally had to do is we had to go back to the drawing board and draw up our moral values, draw up the things that had got us to the Big Ten Championship, draw up the foundation that our program was built on and reinvent it because we were a new group. And as I looked on for our season, both of the things we experienced on and off the field,

I noticed that there was a sense of struggle going on for that whole entire year. It was a rough off season, it was a rough season. And I thought about the struggle, I thought about the struggle that not only myself, but a lot of other going on for that whole entire year. It was a rough off season, it was a rough season. And I thought about the struggle, I thought about the struggle that not only myself, but a lot of other student athletes within our conference have been through in their lives. A lot of us grow up coming from inner cities.

There's everyday struggle for some survival, others battle poverty, some battle peer pressure and decision making, others battle crime and violence within the home, drug addiction and drug use, and others are faced with gang-related activities that surround them. And I noticed that we all, coming from these areas, we all kind of have, grow up in an area where there's a lack of hope. Maybe sometimes a lack of resources, maybe sometimes just a lack of guidance.

But I noticed that we all were faced with the same decision, excuse me, with the same challenge. And that challenge was decision making. We all have to make decisions. My father told me that, he always used to tell me that no matter what problem you face, there is a solution and no matter what choice you face, there's opportunity to make the right choice. And at the University, Coach D always tells us it's a hard decision-making time for young people in the world today. And we look on our University, we look at, you know, some

of the decisions that we make as players, some of the decisions that we make as student athletes, as sons, as daughters, husbands, coaches, these decisions, some of them are final. But I draw back to what my father taught me, and that was to always be a part of the solution, regardless of what the problems are going on on your university, within your community, within your family, within your house. And part of the solution that we're coming up with here at Michigan State is a solution of healing. And that solution includes listening, understanding, getting out of your comfort zone, sacrificing, putting your personal goals and personal aspirations to the side to make sure that the people next to you are better off and have a better opportunity for success.

And part of our solution that we can do as student athletes, we can go back to these communities. We can go back to the communities where a kid is dreaming on a Saturday night just like we were a few years ago. We can go back to where that kid is facing the decision making of joining a gang, maybe some drug related violence activities and things of that nature. And we can go back and we can give back. It doesn't necessarily have to be a lot of time, it doesn't necessarily have to be a lot of money, but these things that we can do on a day to day basis, and I can prove to you that we could be an example for kids, for the future kids to come. And as I thought about giving back, I kind of just thought about my personal life, and I reflect on my personal responsibility that I was originally given from God, revealed to by my mother. Jesus said in Matthew 5, verses 14 through 16, he said said you are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel instead

they put it on a candlestick and it's giving light unto all that are in the house let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven and that sometimes could be a challenge especially growing up in society today as student athletes, we're faced with the peer pressure, we're faced with social media, we're faced with being an example out in public, representing ourselves the right way, we're faced with parties and all these different peer pressure outlets to try to get, if we're not true to ourselves, sometimes they get the best of us.

Or like Coach D said, if we're not humble, we will be humble. So I challenge all the other student athletes here today, go back to our communities. Let's make a difference. Let's continue to let our light shine. There's an old saying that my father used to use. He still uses it to this day. And that saying is, if you blow my candle out, that won't make your candle shine any brighter. So let's go back.

Let's light these candles in these communities. Let's impart what we've learned on our college campus as far as how to dress, as far as how to talk to people with respect, as far as how to treat women, as far as how to, excuse me, as far as how to conversate and communicate with people that are not like us, people that are not from the same areas that we're from. I feel that the rest of the 40 plus players that are here, we have that opportunity. You were chosen for a reason. You all are special.

It's been a privilege speaking to you. It's been a privilege competing with you. And I hope that we can all make our communities better by going back and giving back. Thank you very much. God bless you. Go green. Alrighty. Welcome back into Locked On Colts. Everyone we're joined by two very special guests and they're actually relatives of Corey Willis and there are two of his brothers, Terrence Willis and Bobby Willis. How you guys doing?

Hey, how's it going? all right all right great we actually just uh the last semi here we played it was about Kari Willis's it was his uh Big Ten kickoff luncheon speech which is really inspiring to people it kind of went viral back then in July just from a character standpoint we'll start with Terrence and go to Bobby. Just what stands out the most just from your family growing up and how Curry was raised and the man he was today? I think, like you said, first and foremost, had a lot to do with our father and our mom and the things they instilled in us as kids. They taught us from a young age that faith was the root of everything that we do. So we try to make sure we keep a strong faith in God, but then also understanding that everything that you do, like Kari said,

someone else is watching. You'll hear it over and over again probably as you hear different interviews from him and any of my brothers or sisters. I'll tell you, my dad used to always tell us, you show me your friends, I'll show you your future. So decision making was always a big thing to him. He started with us older ones kind of as an example and always told us, you know, make decisions so that your younger brothers can not only do as well as you do, know what the things are supposed to do, so they can be better than you are.

And we think Kari's probably one of the ones who picked up on it the best, I would say, out of us so far. But then we have Bobby and another younger brother of mine that's going to fall right behind him, I think. So it has a lot to do with what he talked about in his speech. And Bobby, what would you say what stood out most about about Corey and just how he's grown up so far? I think Terrence pretty much covered it all. I just think he really took to heart everything that my mom and dad taught him. He really embodied everything that my mom from the church has put into him, just keeping your faith in God.

You know, he's just really grown up to a big brother that I'm proud of. I know our family's proud of him, but he's really just stayed to his core values. And I think that's helped him tremendously. Bobby, let me ask you this. Just when did you know when Kari was growing up playing football, when you realized that he could eventually be in the NFL and be, I mean, in Indianapolis, I mean, in my opinion, he could be starting in Indianapolis for the next 10 to 15 years. So what do you think got Torrey to that point?

When did you personally realize that he was going to be this special football player? To be honest, everybody in our family thought that he was going to go to the NBA and play basketball. But he was an amazing basketball talent as well. But around his junior year, he quit Aau basketball to focus 100 on football and then i think his first game me and my dad are riding down it's called buchanan michigan and we're just kind of joking around in the car my dad's like how many yards you think he's going to rush for i'm like 300 with four touchdowns i'm a i'm in seventh grade i know not not really anything about how hard it is to rush for 300 yards in the game. And then we get there kind of late, and he ends up rushing.

He ends up finishing the game with 260 yards, I think, and he had four touchdowns in the first half. He didn't even play the second half. So I think that was the moment where I'm like, oh, yeah, he's going to be a good football player wherever he's at. Wow. That's pretty amazing. Terrence, what do you think stood out most to you

when you were watching Curry grow up playing football? And that's pretty amazing. Terrence, what do you think stood out most to you when you were watching Curry grow up playing football? And that's pretty incredible about basketball as well, just how talented he is overall. Yeah, again, I have to agree with Bobby. So I played college basketball. All my other brothers have played football in college somewhere. And again, Robert's going to go to Northern Michigan next year. So as a defensive back, believe it or not.

But we all thought, you know, Curry was going to go to Northern Michigan next year. So as a defensive back, believe it or not. But we all thought, you know, Kyrie was going to be the next great thing in basketball. So the football thing kind of got me by surprise because we used to, you know, seven brothers in our household. So we used to get the younger ones together and play, you know, football and beat up on them a little bit. So I didn't think that football was a route he wanted to go. But like Bobby said, we um saw him playing um

he had to convince him to play football even going into his junior year but then when he had that big takeoff uh like he said and burst off for almost what was 280 or something like that the first game um that was like whoa this this is probably a better decision to go here especially being under six foot you know basketball players don't always get a lot of exposure like they should. But I mean, I honestly thought that he was gonna go play somewhere at a major level basketball cuz he was just that strong and that fast. I remember his sophomore year in high school, when I was still in college, he actually had beat me and we played full court one on one. And he had beat me in a game of full court one on one.

And I thought, at that point, it's probably time for me to go ahead and hang my shoes up um but then when he decided to play football I just knew man he pretty much can do anything he decides you know he want to be good at and he just got that type of motor so um it was it was probably midway through his junior year when I was like man this guy not only could be good he could be all-time great if he decides to be. Let me ask you this, Terrence, as far as the basketball side of things goes. When did Kari start beating you in basketball?

What age was it? Or was he in 10th grade? Yeah, first time he beat me, he was in 10th grade. I probably wouldn't ever say this again, be it first and last time, but he beat me for the first time in 10th grade, and that's where, you know, I knew it was something. He had got a scholarship offer going to his 10th grade year and i didn't think it was all that you know you know i'm playing against grown men all the time you hear about a lot of kids getting offers and that's always nice when you're in high school but um to get beat by

your little brother and you know while he's still in high school that's kind of uh not something you would ever admit to your college teammates so i did probably denied it for the last seven or eight years but it was 10th grade where he beat me for the first time. We play a certain kind of basketball, so it's almost like volleyball. And if you can get through that and play, then you got a chance of beating us. So it was 10th grade.

He beat me. He played to 11 full court. He beat me 11-9 or something like that. Wow. That's pretty incredible, just thinking back to how athletic and just the background that Corey has with your guys family. But let's go to Michigan State here and I'll throw it to Bobby here first. Was it ever really a much of a decision for once Corey got the Michigan State offer, he's going to go there? What was his recruiting process like for the listeners out there?

I was in, I think, eighth grade when he first got off for his he's going to his junior year we're going to his senior year junior summer but we we kind of grew up michigan state fans like he he was a big fan of iso just like you know basketball was his first love he's a big fan of iso so i mean michigan state was always kind of in the back pocket but he was recruited by some hard schools i know western Michigan, they liked him a lot. Mike Hart was, I think, the running back's coach there. I know he liked Mike Hart a lot, but I think Michigan State was always in the front of his mind.

I think the other school was just if someone could change his mind, but I think for me at least, he can speak on it personally, but I think he was going to go to Michigan State. I think it was more of a bit of a war on if someone could change his mind. Just talking more about that for a second, Bobby, what stood out most when you were watching Curry just grow up there during his four years at Michigan State, played special teams, worked his way up, was a two-year starter, and earned all Big Ten? What was it like seeing that as a cent from your brother?

I mean, it was great. I mean, it's great to see someone who deserves it. Because I really think he deserves it. I always think God gave him a gift. And I think the gift isn't really his athletic ability. I think the gift is just his motor and the way that he can affect other people. Just because I've seen him put in work in the gym at 2 a.m., play an AAU tournament the next day,

and then go out and work again in the gym with my dad the next morning. So just seeing him put in that work and then seeing it all pay off, especially for my direct older brother, I mean, it's just great to see. It's something to look up to. It's something I'm proud of before. Terrence, what would you say over the last four years at Michigan State with the way Kari just rose up the ranks there, what do you think stood out most to you? I think, so in high school, everyone naturally assumes that you're a leader

when you're the best player on the team, but that's not always the case. So it's to me, and we talk about this in our family a lot is once you get away from your upbringing, you really get to decide who you are as a person. All the things that have been instilled in you get to decide either I'm gonna go down this route and be you know the best version of myself that i can be or i'm gonna you know kind of follow the crowd there's a lot of different avenues you know when you get to college that you can decide to be a different man than the one you're supposed to be so for me watching him from his freshman year going into camp um he sent me a text message i think it was like day two or day three he's like man send something to encourage me this is hard or whatever um so we um we had a couple conversations

um the big thing was um for him just to understand that the work level that it took not just on the field i don't think the field thing was ever hard for him it was just putting a balance together um so the growth that that i've seen in him was just deciding that uh i'm going to be the best version of carl willis that I can be. I'm not going to try. I know he looked a lot up to Darkquez and Curtis Drummond had a lot to do with recruiting him to Michigan State. That's why he likes 27 a lot. But when he got there, it was just about him putting it together and saying, you know what? No matter how hard it gets or how difficult it might be, the decision might be, I'm going to make sure I'm the best version of myself that I can be. So just watching him, you know, go from

being a good high school kid to a great man is something that me as a bigger brother, I could be most proud of to see him, you know, become the leader that our parents expect every one of us to become. It's just a beautiful thing to watch. Terrence, Kari was a captain at Michigan State, and for the Colts fans out there who don't really know the process it is like to be just working the ranks up to a captain and being the leader of a team, why do you think Kari was the leader of the Michigan State team? And really, when you just see him walk out,

he's the first one walking on the field with a team. He's the inspiring leader. Just what stands out from that aspect of the card? Well, I think Bobby could probably attain to this, but at Michigan State, you can't cheat the locker room. So the guys are going to be able to tell who's putting in the work, who's really got those qualities on and off the field of a leader. D'Antonio has built a great environment there.

I mean, it really is like a family. So just like in any family, you have your ups and downs, but you can tell who the leader of a family is by how consistent they are in things that they do. And so I think that that's the big thing, you know, watching in the locker room at Michigan State, if you get up there around those guys, I talked to Felton just yesterday, and he was talking about some different things. And the big thing is, those guys won't let you pretend to be something that you're not if you're gonna be a leader on you know any point you have to be it all the time i think that was um you know how they determine their captains not by the the great moment that you have i mean there's a lot of players that have you know a big play here and there or even a good year but it has to be

something you do in it a year in it and year out in order for you to have the respect of the locker room. I think that's probably what separated him the last year or two. Bobby, what would you say as far as that aspect goes with his captaincy and getting all the way up and grinding to that point? What's that like to watch from your point of view? From my point of view, it's a little bit, but it's just kind of – it's something that I look up to, that I aspire.

And then also that I see the hard work and dedication that he puts in. And I think that just to have great players like Michigan State, you know, I think this 70 years consecutive with a player being drafted, to be able to command that locker room and be kind of like a point guard, floor general of that locker room, the leader, I think that's just something that really speaks to his testament, speaks to his character, something that as a little brother that you just look up to. What would you say was your favorite game, Bobby, over the last four years of Michigan State watching Carter?

Michigan game. Trouble with the snap game. That's my favorite game for sure. Oh, yeah. That was very fun to watch. Yeah, that was his first collegiate start at Michigan State. Wow. Wow, that is crazy just to see what that type of game was and how incredible that finish was.

But it's pretty incredible as well when you think about the relationship, the prior one that the Willis family has in the Annapolis Colts. Terrence, just for the fans who don't know out there, what's the prior relationship that the Willis family in the Annapolis Colts? So my second cousin, Bill Brooks Jr., William Brooks Jr., we call him Billy. We all call him Junior in the family, so everyone always has his full name everywhere else, but we call him Junior. He's my dad's first cousin.

And that's a great relationship. He's probably in our family, one of the guys that's most respected the most just because of how he carries himself. The Indianapolis community can vouch for it. I'm sure a lot of NFL community, but just a real humble guy. Really, if you were to meet him out in public, you wouldn't even know he played in the league. Indianapolis community can vouch for it. I'm sure a lot of NFL community, but just a real humble guy. Really, if you were to meet him out in public, you wouldn't even know he played in the league.

But he puts on the pads, and there's something different. I remember being a kid and racing. I mean, he used to beat us backwards. Just to have that kind of speed was something different. But we relate to Billy Brooks, Jr., who played for the Colts. He drafted in 86, two years before I was even born. So to see all these years later, Kari just seems like picking up the mantle. We hope that one day he can have himself up there in the ring of honor with Billy if he puts in the right work.

Yeah, that is so awesome to hear. And I wanted to ask you, Terrence, what was it like when you saw that phone call with 317 Area Code when the Colts moved up on Saturday to get Kari? What was that like in the room? So you got to know Kari. So he's not overly emotional. A lot of people expected him to, you know, a lot of you see it on TV. A lot of recruits break down immediately.

A lot of people jump up and down. He had got a phone call and I just happened to see the area code for the number. My mom and dad were still upstairs. We were entertaining some guests. And he had got a phone call about maybe three or four minutes before the coach made it official. And I could tell by the phone call. So I sent my brothers upstairs to get my mom and dad and said, hey, everyone get the cameras out. Get the phone ready.

This, that, and the other. And he just, you know, was trying to play it cool or whatever. But me being the big brother, you know, a lot of us dreamed to go play sports. I mean, going to college was my thing. But a lot of our brothers wanted to be able to make it, you know, to the next level. And that's – it's just a surreal experience to look at a kid that worked hard to, you know, represent a whole city, really. If you ever come down to the city of Jackson, everybody knows Kyrie.

It's not just because he's a good athlete, but just he's a great person. So to see the Colts, give him that phone call, and then Uncle Winslow and different ones being there. Bobby, I wanted to make sure he sat there right next to him, because I believe he's up next, in my opinion. A lot of people don't know as much about him as they, in my opinion, should. But Bobby's a heck of an athlete, so I made sure he sat right next to him. We have another brother under him.

I'm like, man, I want all my brothers to get that experience. It's something surreal to be on the phone with. He talked to, I think, two or three different guys. I think it was Ballard first, and then Coach Israe, and then Jim Israe, and then one other person talked to him. And I was like, man, this is just crazy just to see him actually talking to another coach, and it's the highest level of football you can play in the world.

That's just a surreal feeling. Absolutely. That had to be such a special feeling to be in that room. And, Bobby, what was it like sitting next to Curry when that happened? I mean, it's almost unreal just to see his dreams go through, just to see it all happen for him. It's just that you get emotional for him. And then just like Terrence said, how even-keeled he is.

At first, I was upstairs. I didn't even know what was going on. But I come downstairs, and I just see him on the phone. And it's almost like he was just talking to one of us or something, how calm he was. But once they told me it was the phone call, you just get – at least I got emotional. I know the rest of our family got emotional.

But it's just kind of – it's an unreal feeling just to see him be able to accomplish everything that I know that he's dreamed for for a long time. Hey, before I let you guys go, this has been fun, Terrence and Bobby. Appreciate the time. And just one parting thought for Colts fans out there. Just how excited are you guys to be coming to Indianapolis and for Curry to be shining in a role, which I think he's going to really flourish in with the Colts?

I'll let Bobby go ahead first. I'm really excited for Colts Nation. I always liked Andrew Luck. I always kind of been like a little fan just because my older cousin played there, but now that I got a real reason to root for him, I'm excited. I'm calling the early two-bowl champs right now. There we go. I love it. Terrence, what early two-bowl champs right now. There we go. I love it.

Terrence, what do you think? Same thing for me. Again, it's crazy. My first NFL football game actually ever going to was to watch the coach. Billy was the one who got us tickets, me, my twin brother, and my dad. So the next NFL game actually that I'll be going to is a coach game whether it's preseason it doesn't matter and um you're looking to be a coach for life I'm looking for Indy to um I think they drafted because I was in the pageant just car I watched

the whole roster with uh Rock and some of the other guys they got there and he's got a really good young core defensively um and not just a good core but a smart core so I think that's going to help um the more you can get 12 on the field, if you can, defense can keep the offense on the field longer that I don't think a lot of teams in the league wanna see that. So I'm excited to put on a coat tab but also to be at the Super Bowl ceremony soon as possible. I totally agree with you guys there. If you think about Corey's around the same age as everyone else in that secondary,

so he's gonna fit right in there and really make that group special. So I appreciate you both coming on parents and