Mick Unplugged - Redemption in Real Time with Quincy Carter

Episode Date: November 28, 2025

UGA Game Day Special Release Quincy Carter is a University of Georgia football icon, former Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback, and a model of resilience and redemption. Hailing from humble beginnings in Chicago and Atlanta, Quincy excelled as a multi-sport athlete, being drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school before shining at UGA and making NFL history as a trailblazing African American quarterback. His journey, however, has been marked by both triumphant highs and challenging setbacks—including battles with addiction and the struggle to rebuild his life. Today, Quincy is an inspiring speaker and mentor, openly sharing his story in hopes of helping young athletes and anyone facing adversity find purpose, faith, and a path to a brighter future.  Key Takeaways: Overcoming Adversity: Quincy’s story is a powerful example of overcoming personal and professional setbacks, including addiction, through faith, accountability, and support. Breaking Barriers: As one of the few African American quarterbacks to start for both UGA and the Dallas Cowboys, Quincy set a precedent and opened doors for future generations in sports. Redemption and Purpose: Quincy’s second act is all about giving back—he is deeply committed to mentoring youth, advocating for drug-free communities, and spreading a message of hope and resilience. Sound Bites: “Getting that phone call at graduation practice was pretty cool...to get that call from the Cubs, my hometown team, it was a dream come true.” “I started smoking weed, Mick. And it’s a habit that I formed...eventually, it caught up to me. What’s done in the dark eventually comes to light, and it bit me in my butt.” “God gave me grace. He gave me a second chance, man. And I'm just thankful now to be able to tell my story and help someone else.” Connect & Discover Quincy: Instagram: @quincylavoncarter LinkedIn: @quincylcarter Website: quincycarter17.com Website: thequincycarterfoundation.com 🔥 Ready to Unleash Your Inner Game-Changer? 🔥   Mick Hunt’s BEST SELLING book, How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One: The Blueprint for Modern Leadership, is here to light a fire under your ambition and arm you with the real-talk strategies that only Mick delivers.  👉 Grab your copy now and level up your life → Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million    FOLLOW MICK ON: Spotify: MickUnplugged Instagram: @mickunplugged  Facebook: @mickunplugged YouTube:  @MickUnpluggedPodcast  LinkedIn: @mickhunt  Website:  MickHuntOfficial.com Apple: MickUnplugged Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk us a little bit about baseball, what that meant for you and what it was like, man, just to get drafted professional sports out of high school. Yeah, that was a pretty cool experience. You know, first, it all started with me at Gresham Park and playing, you know, alongside the likes of the Travis Strauss of the world and some other great players, you know, to play it along with. And so that's where my, you know, competitive baseball started at. In your mind, what was the first thing you were buying?

Well, the first thing I was buying was a Mercedes. But then Sherry Carter Embry was buying something else. What is 18, 17-year-old Quincy the first time you report to the Cubs, man? Like, walk us through when you realize, oh, this is what grown people do. Yeah, well, it was probably my first morning at practice, and it's rookie ball. Before baseball, you give a verbal to Georgia Tech. And then baseball is over. and you don't go to Georgia Tech.

How did that come through? Georgia was getting ready to be on probation or was already on probation. And I just didn't feel comfortable in possibly going to college and not being able to play in ball games. Welcome to Mick Unplugged, where we ignite potential and fuel purpose.

Get ready for raw insights, bold moves, and game-changing conversations. Buckle up. Here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplug where legends don't just share their stories. They have legacies. And today, we're honored to sit down with the University of Georgia football icon, former Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback, and a true warrior of resilience.

From the glory days of the game to life's toughest challenges, he's transformed every obstacle into a lesson, and he now shares those hard-learned-earned wisdom with the next generation. He's a dynamic speaker. He's an inspiration to the world and a force of unwavering grit. Help me welcome my friend, my dog, Mr. GQ himself, Quincy Carter. Quincy, what's up, brother? What's up, man? Good Lord, man. You're talking about making somebody feel special, man. I appreciate that introduction, man. That's all you. That's all love. You know you're my main man 50 grand man so just just honored to share some time on the podcast with you brother hey man i'm honored to be spending some time with you too man thanks for the introduction

good lord man thank you it's all you man quincy this is when i'm honored you know i told you when we met face to face like how much i've always looked up to you how much like you know like even my family right like we're a georgia football family and had an uncle tron jackson to played at georgia so we bleed red in black, bro. And I'm going to say this, you know, I always tell David Pollock, he's my favorite Georgia bulldog defensive player of all times. And it's you and Garrison Hurst, my top two on offense, man.

Like, you are the guy. You're the goat when it comes to Georgia football, bro. Wow, man, I appreciate that, man. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So I want to start by not today, but, you know, you and I talked about your recruiting process, right? and how you went from junior high to high school and the legend of Quincy Carter started for me,

not just on the football field, but you can swing that bat too, brother. So I'd love to talk about just your journey of young Quincy, right, getting into high school, because that's a story that most people don't know. So I love for you to share that moment, brother. Yeah, you know, Mick, man, born in Chicago, for a lot of people that don't know,

We're actually born in Bloomington and went to Chicago right out the hospital. And then me and my mom moved down here to Atlanta, Decatur area, about, you know, when I was about three or four years old. But yeah, Mick, man, life was, to me, it was humbling, you know, coming down here from Chicago. As a kid, I thought I had everything I wanted. You know what I mean? We didn't grow up in the nicest of neighborhoods. My mom don't like to tell me exactly my neighborhood. So I'm a mom on that.

But it was humbling. I grew up at the Recreation Park. Nick, I was a kid that got dropped off at Gresham Park, get all my homework there. And that's what my competitive nature started, you know. And that's where sports started for me. It was table tennis and bumper pool that moved to basketball, baseball, and football. And I wanted to play all three.

You know, also, you know, coming up, you know, closer to high school, I wanted to play at the best high school for football. And we, you know, actually had a good baseball. and basketball team, but that football team was how much to Calh High School. You know, Coach Buck Godfrey had established yourself in the late 80s, mid, the late 80s, and the 90s were starting. And I wanted to keep that tradition going. We had just went to a state championship in 1990.

I think I was in the seventh grade, man. And coming into the eighth grade, well, coming into high school, which was eighth grade for us, you know, because we didn't go to middle school. So I wanted to be the QB that got us back there. We took a tough loss to Val Austin in the championship game in 1990. And I wanted to be the QB besides Eric Johnson to leave us back to premises. So I started on that journey in the eighth grade, man. And we put our head down and went to work as a team.

And you did it. Yes, we did it, right? Like, you can brag a little bit. Let's talk about those accolades, man. like Southwest of Cal, Quincy doing his thing, leading the school to multiple championships, breaking records, doing things that quarterbacks that looked like you hadn't done in the state of Georgia or in the United States, to be honest with you, man. So talk about those accolades, Quincy.

Well, you know, it was a big accomplishment. And one, having pride in being, you know, the only black school, all black school, to win at its highest classification. You know, the Clark Centres of the world's rule. the Vald Austas, shoot, Camden counties, you know, Parkview was coming up at that time. And so, so we're very proud of that. You know, what you just mentioned, wasn't happening for black quarterbacks either, you know, as far as going to D1 schools.

You know, but having an idol like Charlie Ward, you know, right down the street in Thomasville and seeing him go on to Florida State, you know, to win a national championship and the winner Hodgman was everything to me. You got to think that was my freshman sophomore in junior season in high school, you know, and I was watching him. And then Damien Craig, you know, started to make some noise at Auburn. And ironically, you know, those were the first two or three schools. I started looking at was Auburn, it was Florida State.

And then I, you know, end up settling with Georgia Tech. Not settling. I'm sorry, no disrespect, because they had a really good program at the time. which you want to get into that end going. You know I do. We talked a lot about that when we were in person. Absolutely. Yes.

But yeah, you know, those are the guys I looked up to. Those are the guys that were running, throwing the ball, being in multiple facet formations, and really, you know, been able to show every aspect of their game. Yeah. So before we get into the Georgia Tech story, though, I want to get into that curveball because, you know, I'm a Tar Hill. I'm a Georgia guy, but I'm a Tar Hill grad.

And, you know, MJ went and played baseball for a little bit, but he couldn't hit that curveball. Mr. Carter could. Quincy could hit it. So taught us a little bit about baseball what that meant for you and what it was like, man, just to get drafted professional sports out of high school. Yeah, that was a pretty cool experience. You know, first, it all started with me at Gresham Park

and playing, you know, alongside the likes of the Travis Strouds of the world and some other great players, you know, to play it along with. And so that's where my, you know, competitive baseball started at. You know, I end up getting selected to play for the East Cobb Astros at the age of 13. And we took the opportunity, you know, at the time, East Cobb, which is, you know, well, really pretty nationally well known, we'll only have one, you know, team out the whole state for each age group. So we took advantage of that opportunity.

So from 13 to 17, you know, I played a lot of travel ball, played about a shoot 80 to 100 games of summer. I had a really, really good coach at Southwest of Cal too, Coach Pruitt, who helped start, you know, the Redan program before Coach Goodwin later took it alone and then really winning region championships and the whole nine over there in the state championship at Redan. But, yeah, so with me getting so much experience during the summertime in my game, really taking off. You know, a lot of scouts start, you know,

buzzing around Southwestern Cab, you know, during the spring of my senior season. And my hometown team, who I say about my second hometown team, I can't disrespect Atlanta and Decatur, good Lord. You get me because, boy, my people here really fed my spirit. But yeah, my original hometown team,

let's say it like that, Chicago Cubs drafted me in the second round. And it was a dream come true. Mick, I think I told you this. But I tell everybody, man, that getting that phone call at a graduation practice was pretty cool, you know, because I didn't know what time it was going to happen. You know, the baseball draft could go on for, you know, what, I think a 30, 45 minutes of pick or something like that. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's changed now.

But to get that call of graduation, man, it was pretty cool. Heck, yeah. Walk us through that call and that emotion, man. So you got young Quincy. graduating high school, getting a call of second round pick by the Chicago Cubs, right? The team that, you know, us growing up, Quincy, you always saw the Cubs because the WGN station, right? Like the Cubs, you saw the Cubs more than the Braves for the most part. I'm from the South, too.

Absolutely. What is that like? My granddad, well, shoot, make nothing to cut you all, sorry about that. But me and my granddad, you know, I went to Chicago right after my short kind of baseball season. Growing up in Gresham Park, I went to Chicago the rest of the summer. So me and my granddad sat there and watched, well, first we had to watch the Bozo show because Grandma wasn't playing game. Then it was General, I think General Hospital, I wanted to live one of them.

You know, then we can watch the game. But, yeah, man, shoot, we watched, you know, Chicago baseball man, all summer. And growing up and seeing Andre Dawson and, I mean, Sharon Dawson, Andre Dawson, I'm sorry. Justin, let me get my guys right. Mark Grace. Ryan Sandberg. Yeah, Ryan Sandberg. And then walking in the locker room,

actually seeing them after I got drafted, which is so, you know, surreal. But, man, that was, it was surreal, you know, to really get that phone call. And I think my mom called me first on the three-way with them. Yeah. Get no frills delivered. Shop the same in-store prices online

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The Per-Nohel has his biscuits, you, Taree, and there's nothing like Reese's. That's wild. That's wild. So that means that young Quincy had a cell phone, too. We'll talk about that later. Because I know I ain't get a cell phone till way into college. Way into college. So I have one. But yeah, man, so you get the call from the Cubs.

going to your hometown team. The team that's always on TV, you got Harry Carey. Like, most people don't know. The Cubs never played night games until, like, 10 years ago. Like, they didn't have lights at the ballpark, which is wild and cool. Exactly. It was. Yeah.

So, so you got the call. What's the first thing in your mind that you bought? Because you got to think through, right? Like, man, I'm with the Cubs. Like, I'm 17, 18. Like, I'm about to buy something. In your mind, what was the first thing? thing you were buying? Well, the first thing I was buying was a Mercedes. But then Sherry Carter

Embry was buying something else. Not that she was taking my money, but I wasn't about to spend all this money on a Mercedes. So I think we settled, what did I get? Eddie Bauer. Yeah, I never forget, I got the Eddie Bauer edition. You know, Eddie Bauer start making clothes, I think. Also, so I had the jacket. What was that, a Ford, I think? The Explorer. Yeah. The Explorer. Yeah. There it is. And I got the Eddie Bauer edition. Yeah, heck, yeah. But in my mind, like, you were. I thought I was getting ready to get a Mercedes, but that wasn't happening.

And my mom wanted me to be smart. And that's smart for her for discipline. Okay. All right. So now you're a professional, young age, you're a professional. Which means you go from high school practices with people your age and younger, and you're kind of the leader to, as I always saw people, man, you're out there with grown folks.

What is 18, 17-year-old Quincy the first time you report to the Cubs, man? Like, walk us through when you realize, oh, this is what grown people do. Yeah, well, it was probably my first morning at practice, and it's rookie ball. So rookie ball is, you know, you think you're getting ready to come to the park and have a little bad in practice and then play a game. But rookie ball work started at 7.30, you know, to about 11. And so that's fielding, that's outfield drills, that's base running, shoot, you name it. I mean, well, fielding situations as far as having men on base, you know, hitting the ball in the gap, where you're throwing the ball, bat in practice for an hour.

You're hitting live pitching in the cage. And then you go have lunch, probably about 10.30, maybe, 10, 30, 11. And then you're out on the field, you know, playing the game. game at 12 o'clock. So it became grown man business right away, you know, that first day. But, hey, that's what I dreamed of. And that's what I wanted to do. So I embraced it, man. I embrace it and love it. Yeah. And so now we get to talk about Georgia Tech. So you find out you like baseball, but maybe you don't love everything about the professional side of it, right? Absolutely.

Because you're still 18, right? You still like, hey, I still, this Mercedes, I still want. So high school you recruited and give a verbal commitment to Georgia Tech. Quincy, we got to talk about this one. We all know in the state of Georgia, my Bulldogs reigns supreme. So I'm going to ask the question that, you know, I've been waiting to ask you forever. How much money did Georgia Tech give you to give you that verbal commitment? Because I know you, no, I'm joking. I'm joking. I'm joking.

But so before baseball, you give a verbal to Georgia Tech. and then baseball is over and you don't go to Georgia Tech. You made the wise decision to go to UGA, but how did that come through? I want the listeners and viewers sit to hear this story. Okay, all right. Now, I've got to tell the whole story, too, now. And that whole story was, is that you've got a bag.

Well, I don't know. I'm still not going to tell on nobody. But the whole story is, though, Georgia was getting rid of it. be on probation or was already on probation. And I just didn't feel comfortable in the possibly going to college and not being able to play in bowl games. Now I've got to add my real spin to it. And that's that, you know, Georgia Tech was pretty decent at the time. You know, the offense they were running, Ralph Frey. Pro style offense. A good mentor of mine, Steve Davenport, you know,

was from Georgia Tech. And then I had about four or five baseball buddies who was George. to me on the baseball team, too. So it was a tough decision. You know, I've always been a Georgia boy and wanted to stay home. So it was a tough decision to, you know, sign with Georgia Tech. And it's even tougher talking about it now

because I didn't blend the red and black. But Mick, I owe you this one. There you go. That's my answer. But it was a business decision, too. It was. Uh-huh. And we'll just leave it at that.

So nobody else is the trouble. It was a business decision for the record. So now let's talk about my dogs, man. You go to Georgia and let's just be honest, 60s, 70s, 80s, I'm going to say until Eric Zeyer got there. Georgia's offense was we're going to have the best running backs in the country. First and second down, we're running the ball. And if it's third and five or less, we're still going to run the ball on third. Absolutely. You get there and you become a prolific pastor of the football. Something that honestly was new to Georgia fans, right?

Like first down, wait, we're dropping back. We're going to throw the ball. We're going to line up in the shotgun on second down. Like what? But you totally changed because these are the words of Mick and Mick only. Unlike other African-American quarterbacks up until that date, you were not a run first quarterback. You were not an option.

You were like, let me show off this gun that I got. And I'm going to sling this ball down the field. you set records moment one as a freshman quarterback at Georgia. Yeah, it was a dream come true, too, man. And shout out to Coach Donnie, you know, who believed in me. Shout out to him, you know, saying the words to get me down there, but then actually delivering as far as giving me a chance to compete, you know, against five other quarterbacks.

And, you know, being an African, being the only African-American in that room, and Georgia really not having a history of having a black, quarterback there since well i think james jackson james jacks yeah so the opportunity you know to be a quarterback at the university of georgia was a dream come true and uh and you just you sell it best man for us to be throwing you know on first and second down sometimes instead of running the ball on first and second down uh was unheard of uh but you know eric zaire he set the precedent for that and uh he's you know he showed that it could be done and then i had to go in and prove that i the African-American can do the same thing as Eric Zaire.

And so, man, I put my head down. You know, I had some great teammates. Shout out to Jonas Jennings, too, for giving me the confidence, you know, to give, you know, Georgia a shot, you know, coming back from baseball. But, man, we put our head down. It didn't hurt having Champ Bailey as a little receiver that year, too. Yeah. And everything he could bring to the table.

And that just kind of set the ball, you know, for Larry Brown running routes up on neat. Wiggins or another one of our tight ends. Man, Michael Gray had a big year that year, too. They had some big catches. And shout out to Tony Small. They didn't get a lot of credit for being a really, really good receiver, standing

at 6 to about 200 pounds, too. So I had some pretty good, you know, some pretty, not pretty good, but I had some great guys around me, too. And then let me get a shout out to Steve Heron and Miles Lucky before they knock me out on my office line, man. They were my boys. They helped you stay

help right, brother. They help yourself right. Absolutely. So you have three really, really good years at Georgia, which leads you to being second round draft pick by the Cowboys. Another one of those things. Like, you almost can't write this story of Quincy Carter, right? Get drafted by the Cubs, write Big National Brand, go to the University of Georgia, starting quarterback Big National brand, and now you get drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. Shout out to Kenny Anderson. that's his team, I, whatever. I'm not a Cowboys fan. But doggone to Quincy Carter,

not only do you get drafted, but you do something that's really hard at that time, which was you start. People now, right, you draft a quarterback round one or two, kind of the expectation is you're going to start a little bit. Not then, like, rookie quarterbacks, you're going to sit a couple of years,

maybe year three, you get some shine, you get some burn. Quincy gets in the game. So let's walk through the draft. So Quincy Carter, drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. Man, Mick, I'm telling you, it is a movie. It is a movie to have those three teams you've played for, but then for it to, you know, end up in Dallas,

you know, as I'm done playing college football. Was it a dream come true, man. And, Nick, you know, everything, you know, that I, you know, had been through and God had placed me at, you know, having some adversity in baseball with the Cubs, going to Georgia, being one of the only, you know, African-American to ever start there, and then coming to Dallas, and being one of the only African-American to start there,

not only that, like you just said, the first game of the season, opening day, and then seeing your hero on the field, Doug Williams, who was the first to ever win up, you know, Super Bowl, that was an African-American, and to see him, you know, pre-game and shake his hands my first time ever meeting him, it was a dream. But one thing I always knew, Mick, is that I had to work my butt off to keep it. And I had my eyes on the prize of doing that. And that was year in and year out. And nothing was going to stop me but myself.

And I end up, you know, stopping myself through some things that we'll probably get into. But, you know, as far as my work ethic, as far as who I was as a person, who I was trying to be, who I was becoming, who I was representing, you know, was evident. and I was going to do anything to accomplish everything I wanted to. Yeah, man, and let's, I don't want to slide past something because not only you drafted by the Cowboys and starting for the Cowboys, I'm going to say more importantly, bro, you're starting for Bill Freaking Parcells, right? Like, like, of any coach that I'm not going to say is against you, but of any coach that doesn't want to start a rookie quarterback, it's Bill Parcells, bro. So that is a testament to the work ethic that you had, the leader that you were. And for anyone, go watch, I don't know if it's season, one Hard Knocks, but there's a hard knocks episode, and I told you this, right?

Like, where Bill Parcells is sitting there talking to someone and they're like, you want to know about Quincy Carter? It's 11 o'clock at night. Watch this. And he yells out your name. You are at the football facility at 11 o'clock at night breaking down your practice film. not even game, but your practice film and figuring out ways to get better. That's a true testament to who you are.

So I love to go behind the scenes a little bit. What was it like, especially year one, Parcells in earning his trust? What was that like? Because that's something, again, nobody else has done other than Quincy Carter. So we're adding to this movie, brother. Mick, it was perfect for him, you know, because, you know, not to shoot my own horn, but I was like the perfect quarterback for him. because I wanted someone not growing up with a, you know, a father in my life.

I wanted that father, you know, in my life, you know, and I finally got that. And it was the perfect recipe for me, you know, to have somebody that, you know, is just so enamored with every detail possible, you know, for just one play to work. And now we're not, we're just talking about, I'm just talking about, I'm just talking to mention and plays. But now when we get to, you know, actually how you take care of your body, how many lifts a week, the hot and cold tub, you know, then you skip over to the femurone, you know, what is defense is doing to you on first and second down? What are they doing to you on third, you know, in medium? What are they doing to you on third and long? Now, after about

six or seven games, you know, now what are we doing, you know, that's tipping off defenses. And so now, You know, me and him and the coaches, you know, Sean Payton, now we're going into a South scouting mode. You know, so what, you know, formations are we running in? What formations are we motioning? And when we're motioning, are we throwing, are we passing? And so just every detail was so important to him. And it was just like a dream come true to me to have somebody

that just loved the game as much as he did and just was able to just give me that wisdom and knowledge, man, or how to approach it, and I just ate every bit of it up, I did. Testament to who you are, brother. Testament to the determination and grit that you have. So let's get into, and for those that don't know Quincy, you're about to know him, a lot of people watching and listening to know Quincy, but the real Quincy, I call him the inconvenient truth.

He's going to tell you the truth. He's going to hold no punches back. You got called into Jerry Jones' office. Absolutely. You over there thinking, oh, I'm about to get a contract extension, about to buy this other Ben's conversation didn't go that way. It did. And actually, before I even got in the office, you know, I thought I had some,

to what you call lucky training camp visitors. And I'll keep it PG. But yeah, Mick, you know, I started a habit and actually started in baseball where, you know, I didn't depend on God like I should have. And I started smoking wheat, Mick. And it's a habit that I formed, you know, I tried to. keep it a secret as much as possible, as much as what we, you know, were discussing as far as my work ethic and, you know, the things and the person I was trying to be, Mick, I was doing

things that eventually called up to me. I failed my first test in 2002, going into the season, actually, was two, that year, 2002. Bill Parcells knew I was in the program, too, and had faith in me. Shout out to, you know, him having faith in me throughout this process. But anyway, A week before training camp, I failed another test, you know, Mick. And I was at the four-game fine phase. You know, we had a couple words in training camp about my reps. You know, me and Jerry and Bill, they were concerned that, you know, I'll possibly be getting a third, you know, failed test.

And then that would be a suspension and embarrassing the whole franchise. And they made a decision to cut me and move on from me because they couldn't trust me. And I thoroughly understand that to this day. You know, that's why I'm out here, you know, and I don't like to use the word preaching because, you know, I'm not a pastor, but I am trying to preach to these young men, you know, that's in a world right now that they're being told that marijuana is legal. And it may be in certain states, but it can't be legal to you if you're trying to accomplish all your goal. What, you know, billionaires out here sitting around trying to get a, you know, PhD of marijuana, which I. you know, kind of slightly say I was at some point because I wasn't dependent on the man up above. But who's doing that out here and being a billionaire and being successful, man?

So I'm trying to, you know, get this word out here to these young men. You know, we can think we're being slick. But what's done in the dark eventually comes the light and it bit me in my butt. Yeah. And I want to clear up some stuff here too because, you know, again, you and I talk, we talk a lot. You got suspended for marijuana, right? Like there was some other noise that was out there, but the truth was Quincy Carter got suspended or fired for marijuana usage, right? Yeah, absolutely.

At the time, Mick, now my addiction would go on and I get a Ph.D. and cocaine, which I'm not proud of. I'm smiling at now, but I'm not proud of it, but I'm proud to be able to tell somebody my journey, man. That's what feels good. But, yeah, but at the time, Mick, that's what it was, man. Now, a lot of other things were being said, but yes, at the time it was. Yep, yep. And so then you're out of football or out of professional football for a couple of years. Yes.

But then you get another call from the Dolphins. Absolutely. And what happened there, Quincy? Well, yeah, Mick, I had played a rental football about two seasons, Mick. And I was up in Kansas City and really close to another one of my good coach. is Herman Edwards, who was keeping an eye on me, and ended up playing like the last, you know, what, four or five games of that season

and played, you know, okay, enough, you know, garnered some interest from teams. And the same guy who cut me still believed in me and brought me down the training camp for the Miami Dolphins during the started at training camp season of 2009, Mick. Yeah, 2009. And I had a great workout, Mick,

but couldn't stop doing what had got me. cut from the cowboys. And so he told me, well, Bill Parcells, man, told me to go back to the room and, hey, we're going to sign you, work out, work out the deal with your agent. And I knew Mick going back, you know, it was just a feeling that I had. You, you know, get done, taking the physicals and all that or what happened. There was a chance that, you know, the things that I hadn't quit just yet, smoking. And, and I, you know, could possibly get caught. And that's what happened, Mick. You know, my agent called me about a couple hours later

and told me, you know, first of all, Eugene Parker, rest in heaven. And he was just asking me, you know, question, why you didn't tell me? Why you didn't tell me? And I was just like, what, trying to play it off? And he was like, you should have just told me, you know, that you were still having some issues. And we could have just, you know, kind of waited on you going down and working out. But he said they can't even test, you know, your urine.

And that's because I tried to mask it, man. And it cost me my job, man. And Bill, you know, while, you know, I ain't got too grown yet. But Coach Parcells, man, was really, it was really disappointed, man, because I had done a lot of work, you know, in rehabilitation, working down there in Florida with my mentor and sponsor to this day, Hollywood, Henderson, still in my corner. But I had a golden chance, man, of the man who cut me four years later,

Mick, and brought me back. you know, to get a chance. But that lesson that I had to learn just got a little bit more harder for me because I wasn't believing in the man yet, you admit. Well, let's talk about it now, though. Yeah. Right?

So you go through your challenges, you go through struggles, and then you get closer to the man. You, you, the man, the spirit that you've known all your life, right? All my life. Because you don't shy away from me. You've known God for all your life, right? Is.

What was that moment where you said, it's not enough to just know them? You got to have them. What was that moment for Quincy Carter? Well, it was, it was two phases of it, Mick. It was the morning that I reached out to Hollywood, July 22nd, 2019. It was that morning, and it was getting on my knees and praying. And the next, you know, moment Mick was picking up the phone and telling Hollywood, hey, man. come get me before something really bad happens to me, you know,

and put me somewhere, man, why I could, you know, work on this thing. And so that was the spirit of God. That was, you know, Marsha Stone from BRC and Austin coming down and picking me up, and I was in rehab in like five or six hours. But that surreal moment, Mick, was me sitting at a table. You know, I used to get up 4.35 in the morning, you know, writing all my notes. We're doing, you know, step work and everything.

And I never forget sitting on that porch and just look into the skies, Mick, and just asking God, man, if you hear for me, please show me. And make little bit by little bit, you know, whether it's the phone conversations with my mom I started to have in rehab, whether there's, you know, that bird that was chirping in your ear when you're in a critical spot in your writing and you're talking to God, and he's like, is that good? And then just seeing my confidence as I'm going through the steps and building, you know, I never disown God. You know, I got mad at God, Nick, and I got mad because, you know, so much bad was happening to me, you know. But, Nick, what I wasn't accounting for is that I was the one in the way. You know, I was the one that failed, you know, the test for the cowboys, a dream come true job. I was the one who was in position to get myself back in the NFL. I didn't lean on God a little bit more and get that job with the Miami Dolphins, you know.

And so, you know, and then being walking home, being, you know, on the bottom of the barrel, but living in an extended state up and coming Georgia. And somebody's stopping me on the side of the road, you know, Mick. And now I have a high school, you know, a baseball job, a basketball job, a football job. and then coaching, you know, at a prep school, too. So God was still, you know, tugging me. Hey, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. And I was so upset with God.

And so I strayed away from them. So accepting those truths, you know, once I got to rehab and just getting closer to them, you know, I thought I knew God as a kid. I thought I knew him, you know, in my early, my early 20s, doing some FCA things and seeing the miracles of God. but knowing them on that personal level and feeling the spirit and not wanting to not be filling the spirit

at any point of your life, man. That's the special, you know, part of our relationship, you know. I love that, brother. I love that so much. And I would love for you to just give some advice or a couple of words a message to the person that's listening and watching that's right there. That's like they're angry or upset

Or maybe they're like, I don't know if I can continue this path. Like, what's your message for that listener or viewer, Quincy? Well, it's a point that you get, you know, when you're in your addiction, that you just got to say to yourself, how can I continue to live like this? And if you're there, and most of us it takes, you know, sometimes it takes longer than others to get there. But it's only two ways that this addiction, man, that you have option-wise, you know, to get it under control, and that's one, you have to have someone outside of yourself, you know, to restore you to sanity.

And the second one, you know, is, you know, you've got to dig deep in those steps and go through a great, you know, a great 12-step program, whether it's a 12-step program or you just going to a meeting and getting a sponsor. But one of those two things has to happen because if it came, I mean, if it could come from months, you know we had the power with inside of us we wouldn't have this addiction we wouldn't be taking ourselves through hell who wants to do that but it's one of two things man you've got to get with god and some people you know we don't understand how we can get with a person where bad things have happened well you have to have some kind of high power outside yourself no matter

what for me is god you know and you know what i'm talking about when i say that and i mean that but uh but yeah and you've got to have those 12 steps you know up under your belt and really go through a thorough 12 step. Yeah, I love it, Quincy. And one of the things that I admire about you, I'm most proud of you, is how you now give back, right? You know, on Make Unplugged, I talk about your because, right? That thing that's deeper than your why, like your real purpose to me is your because.

And I just love the fact, man, that you share with youths. You're out in the community, you're coaching, and you're staying busy by making an impact, man. So what's Quincy's because today? Like, what's that mission, that purpose for you today? Man, it's because, you know, Mick, God gave me grace, man. Man, I'm getting emotional, dude. He gave me a second chance, man.

And I just thank him so much, Mick. You know, we browse over the addiction, but I know what it was like being in that extended state, getting picked up, you know, making that. call to Hollywood, man, and he's giving me life. He's giving it back to me. I never thought I would actually be telling my whole life story of missed opportunities and having joy about it to be able to tell somebody else and help them. And then coming from where I came from, you know, coming out of a mountain park, you know, on Custer Avenue and getting there with the Cubs and

God give me an opportunity with Georgia and Dallas, even the Jets, and then to see it. come full circle, Mick, you have your struggles and then you can get out here and help people regardless of what you've been through and knowing you accomplish some things that a lot of people want to accomplish, you know, but how do you get them there? You know, what can you tell them? How can you help them? And then my biggest gift is I can point them to God and I can show them, you know, no matter what mistakes I've made. Me being upset with God, you know, at a point Job did, too, and they took everything from Joe, but I never disown them. I know how powerful he is, and then to pick me back up on my feet, Nick, and that's all I can

do to give back to him, man. You know, Nick is some days, man, I should have been dead, but I'm here, and so I'm going to do everything I can, you know, to give back to his people, because I know what he's done for me, man. You got me, dude. But it's that story, it's that message why, you know, when I opened and said one of the greatest speakers of our generation today with the best message is Quincy Carter, man. Like everybody, I don't care what your organization is, what your association is.

Quincy's story, his message is so powerful that, and we're just getting a glimpse, right? Like, I spent a few hours with Quincy and was just mesmerized by everything. Like his story is so powerful. Like everyone should definitely reach out and just have Quincy come speak. Have Quincy come talk. Have Quincy mentor because you all know I believe in the power of mentorship. So Quincy, man, just love the fact that you took some time out of your schedule to share a glimpse into the story. I think it's something, you know, maybe we have a Mick Unplugged series with Quincy Carter where you just break down stuff for people, man.

because there's so much that you have to offer. Where can people follow you, find you, and then what's Quincy have going on now outside of coaching? Outside of coaching. Mick, right now, I've got my foundation that I started here a couple of years ago. We're on a mission to advocate for safe, drug-free communities. We do that through speaking engagements, camps, clinics. We've got a Thanksgiving, you know, feet to hungry deal coming up here in a minute.

back to school special and we're just going to continue to add to that golf tournament is down the line here and then also we want to, you know, give it, get into us a little celebrity bowling out, I mean, annual celebrity bowling deal every year. So, so I'm doing that really busy with that. I've got my own quarterback school where I'm mentoring quarterbacks and then Mick, man, just giving where I can, you know, really. But yeah, you can find me on, well, I'm old school way to make, I'm probably getting my Facebook out first. But it's Quincy LeVar Carter on Facebook. And then also you can reach out for my foundation.

It's what the Quincy Carter Foundation. Sorry about that. I was about to give you my email. That's the Quincy Carter Foundation. And then for camps and training kids, it's Quincy Carter17.com. It's both of my websites. It's the Quincy Carter Foundation.com. The Quincy Carter 17.com.

And then also the quickest way to get to me because I'm still old school is that Quincy LaVan Carter on Facebook. There it is. I'll make sure that we have links to all of that in the description and the show notes. I'm going to make sure socially I'm posting about some of those things to Quincy, brother.

I'm honored to call you a brother to call you a friend. And more importantly, man, and I'm going to tell you this for the first time. I'm honored to call you an inspiration in my life, Quincy. So I just want to thank you for the things that you do that go unseen, brother, because it helps me, just so you know. Well, man, I want to thank you too, Mick. And thank you for being a friend also, man.

You know, you can only really have these conversations with the people you really feel. And, man, your spirit is special, man. So you continue being great. And yeah, I'm going to just be quiet now. Got you, man. So for the listeners and viewers, Quincy and I'm about to have a series. We're going to work that out. We're going to have the Mick and Quincy hour.

like once a month, once every other month or whatever, because I love this dude so much, and the world needs more of Quincy Carter. So Quincy, again, thank you, brother. Oh, thank you, man. God bless you, too, Mick. You got it. For the listeners and viewers, remember,

your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. Thank you for tuning in to Mick Unplugged. Keep pushing your limits, embracing your purpose, and chasing greatness. Until next time, stay unstoppable. probable.