The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Perris Jones Joined Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller Live On "The Jerry & Jerry Show!"

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Perris Jones, Former UVA Running Back, joined Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller live on “The Jerry & Jerry Show!” “The Jerry & Jerry Show” airs live Tuesday from 10:15 am – 11 am on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to “The Jerry & Jerry Show” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Tuesday morning, guys. My name is Jerry Miller, and thank you kindly for joining us on the Jerry and Jerry Show. Today's program, a fantastic one with Paris Jones in studio. Our downtown studio, less than two miles from the shadows of Scott Stadium and the John Paul Jones Arena. And today's program is going to be one that stars the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, Jerry Hootie Ratcliffe himself, who today, ladies and gentlemen, is on a short list for yet another accolade in a long list of awards for my friend,

my first boss under the University of Virginia, and just an all-around great guy, Jerry Ratcliffe, a finalist for the NSMA Sports Writer of the Year in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and just an all-around great guy, Jerry Ratcliffe, a finalist for the NSMA Sportswriter of the Year in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Goodness gracious, he has got a resume that is as long as a good kid's Christmas list. Judah Wittkower behind the camera, if you can go to the studio camera, and then welcome Hootie Ratcliffe to the show,

as he has welcomed Parrish Jones to the studio yeah as we mentioned off air I'm so excited about this I've been a fan of Parrish Jones for a long time same I mean if parents out there

I don't know if your kids are home from school today but you ought to they are you ought to get. They are. They are. Well, you ought to get them over here because he's an inspirational story about a lot of things he overcame in life along the way. And it just shows you that you can do whatever you put your mind to with positive thinking and hard work. And I can't think of a better example than the man sitting to my right. Absolutely. Paris Jones, the show is yours. Introduce yourself to the viewers and listeners

with a handful of states already watching the program, Paris. Well, for one, thank you guys for having me. Absolutely. It's a blessing. You know, I'm grateful to be here. As I said, my name is Paris Jones. I just recently graduated with my master's from the University of Virginia. Congratulations. Thank you. I appreciate that.

So now I'm just looking forward to giving back and giving as much advice as I can in hopes that I can help younger generations and people chase their dreams and know that they're accomplishable. To go from being something that you look at only when you go to sleep to being able to see it when you open your eyes and walk through your day-to-day lives. You got a master's from UVA. What's that feel like? That's impressive, dude. Yeah, it's an honor, man. It's an honor. It's something that in my family hasn't been done before right away, so that was an honor as well to be able to kind of set a new precipice for my family. But yeah, it was amazing, man. It's an honor that I don't take lightly. Paris was a walk-on running back at UVA in the previous coaching regime

and really didn't get much of a chance. And I read I think you had to go dig plays out of the trash cans so you could learn the plays and like to say you're treated as a practice dummy, if you will. So, you know, the scholarship guys come in and they get the special treatment. You know, everything's kind of spoon-fed to them. I always like to say as a walk-on, you actually have to love the game because nothing's handed to you, right. It's long days. It's dirty, hard work.

You know what I mean? So just trying to give myself the best chance to potentially get on the field, which was a goal from the beginning for me I just knew I had to take extra measures to make sure I was in the best possible position to do that which led me to dig into a trash can place to study and try to figure out what I was supposed to do learn different names and different things and things like that so yes sir that's amazing that's amazing. And here you go. He did that, and he worked his way into a starting running back position under Tony Elliott and led the team in rushing a couple of seasons. And I was always amazed at how quickly you hit the hole and would,

and with a burst of speed after you got, saw some daylight, and was having a great career. And Virginia was upsetting Louisville on the road last year, which would have been a big, huge deal. And Paris suffered a traumatic injury in that game. And we all, if you're a Virginia fan, you all saw that. I know you were all holding your breath and praying and had to be carted off the field in an ambulance to the nearby University of Louisville facility

where I'm sure they took incredible care of you. They did. We monitored your stay out there and then did your press conference by Zoom when you left that building on your own, which was a big deal, and made it back home to Virginia. But what a ride. I mean, what an experience you have that just is an inspirational story to anybody out there watching about how you never give up.

Talk to us about the trials and tribulations. Oh, man, where to begin with that? Right? I like to say my whole life was trials and tribulations. Growing up, my mom was a single mom, so I watched her work and endure a lot of different things and sacrifice a lot, you know. And she never made any excuses, which is something that she instilled in me and my brother. And then I carried on when my dad became involved. It was the same kind of mindset.

You know, he worked extremely hard for everything he has and never gave any excuses. I saw him go without his will, saw him endure long days when everything was hurting and different body parts would be aching. But he just did what he had to do, and he instilled that in me and my sisters on that side of the family. So it's just something that kind of became ingrained in who I am, you know. And so when I come to trials and tribulations and different circumstances that would seemingly, you know, tell me that I couldn't do something or that something wasn't for me, I kind of had the mental fortitude because of that upbringing to push through and know that, you know, an obstacle is just life's way of testing if I actually want to do what I want to do. And so, and understanding that I really do want what

I say I want. So any obstacle that presents itself is just a stepping stool in my eyes. Your dad was a military guy, right? He was. Yeah. It's our army. Yeah, army. And I read something where you said you grew up in a part of Florida. I guess it was in sort of the environment, not your home, but just the environment of wherever city that was you grew up. But you said a young man's dream where you came from, you were either going to go play college football, the NFL, or work at McDonald's. Yep. It was so high school football was kind of like our bright lights,

our biggest stage, right? So everybody would go to the games on Friday, and then right after that they would go to McDonald's and just congregate in the parking lot. So for us it was like that's all we saw, right? A kid can't be something that he hasn't seen before, he or she. So that's all we saw. So I was like, okay, that's what I'm looking forward to doing with my life,

you know, going to play high school ball and performing pretty well and then working at McDonald's and hanging out. You know, Arcadia, Florida, which is where I'm from, I call it an all-inclusive resort because you do everything there. Typically people that are born there end up staying there the rest of their life and don't leave or venture out or go anywhere. So, yeah, it's a rough place to get out of, a rough place to get out of. What's the Parris Jones legacy at Arcadia, Florida right now?

Oh, man, it's hopefully one of hope. Hopefully one of hope. You know, I still stay connected with some of the guys down there, and I try to motivate them and encourage them to do the same thing. That's a big part of not only what I do in Arcadia, but everywhere I go is just letting people know, man, you can do whatever you want to do. So I try to motivate them to do that. I'm curious of this.

How do you motivate and encourage in a way that doesn't come across as out of touch from, you know, you were born there. It's your stopping grounds. How do you navigate or thread that needle? So it's, I mean, everybody in Arcadia is kind of like a family, and I'm fortunate that my family is very, very involved there. So I go back and visit. I'm going back for Christmas to visit and try to spend time with as much people and many people as I can.

And I stay connected in that way, you know, so that they know that I'm not, no matter where I go or what's happening around me, I'm still that small town kid from Arcadia. You know, it's still the same Paris. I respect that. I respect that. There's a lot of questions coming in here. This question is coming from Virginia Beach. Jerry, please ask Paris what went through his mind during the injury, immediately after the injury, and how he became the man today. He is today. That's a good question.

So a couple things. Immediately following that injury, I was terrified, as one could imagine, being able to perform athletically and physically at a high level and then all in a moment's notice you can't move or speak even really it was a scary feeling but I'm a very I'm strong in my faith so that was also instilled in me from a very young age so I relied on that in that moment said a little prayer and realized that you know God was pointing me in a different direction and I was comforted in that fact yeah Yeah, it was a scary moment.

I'll never forget, obviously. But just the fact that you stayed positive the entire time, not only there at that moment, but some tough days that were ahead for you, too, and it required incredible discipline and positive attitude I would think yeah it was uh you know and that's another thing that I have to give credit to my parents for you know it's uh man there's you could be choose to be upset about everything you know the same choice that you make to be upset and be mad is the same choice that you can make to be happy and be optimistic.

I chose to try to make the latter, even in that tough situation. Even when you left the hospital and you walked out on your own, I know you weren't 100% recovered at that point. I still don't know if you're 100%. But Jonathan Cotton told me that you're an inspiration in this aspect as well, that a lot of

people that suffered the kind of injury you had could have easily turned to painkillers, drugs, alcohol, etc., and let your life waste away, but you were never even tempted to go down that path. Just talk about the discipline it took for you to be able to fight to function the way you were accustomed to and to go on with your life and build something instead of giving up. Right. So once again, I attribute that to upbringing. One of the first conversations my dad and I had was one about purpose.

You know what I mean? Like, what do you want to do with your life? Why are you here? What are you trying to do? And I think that's important for everybody to identify, because when life starts lifing, for lack of a better way to say it, that's all you have to fall back on is why you're living, why you're getting up every day, what gets you out of the bed in the morning.

And for me, it was always, even since I was a kid, just to change lives. You know, I said that even when I was really, really small, is that I wanted to impact the lives of generations coming after me in a positive light, in a way that shines light on the one above for my religion. And so that's why, you know, in that moment, no matter the pain that I was feeling, I knew my purpose was always going to be greater than whatever pain I was enduring in that moment. So I just focused on my purpose and knew that I was walking in and about to walk into it, and I was hopeful and comforted in that. You've got comments coming in left and right here. This is from John Blair. Please tell Mr. Jones that so many of us view him as a beacon of hope in the greater Charlottesville area.

What a fantastic young man, Paris Jones. Comments all over the stream about you, Paris. What's it mean to hear this feedback from the Charlottesville community, from Wahoo Nation, from multiple states watching you on the show right now? Man, it's affirming, you know. You always like to hear that validation that you're walking in the right direction in the right light. And so it's it means the world. You know, I don't even know if I could coin it properly with words, but it does a lot for me.

So I'm grateful for it. What is the what's the plan for life moving forward professionally? How about we start there? So I'm motivational speaking slash inspirational speaking and trying to grow that as much as possible because that's where, and honestly, in a way it's kind of therapeutic for me and telling my story to different bodies of people and groups of people and watching how it impacts them. So doing that and then eventually later on down the road, I'm going to want to create my own nonprofit kind of for kids who

began like I did, you know, in those towns where you don't know what's out there. You don't know what you could be. You don't know the possibilities. And so I want to provide a vehicle that shows them that, but not only shows it, but gets them there as well and gives them resources where they may be lacking. Because, man, everybody can do something great no matter what it is. I truly believe that. So I want to be a part of it as much as I can in fostering that.

You know, you were also, a lot of people may not be aware of this, but you were Mike Holland's roommate, I guess, during all that tragedy as well. How did you help each other, you leaning on him and him leaning on you, for both of the things that you guys had to endure? Right. I mean, that's my boy, man. That's my brother. So in those times when he was dealing with the situation, obviously,

and still dealing with it because you don't ever get over that. Every time I say you've got to pay respect to those three. I'll love them forever. their memory will live on forever, but with Mike, it was just, you know, letting him know I was there, because Mike's a strong guy, you know, as evident in how he's been walking after his, after that tragedy, but he's, I just let him know I was there for him, you know, whether he needed it, and kind of gauging it, I live with him, so I got to see the different emotions that he would go through, and when I would realize he was kind of down, I live with him, so I got to see the different emotions that he would go through. And when I would realize he was kind of down, I would tell him,

you know what, Mikey, stay home for practice. I'll take your reps today. You know what I mean? I'll make sure I take the extra so you don't have to push yourself because he's the kind of guy. He would push himself to be there no matter what, no matter how he was feeling. And knowing that, he also preaches, this is Mikey's principle, about being your brother's keeper and understanding what he's going through and

being there for him so that's what i did for him and when i got hurt he did the same for me you know he was there's been numerous times he would go get food for me you know he'd pick up stuff from the facility bring it back for me or different things that i would try to do i had a dog so he would take my dog out so i didn't have to get him out of the bed and go. So he repaid the favor, man. That's my brother for life. How about, you said something that's resonated with me. When life starts lifing, I love that. I'm going to use that moving forward. I mean, life is not easy. It's not. It is not easy, and it's how we respond to the adversity that we face. I mean, I'm a husband and a father of two,

and I love our boys dearly. But good night. A six-year-old and a two-year-old will test your patience and your limits and kind of test you as a man. When life starts lifing, did you ever feel at a time when this injury happens against Louisville and then we had the murder of three of your brothers on a football team that what is life doing to me? And how do you get to the point of not allowing life to overwhelm and keep you down in a like a dark place um and get overwhelmed with the

thoughts that come with it yeah that's a that's a powerful question it's um well for one i did struggle you know i think a lot of people look at how i'm walking now and and skip over that fact like oh he didn't have his rough days i definitely definitely had my dark days, you know, where I'm sitting there. And I recall one with my mom and dad in the hospital room, and I just started crying. You know, I was like, man, like, my dream shattered. I can't go to play in the NFL anymore or even try to. So I had my dark days for sure, but that's where you have to come back to that purpose. You know, know like why am

I doing this a lot of people they fall off the path of chasing what they want not because of the different things that they're doing or the actions that they're taking but because they forget why they got on the path in the first place so remembering that like what am I trying to do I'm still trying to impact lives that hasn right? Like, I can still do that. Whether I'm in a wheelchair, whether I can never walk again, that has not changed. So I still have the opportunity to do everything that I wanted to do, and I realize that, and I'm thankful for my parents' guidance in doing so. And also, I had a therapist for a while, too, you know, and I think that's not something that's widely talked about, especially amongst men,

but it's powerful to have somebody to bounce your thoughts off of and reground you in different things and make sure that you're living in reality as dark thoughts is knowing that you know i'm still walking down the path that i need to be walking down and i still can do that at a monumental level you know so nothing's really changing and understanding that enabled me to push through whatever situation i was in and in that situation being able to walk and stuff like that that was phenomenal answer here's a follow-up question for you. With the benefit of hindsight, did the injury in some ways maybe help you find your true calling in life? It did. I also, I say that all the time. You know, football was like my dream, right? You know, like how some people dream, they go to sleep and they're like, oh, man.

It was your everything. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, it was like, this is what I want to do. This is the high. But my purpose, it pointed me towards my purpose. And so a lot of people ask me that as well. They say, would you change the injury if you could? I said, no.

I would go through it ten times over because the fulfillment that I'm getting and pursuing what I'm pursuing now is way more fulfilling than that of scoring touchdowns or anything like that. So 100%, it definitely pointed me into my purpose, and it pointed me to a higher calling. So I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful for it all. And it's crazy that oftentimes, which is what I also tell people,

that you have to look at your perspective on those different scenarios in life is so important because those are doorways. You know how I look at them. If you can push through those hard moments and those tough days, ten times out of ten there's something brighter on the other side. If you can just say, you know what, I've got to walk through this and I'm going to be okay. If you can make that choice in your mind, you'll be so much better off because of it. That's absolutely fantastic.

No question. Yeah. And, you know, what would you tell kids out there who may be in grade school, they may be in high school, may even be in college? Some may be athletes struggling for their identity or what they want to do in life or maybe not starting and want to give up, what kind of advice would you give to a young person who's facing some sort of adversity in life?

And just how do you open that next door? Yeah, so for one, I would tell them that they have everything that they need to get through, what they need to get through, or whatever they're going through. That would be first and foremost. And then I would tell them not to think with a limited mindset. Think limitless. Because a lot of people, we disqualify ourselves from a lot. I can't do that. I can't do that. Or I don't have this,, I can't do that. I can't do that.

Or I don't have this, so I can't do that. Take all of that away. What do you want to do? Right? And when you know what you want to do, which I call it visualizing. You know, I have this little blueprint that I give people, and that's what I would give them. For one, you have to visualize, right? There's a difference between vision and sight.

Sight is what you see in front of you, which is the, I don't have this, I don't have that, or I can't do that, or this is telling me I can't. Vision is like, okay, what's beyond that? You know, like, what can you see that's not in front of you, that doesn't look possible? Once you have that locked in, then you plan for that, right? Make a, and there's always a way to get somewhere, and I use the analogy of Google Maps. Like, for example, me coming to the studio today. If I make a wrong turn and I no longer get to the studio, no, that's not true. I can still get there. I just have to go a different way. And if I make another wrong turn, I can still get there. I just have to go a different way. You know, so it may take longer or different things like that, but you can still get to the destination. So plan how you're going

to get there. And then after that, you have to believe, right? That that's crucial we live in a world that sucks to believe out of everything because of what they see man you have to believe you have to believe even when you don't believe and in doing that it gives you the extra energy or the extra push that you need to execute which is the last step

do what you need to do, follow your plan no matter what is in your way so I would give them that and tell them that they are enough as well. You know, like with this world, oftentimes with social media and things like that, tells our kids especially that, you know, they're not enough and that they need to be different or they need to look like this or they need to do that. You are enough exactly how you are, 10 times out of 10.

You don't need anything extra. You don't need what they have. You don't need what she or he has. You have everything you need. And you are perfect that way. And you can do whatever you want to do with everything that you have. So that's what I would give them. If you're looking for an inspirational speaker out there, I think you just found one. Absolutely. Absolutely. Comments continue to come in. I have a follow-up question for you before we get to some comments from uh around the country here what um what was the plan uh for paris jones prior to the injury professionally was it to go as far as football would take you it was so i actually had the

which that was my lifelong dream to go play in the nfl and obviously i wasn't gonna get drafted if you will but i was i had a couple free agent opportunities that my coaches were communicating back and forth with different teams about. So I was going to pursue that route and kind of retake on the role of being a walk-on again in the NFL and trying to make my way. But that was the direction that I was going to sell out for prior to the entry. Okay, respect. Okay, so these questions are coming in. Can you ask your guest what his undergraduate studies and his master's studies have looked like and what it has taught him

to become the person we see today on the show? So my undergraduate degrees were in African American studies and English with a specific focus on poetry. And then my master's degree was in educational psychology. And why those courses? Because for one, for, well, I didn't plan on doing the African American studies when my professor actually presented that to me and said, I'd be really, really good at it through some different papers that I've written. But English has always been a passion of mine. I write poetry on the side when I can, just about different emotions that I'm feeling. And then my master's in educational psychology, I wanted to do that to understand how different educational platforms and organizations work,

because creating a nonprofit, I want to see how I can build off of that and add to it and understand more in depth of how things work so that I can give it back to those kids who may not understand it. So that's kind of how that played a that I can give it back to those kids who may not understand it. So that's kind of how that played a part into what I'm trying to do today. You mentioned before the show that Charlottesville is home base. Is that a potential home base long term or is that to be determined? It's to be determined, but I love Charlottesville. You know, it's been home for the last six years, so we'll see how long that continues on.

Who knows? I may end up staying. I'm not sure yet. I got a question. As someone who's in the branding and digital business, what's the plan to scale your brand? Your brand as a speaker, your personal brand, and then you mentioned potentially launching a nonprofit. Right. So Mr. Cotton's helping with that and trying to expand that, and I'm always looking for ways to expand the outreach as much as possible. And my dream with what I'm doing now is going to start local, right? But I want to take it as wide and as broad as I can, whether that be global and even outside of the country as well.

So I'm always looking for ways to expand and different ways to brand. Jonathan Cotton is such a good man. He is. He is an amazing man. He may be watching here. I saw his tweet following the SMU loss where he had seven or eight bullet points from an entrepreneur's perspective on how to potentially improve the brand that is Virginia football. And he used his business acumen to apply it to a collegiate athletic program.

And I was just taken away with the time he put into the tweet and how he genuinely is so personally invested in the best of this program. He just cares about it. He's passionate and he's brilliant and everything he does is channeled in the proper way and they should listen to him because the man knows all about success. Everything he touches turns to gold.

Yeah, the Midas touch. Paris, what are your thoughts on the program, the state of UVA football right now, if you may? Yeah, I think it's on the rise. You know, we talk about growth, right? Sometimes people look at growth and say, oh, I want us to go from 1 to 10 to 10 and 1 in one year. In actuality, that doesn't always work.

And I think a lot of people use comparison, but comparison is a thief of joy. You can't say, well, they did it. Why can't we? It's hard building a program. It's hard to go out and win a ball game. Everything has to go right. Everything has to go in a certain way. I think Coach Elliott has the formula. We're seeing that in evidence of the record improving and things like that. It's's on the rise, you know, and the different pieces are coming in. I believe in Coach Elliott and what he's trying to do. So I just ask that the Wahoo Faith will, you know, stay on board with him, you know, because he's cooking something special, you know, and growth is growth.

So you can't take that away, you know, and I think he's an amazing man, an amazing leader, and I think the pieces around him support that and support what he's trying to do. And I think it's only a matter of time before UVA is everything that it could be and that we want it to be. Why'd you pick UVA out of Arcadia, Florida? Could have gone to Yale, right? Could have gone to Yale.

So I actually didn't go to high school in Arcadia. I went at Episcopal up in Virginia because my dad was stationed here at the Pentagon. But man, it was a dream. You know, and it was, Yale had given me an opportunity and UVA had presented another opportunity right before. Hard to turn down Yale.

It is, you know, and it's and that kind of sounds crazy to say but yeah, it was a dream, you know, and I talked to my parents about, and I wanted to bet on myself and take a chance. I believed that I could do it. And I've always been a hardworking kid, a dedicated kid. So Coach Howell came to me and said that he would give me an opportunity, you know, and I would get whatever I worked for.

And I was like, you know what? This is something I've always wanted to do since I was a kid. I believe I can do it. I'm a proof to myself I can do it. And you did. Yes, he did. So give us a breakdown of what's next. I mean, I see you. I've spent 30 minutes with you here, and I get the impression that anything you put your mind to, you can accomplish. I mean, it's

clear as day that that's the case. What's the flip book, your goal-oriented man for like next six months, next year, next few years for Paris Jones? Right. So the next six months is just about building my speaking platform and really expanding my reach as far as it can go, whether that be, you know, traveling to a multitude of different states or different things like that to garner more opportunities to speak in front of bodies of people and try to give them a message of hope and inspiration that they could take with them.

Year-long-wise, I'm kind of currently in the process of trying to write my own book and get that out as well, just about different life experiences that I've endured. And once again, just a different vehicle to kind of teach and give to people. So that's the next year outlook I would say do you uh these questions are coming in for you on on what your thoughts are on the state of college football today with the transfer portal and with NIL

and this is an intriguing one that's come from North Carolina it seems the transfer portal is the opposite of standing in the face of adversity. It's seeking other chances when things get difficult. Please pass that along to your guest, Jerry. Yeah, so I, man, I have mixed feelings about that. So the, I think in some instances, the transfer portal is a blessing, you know, because sometimes different places just aren't for people, you know, and I'm a firm believer that you know you have to know that you're in the right place because doing some the right thing in the wrong place makes it the wrong thing so under circumstances where you know I don't know somebody's in a very adverse

situation and say they need to be closer to home with their family or something like that so they transfer to a school close by so that they can help out or something like that. I think it's a blessing. But I would have to agree with the person that sent that question that it's turning kind of into a, oh, this is hard. I'm going to go somewhere that's easier. And I don't agree with that. You know, because I think that it's through hard things that you become who you need to become and you learn what you need to learn. Like I wouldn't trade the lessons that I've learned from being a walk-on

and not playing after doing everything I possibly could and still not getting rewarded for it. I wouldn't trade that for anything. You know, I think that has molded me into who I am today, and I wouldn't give that up. So I think that I 100% agree with them. And I think that college football and the college sports in general is becoming a business.

You know, it's not it's not about the love of the game anymore the love of university it's about how much money i can garner and and i and i hate to see that you know i hate to see it um vanessa parkhill in earliesville i'm in tears over here the perspective of this young man is so inspiring and encouraging um she's watching uh the program live Got a bunch of states watching you here, Paris Jones. Put in perspective the next generation of athletes as they try to navigate the same hopes and dreams that you may have had. I mean, you know, growing up, I wanted to play in the NBA. Then I realized that a five foot eight guy that can't really jump has got zero shot of playing in the NBA. Then I went to UVA and decided

to become a sports writer. He's the first boss I had because it was as close that I could find a way to pay my bills by also being around sports. It's the advice you give to these next generation of kids that all want to play professional sports when it's such a small percentage that actually have an opportunity to play professional sports man i would tell them well for one i would never tell somebody not to sell out for their dream you know but i would say to make sure that you don't close yourself off to development in other areas right because that even if you do make it to the league in whatever sport you like, everybody has to hang up the cleats at some point,

and you're going to have to do something else. You can't play that sport forever. So don't shut yourself off to different interests that you may potentially have as you're chasing your dream, which I highly encourage you to do. Sell out for it, but make sure that you're not closed off and make sure that you allow yourself to expand and branch out into different arenas to see what you enjoy and what you wouldn't mind doing. So that would be my advice,

is not to become one-minded, yes, and focused and driven, but to also pay attention in your peripheral to different things that may spark your interest. How about, and then, Hootie, I'll throw it to you here. How about the perspective you can share as an undersized tailback playing football at a very high level? I mean, it reminds me of the phrase, it's not the size of the dog, it's the size of the fight in the dog that matters.

Yeah, I would, it's about heart, you know, like, and I tell people all the time, like, I'll go to talk to some different teams. And, you know, I'm talking to different five stars and things like that. And they're huge. And I would tell them, like, man, listen, you couldn't beat me in anything. That's just the mindset that I carry. You know what I mean? Even if you do beat me, I'm going to beat you the next time. That's my mindset is that it's non-relenting, it's non-surrendering,

and I don't ever walk up to a challenger, step into a fight, quote-unquote, that I don't think I can win, which is all of them because I'm not shying away from any fight. I remember a time in my first year, a college year, we were going into pass pro drills, and Jordan Mack, I don't know if you guys remember that linebacker. Oh, yeah, absolutely. The last 1,000-yard rusher and was a running back.

No, I'm talking about the linebacker. Oh, the linebacker, Jordan Mack. Yeah, yeah. I'm thinking about Jordan. Yeah, Jordan Ellis. Yeah. So he came through the hole, and, I mean, I – of course, he knocked me on my butt. But I got up, and I told him, I said, I'm going to knock you on your butt next time.

And he kind of looked at me kind of crazy, like – and I was like, I'm not going anywhere. You know, like I'm not backing down from anybody. So I would just say it's hard, you know, thinking that you can win and truly believe in that. And my dad used to always tell me that it's hard to beat a man who shows up with his mind made up that he came to win. There you go. So every situation I showed up to, I always believed I could win. I was confident in it and did whatever I could to make it come to fruition. You know what?

How about this? Coaching. You ever think about coaching? Yeah, I have. But in this season of life, I don't know if I would be a coach. I know Mikey. He's GA-ing right now. So I'm kind of living vicariously through him.

Mike Collins, folks. Yeah. Yeah, Mike Collins. And he tells me about it all. Maybe later on down the road, I definitely see that for myself. But I would probably have to go at a younger age. I would maybe coach like Peewee or something like that where those kids they're not getting any money they're just playing because they love the sport yeah you know and so I would probably go back at a foundation fundamental level if I were to coach if there's any young

athletes watching out there and I hope there are I don't know how you can listen to this man and not be inspired but another aspect that you probably want to say to kids is that even if you are a good athlete make sure you get a good education because like you said you never know the next play could be your last. Or, you know, even if you go through your career unscathed, at some point there's an end game and you can't play anymore because you're too old or whatever. But you've got to have something to fall back on. Right.

You do. You do. And your education is paramount. You know, like my parents always preached that to me, that you've got to have, you got to have the grades, you got to have the grades. And even here, I was thankful and grateful that I had came from a very controlled and kind of coddled in a way environment to just everything at your fingertips. So struggling with that adjustment, but he helped me out throughout that. So having an education, that's what carries you. No one can take your degree away from you. No one can take your education away from you. So you have to get that. You have to make sure you prioritize that. And it's the complete

package, right? Those athletes who may be watching, you're not going to get anywhere if your grades aren't good. You know, like he, he's just not going to happen. So having the grace to back up your, your physical capabilities is, is a hundred percent necessary. Absolutely. What's the Paris Jones book look like? Man, it's so, it's so, give us the, uh, Give us the back cover, a few paragraphs of what the book would be. So it's, for one it's going to be a series. So each of the

blueprint, in the blueprint it's going to be one on each book. So one about vision and where that originated for me, going back to the roots of Arcadia, Florida and seeing the different things that I've seen and understanding what it would take to change that, right? And starting at a base level and then carrying that vision throughout the different tribulations that I've encountered in life and how that changes or how it's impacted or affected. And then the next one would be, you know, planning and how does that plan take place. It's geared towards giving you an entirety of a blueprint

but an in-depth look at each step that is required throughout that blueprint to help. I see an entire brand here, man. A brand that's based with a desktop and mobile website, maybe an app tied around your name, Paris Jones. I see you publishing poetry on that platform, daily blog content. I could clearly see a podcast that you could host and interview other people, podcasts where you're monologuing as well. Then you could create the long-form content on that platform.

You can maybe do a paywall portion on that platform where people subscribe to it as a revenue stream, then a nonprofit could offshoot off this content platform. I mean, I see so much upside here. Hootie, I think this is one of the best interviews we've ever done. Oh, no question about it. And I knew it would be because having covered his career at Virginia, a lot of us sportswriters were just in awe of what he was able to do, to overcome. I mean, we kept seeing his name on the roster for a long time and never really saw him play.

And then all of a sudden, here he is, starting. Running through people, running over people, and running around people, and we're just amazed at where's this kid been? And just listening to him talk in interviews and post-games, et cetera. Very impressive individual. No question about it. How about Paris with a lot of folks watching here, maybe some closing thoughts for the viewers and listeners.

Where they could find you, maybe how they can hire you or book you as a motivational speaker. Absolutely, yeah. Hire this guy. And anything you want to talk about. Yeah, so I have a website, parismjones.com, that you can book me at and learn more about what I speak about and more about my story. And I would just leave people with the note that you can do anything. You know, anything that you put your mind to. It's extremely, extremely impressive the power that we hold as human beings and

i think that we barely scratch the surface of it on a day-to-day basis so tapping into what you want to do with your life and what you want it to become who you want to be and chasing that relentlessly you know and and also being in a space to give back to others in your life i feel like we all oftentimes are moving so fast that we forget those around us. So try to touch as many people as you can. Give them a smile or check in on them. You know what I mean? And by doing that, it creates a positive culture

driven towards becoming the best version of ourselves that we could possibly be. And if we do that, man, our society will flourish. So I highly encourage you to chase your dreams because you can accomplish them. There's none that aren't accomplishable. And to know that people are enough is the way they are. They don't need to do anything outside of their beings. They don't need to try to do anything extraordinary. They already are extraordinary. You know what I mean? So being that and walking in that is paramount. And yeah, man, if I can

come talk to anybody or anybody wants me to make a video or something like that or anything like that, I'm open to everything. I'm all about giving back in any way that I possibly can. So just connect me, connect with me, forgive me, and, yeah, go from there. Civic clubs, churches, schools? Anything. I know there are sports clubs all around the state of Virginia. If you're looking for a speaker, he's sitting right here. Absolutely.

I'm on the – Paris, you're fantastic, man. I'm absolutely impressed by this 45-minute interview we just did. I'm on his website. It's parismjones.com. Check out the website and just dot the I's and cross the T's on what this man has to offer, which is quite a bit of upside, folks. Paris, I am truly grateful for your time today. This was an excellent interview, sir.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you guys for having me on. Yes, thank you so much for taking some time out of your schedule. We appreciate it. Of course. We know you've got things to do, but it's gracious of you to come by and share your thoughts with us and your schedule. We appreciate it. We know you've got things to do, but it's

gracious of you to come by and share your thoughts with us and your inspiration. Absolutely. It's a blessing. Thank you, guys. Jude, if you want to go on a two-shot here, Hootie and I are going to talk some football and basketball. Hootie, such a fantastic interview

that you helped line up. Jonathan Cotton, we thank him as well for helping set this interview up. Just an absolutely A plus, 45 to 50 minutes. Dot the I's and cross the T's if you could, Hootie Ratcliffe, on what we just heard and saw there. Well, it was exactly what I

expected and again, from watching him grow from a walk-on that nobody had heard of to leading rusher on the team and making big plays and then the tragic injury out at Louisville and how he fought back from that. We saw him walk in here today. Just a walking inspiration.

And, I mean, this is what sports to me has always been about, is overcoming adversity. And when you get knocked down on your butt, get back up. I think that's something that sports teaches people that nothing else does in life. And he's a perfect example of that. And just showing you, you know, he's not the biggest dude in the world, but he's got the fight of a Doberman pincher. He's the kind of guy that you want in your trench, on your football team or on whatever team that you have.

He's just the kind of guy that you want to be around. Yeah, absolutely, Hootie. Absolutely. This football team's in the trenches, and they need the fight of a Doberman pitcher on Saturday in Blacksburg on 8 o'clock kickoff, ACC Network primetime. Two football teams that are fighting for bowl eligibility with identical overall records. Hootie, one thing we know about you certainly more than me, Blacksburg in the winter is not a place I want to be.

No, I saw some Tech and UVA games in Blacksburg and in Charlottesville. Wind chill 12, 13 degrees, Hootie. I think I've only missed one Tech UVA game since I came here in 82. That was when we went with Jeff Jones to Alaska for his coaching debut with basketball. But it can be brutal weather down there. I don't know what the forecast is for this weekend. Temperature of the teens, wind chill even lower. I've been down there in those conditions with the wind blowing so hard that you could hardly throw the football.

And it can be brutal. There's no question about it. But, you know, that's part of the game and they've got more things to deal with than just the weather. I mean, this is for everything that some of these guys have dreamed of, going to a bowl game and getting this football program back to even par, so to speak, at 6-6. The chance to have a winning season, really, if you go to a bowl game. And that's what a lot of these guys on this Virginia roster came back for. Cam Butler, seventh

year, I guess, in college football, and he could have walked away, but he wanted to come back and help turn this thing around. And so did some of the other guys that are back for a fifth or sixth year. They've made strides in that department. And I would think that they're obviously a touchdown underdog. And everybody knows the history. Virginia hasn't won there since 1998. And I would think that they would take even all those things under consideration. I would think that they still have a burning desire to make up for last year's embarrassment here at Scott Stadium when they were blown out 55-17.

Yeah, 55-17. One of the worst performances I've ever seen by a Virginia team in my career. And I would hope that that still stings with these guys and that they want to go down to Blacksburg and try to make amends for that and get this program back to a different level than it's been the last few years. Anthony Calandria has come under fire. I don't think a lot of the crossfire he has currently faced has been fair. The man is running for his life.

I understand he's made some bad decisions with the football of late. I understand the football, the offense has struggled of late. And I understand when you're the quarterback, you get the glory and you get the hate. It comes with the position. Anywhere you want to go on Anthony Calandria, the first question I have for you is, is he the man to lead Virginia against the Virginia Tech Hokies?

Is it Tony Musket? And then the follow-up question to that would be, if it is Calandria, what does he have to do to turn this around? He just has to be himself and try to keep his cool, and that's asking a lot because the offensive, you don't want to pick on the offensive line that much, and it's not totally their fault, but they've been a sieve the last few games,

and some of it's on the running backs. Some of it's on Calandria. Some of it's maybe play calling. I'm not sure. But he just has to go in and try to calm his mind and try to figure out a way to combat what's going to be coming at him. I'm sure Virginia Tech's defensive coaches have scouted everything that other teams have tried to do to him for the last several weeks

and been very successful at it. Last weekend, they couldn't block SMU. Both running backs were gone. First and second team running backs were gone by halftime, leaving it to Noah Vaughn, who's going to be really good, but is inexperienced. He confessed he missed

picking up some pass rushers. A handful of times. There were times, if you go back and look at the film, there were times that by the time Calandria dropped back just to set his foot to get off the pass in his drop, he had people in his face. I mean, he was buried before he even got a chance to even throw the ball, before he could even set up to throw the ball.

He had to run for his life. And that forces quarterbacks into making bad decisions. And I'm not making excuses for him because there were a few times where he probably should have thrown the ball away. Sometimes he just had to eat it and it cost nine sacks. Some of it was on him, but I don't think the majority of it was. And people were complaining about not playing Tony Muscat and giving him a chance.

Well, Tony Muscat is not as mobile as Anthony Calandria. He would have been a sitting duck for SMU's pass rush. And you think about nine sacks, we're talking about a lot more than nine sacks, and possibly who knows what else could have fed off of that. But I think they did the right thing and tried to finish the game with Calandria and tried to change the momentum and change the tide a little bit.

It just wasn't to be. SMU's a quality football team. They're not playing in the ACC championship game for nothing and maybe in the college football playoffs as well. They've only lost one game this year, and that was to a really good BYU team early on. I think if they played BYU today, they would win. SMU, we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg with that football program.

They're hungry. And you think they were good this year? Just give them a chance to throw their NIL money and bring in better players into that program, which behind all the money that they have down there in a football-rich state to begin with, we've only begun to see what SMU can do in this league. They may take it over.

And my goodness, yeah, Calandria hasn hasn't been great but it could be a lot worse right now and uh i think you got to stick with him um if he can't move the ball in blacksburg then you may go to musket if you do make a change and you have to stick with that change and so had he made it the other day uh as bad as it was, it would have gotten worse. Trust me. Is the choice of sticking with Calandria a choice that is considering next season and the concern that Calandria could have transferred if he was benched? You know, I guess that could – I really don't think that played into it that much.

I think maybe in the back of the minds... Because Muscat's done. They might have thought about that. Yeah, I think Muscat pretty much said he's done. He said he's done, yeah. You know, if you benched him at halftime last week and things got only worse, I don't think he would have transferred out. He's not a kid about money, but he is a kid about playing time. And, you know, there's a lot of temptation out there these days.

There's a lot of street agents. There's a lot of people in your ear. And if you lose him and Musket, then where do you go from there? You have a transfer from New Mexico and a couple other guys that really haven't had any playing time. So I don't know where you go from there. You've got a couple of kids coming in that's true freshmen. You'd have to hit the transfer portal. You'd have to go transfer portal. Who knows what you get?

We all know the situation there with NIL, etc. What he's saying there, folks, is there's not really much of a situation with NIL and Virginia football. That's what he's saying. College coaches will tell you that if you want a first-rate quarterback in the NIL transfer portal, you're going to pay at least a million dollars.

Think about that, ladies and gentlemen. That's insane. That's college football. It's the world we live in. It's college football right now. Think about that, guys. You should highlight the point of the... And questions are coming in about Muskin and the coaching staff. Wahoo89, who's watching in Tennessee, I believe, says,

should there be coaching staff changes before next year? It's always a difficult question. The fan base is getting very loud. Before we go down that road and before we go down the road of... What I'm most concerned about is the apathy that I see setting in we talked before the show when Tony Bennett was the head coach of the men's basketball team we always struggled in football there were a few years you know a couple under Bronco where there were some brightness Al Groh early Al Groh era had back-to-back, what, continental tire bowl wins.

They went to, like, six bowls under Al, I think. Yeah, and then they started struggling. And then it's been a little downhill since. But as a fan, we always said, we have Tony Bennett, we have basketball, and Tony we trust. So we were able to overlook the struggles of football, almost expect the struggles of football, because we were a basketball school. Now a lot of us are wondering what's going on with the basketball team. And they have another matchup. It's Manhattan tonight. 7 o'clock tonight, ACC Network.

I want to talk about that, the apathy. But before we do, the roster attrition, graduating, exhausting eligibility. This team is losing a hell of a lot of people. Yeah, it's a very senior plus laden football team right now. I think they're going to lose 40 to 43 guys off the roster, if I'm not mistaken. And that doesn't even count the people that may decide to explore the portal. But, you know, there's a lot of guys that have come back through the extra years of COVID or whatever, the shooting tragedies. A lot of those guys got an extra year.

It's a very old football team in that respect, and Tony Elliott and his staff are going to have to find a lot of bodies to fill out that roster next year. And we've talked on this show before about the limitations of the portal, with Tony telling us that he has to depend a lot on getting grad students through the portal as opposed to underclassmen because of the transfer credits, et cetera. So, you know, his hands are a little bit tied on how much he can do, and you can only sign so many high school kids, and then you have to develop them.

Not many of them are ready to play as true freshmen. So it's an incredible challenge he's facing in trying to rebuild this roster for next year. Apathy and coaching changes. Yeah, I mean... In the wake of all the rumors swirling with the athletic director. Yeah, I mean, they slashed all the ticket prices well ahead of last week, and, excuse me, I'm still battling whatever is going around.

Only 36,000 were announced as far as attendance goes for the SMU game. There was not 36,000 people there. No, I don't think so either. SMU brought a very healthy crowd. They traveled well. Yes, they do. And, yeah, there is a ton of apathy surrounding the program, even though they have improved.

I mean, they could be a bowl team if they get the right breaks and if they play solid football, maybe not flawless. But, I mean, if you're a Virginia fan and they do win in Blacksburg, I mean, you've got to be a little satisfied because they'd be 6-6. They would break the curse of Blacksburg. They would beat their arch enemy, putting more pressure on that fan base on what they're going to do. You beat Virginia Tech on Saturday night. And you're in a bowl game. In Blacksburg.

You get to a bowl game. The coaching staff is safe. And you chalked this up as a successful season and arguably one of the best wins in the last 25 years? I don't know if I'd go that far. 20 years? I mean, when's the last time? Was it 98 they've won in Blacksburg? Yeah, yeah.

I mean, think about that. Emily, my 26-year-old granddaughter, who's probably watching this show, she was born a month before the game when Virginia came back and won that game. And so all I have to do is look at her and I know how long it's been since they won in Blacksburg. And that's a long time. Not aging you, Emily, but in football terms, that's a long time.

That's a generation. That's a generation. Yeah, more than a generation. Yeah. That's a generation. Yeah, more than a generation. Yeah, and so it would just be huge for the program if they could end the season on that note, end the regular season on that note, and qualify for probably a cold-weather bowl game in New York or Boston or Annapolis or somewhere.

But these players would be thrilled to death. Most of these guys have never tasted a bowl game or anything like that. Well said, Hootie. Final thoughts with the Manhattan-Virginia basketball game tonight. Was it John Paul Jones Arena, ACC Network? Yeah, well, the Jaspers come in at 3-2, Virginia's 3-2. I think Manhattan's last. They've won 3. I think they won all their home games.

I think they beat Army for their latest win. They're not a bad basketball team, but Virginia, they're essentially a rent-a-victim, as I like to call them, and Virginia should be able to win this game and get back on the winning track after what happened in the Bahamas. Hopefully that stays in the Bahamas. They were exposed to big-time college basketball facing Tennessee and a good St. John's program.

Their warts were exposed, perhaps a few Tennessee and a good St. John's program. Their warts were exposed, perhaps a few more warts than they even realized. They're going to have to go back to the drawing board and try to fix some of those things. Some of those things I think they can fix. Some of them it may take a while, but they learned what happens when you go up against a team that's got a little higher caliber athlete than you do. And, you know, that's just a lesson about where Virginia basketball is right now. They've got some good basketball players. They don't have a lot of athletes on this roster.

A lot of those other teams had not only good players but better athletes. Yeah. And very athletic, very strong, very fast. And they were exposed. And that's just where they are right now. And, you know, they missed out on a lot of those guys that they got visits from and tried to recruit and were in the final three, four, five, even two for a couple of them, and just lost out on them for whatever reason.

I don't know if it's NIL or something else, but even though they've upgraded the talent on their roster, they still aren't in the elite in terms of the nation in terms of attracting basketball talent. The warts I saw, outside of Day Day Aims, there's not many guys on this roster that can create off the dribble to get a shot. No, there's not. I mean, it's Day Day Aims that can create off the dribble

and get shots for himself or others and no one else. TJ Power has been nonexistent since he's transferred from Duke and come to UVA, and he came with a lot of hype as a stretch big, and frankly, they need TJ Power to step up defensively as well. He's proven to be a bit of a liability defensively. They need his height on the roster. Rhodey's been a pleasant surprise. I've got to give Rhodey some props,

especially with how he was treated by the fan base last year. He's been a pleasant surprise. Teams are again gearing up on iMac, on McNeely, where if he's shooting the ball, it's feet behind the three-point line, as opposed to coming off screens, catch and shoot right at the line. And Elijah, the transfer from San Diego State, may be the interior offensive option they have, because to say Kofi is going to do it as a first year is unfair to a first year, to say you're the interior scorer.

The athleticism clearly is an issue here. And I'm not trying to raid on anyone's parade, and I know it's early. And I know they play Tennessee and St. John, two of the best teams in the country. Right. But when things get into the dogfight of the ACC, they're going to be facing talent like this. Yeah, and some people have criticized the ACC and say they haven't kept up with the SEC in terms of attracting that. That the ACC has basketball players, but the SEC has athletes.

And I think there is some truth to that. Seth Greenberg pointed that out to me two years ago. And because the SEC is spending tons of money on upgrading their basketball programs because they can now. And not to say the ACC hasn't, but you can look at the styles of play and it's a little different. But you're right, and Virginia's not the most athletic team in the world. They do have some good basketball players who some of them just haven't come around yet, and TJ's one of them.

I expect good things from him before the season's over, but right now he's just not there yet. I think Saunders will be that guy. Saunders is a beast. He's really good. Yeah. And I always thought Day-Day Ames was going to be the starting point guard. Yeah.

No matter if Worley stayed or not. And Blake Buchanan, I've noticed there's a little more aggressiveness, a little more physicality to his game. He's still not where he needs to be. Blake Buchanan doesn't seem to have the finishing skill around the rack. Yeah, and that's going back to strength, and that's something he's working on. And until some of these other guys can start making threes. McNeely's in trouble.

McNeely, he's facing the same problem as a year ago. Yeah. Because people know, like Anthony Calandria is the head of the snake for football. Well, he's the head of the snake for Virginia basketball. Excellent analogy. And if you cut him off and make the other guys beat you, you've got a really good chance of turning the tide. Final question for you.

It's the one we're all wondering here. James Watson on LinkedIn says, look, this is going to come down to NIL. And is UVA going to jump big in with the NIL? Or do you think that the football and basketball programs are going to deteriorate to what Vanderbilt has been in the SEC? That's a hell of a question. I mean, Virginia is Vanderbilt in football right now. Well, not even as good as Vanderbilt because they've turned things around in football.

Beat Alabama, for goodness sake. But, yeah, if Virginia can't make better use of the NIL than they have, yeah, they will be in that boat. There's no question about it. And it's the big cloud up there right now. We're all wondering exactly where Virginia stands in terms of NIL. We hear things positive. We hear things negative.

We really don't know. They're not telling us and one person from there told me jerry we don't want to be in the front of the bus but we don't want to be in the back of the bus either so i i don't know what that means exactly what does that mean uh it means that they do have NIL money available, but they're not going to, I don't think they're interested in getting into bidding wars with people for athletes. And I don't know in today's college athletic world if you can thrive like that. I just don't know if you can even survive.

Well, surely you can survive you just you you're not going to you're just not going to be a player if you don't go out and and fight like everybody else it's not an it's not a balanced playing field and if you're on the short end of the stick or the fuzzy end of the lollipop, I mean, you're in trouble, and there's nothing you can do about it. And you can't ask the coaches to coach to run their program with one hand tied behind their back. They've got issues, and they need a strong leader to figure this out. Hootie Ratcliffe, jerryratcliffe.com, namesake website, jerryratcliffe.com.

I'm going to highlight this again. I highlighted this at the beginning of the show. He's a humble man, and he would not bring it up himself, so I'm going to bring it up for a man I have tremendous respect for. Jerry Rackliff, a finalist for the National Sports Media Association, Virginia Sports Writer of the Year. He's won this award many times. He's a Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, and he's on a short list of some very accomplished people. And frankly

speaking, from my standpoint, his resume outshines his colleagues on this short list. So a 2024 NSMA Virginia Sports Writer finalist for the man behind Jerry Rackliff.com quite an honor for a man who certainly deserves honors like this. Paris Jones was fantastic. He set up this interview in conjunction with Jonathan Cotton. Um, I'm grateful to have spent 45 minutes with Paris Jones. Thanks to Hootie Judah Wickhauer behind the camera. I encourage all the viewers and listeners to visit jerryrackliff.com. I'm on the website two to three times a day,

literally, and I follow the man on Twitter. I'm going to be following him tonight. I'm going to be watching the game and then having my phone in my hand as he's live tweeting the game. That's how I've been enjoying basketball and football. Thank you to Hootie and to Judah and to Mr. Parisish-Jones.

The I Love Seville Show, guys, is up in 57 minutes. So long, everybody. That was awesome. It was a fun show. Absolutely. Absolutely. He's such a well-spoken. Thank you.