The Quincy Avery Effect (2025) Movie Script

When I look at success,
at, like, people who've achieved
a level of success...
..
I'm always really happy they've got
the thing that they were hoping to get.
But, I'm always cautious
of what comes with it.
Like, what were the difficulties
that you had to go through
to get this level of success?
Cried all my tears
Can you pass this
to Deshaun real quick?
- I just wanna show
you one little clip. Alright.
And if you could just
paint the picture to me
about, like,
what was that moment about?
Watson moves to his right.
- Launches a deep throw
down the field!
We lost that game
and I missed a couple throws
that I usually make.
I don't like to wait.
I like to just go in and fix it,
correct it, so I can move on
to the next thing.
One of the most
important days for my success
was, I get a text.
Deshaun said he needed me,
their game just ended.
So, I'm like,
"Alright, I'll be right there."
I land and I go right
to the stadium.
We go through every play,
come up with detailed notes.
And I'm like, "Let's go throw."
And there's a reporter up there
who catches it,
Aaron Wilson,
he records it.
He posts it on social media.
It's like a big deal
because NFL quarterbacks
don't work out right after the game,
that's unheard of.
Quincy is amazing.
That following Sunday,
Deshaun throws for, like,
400 yards, three TDs.
A week ago,
Deshaun Watson stood on the turf
in an empty NRG Stadium.
Whatever he learned that day,
he put it to great use today
against the Falcons.
What a performance
by Deshaun Watson.
- He's ridiculous.
- Deshaun Watson is a star.
And then on Sunday Night Football,
Tony Dungy's like...
He got his personal
quarterback coach...
- Mm-hmm.
...Quincy Avery,
- to work with
him after the game. Mm.
Came out 28 for 33,
- 426 yards,
five touchdowns. Right.
- Maybe somebody needs
to hire Quincy. Maybe that's right.
I don't think some people
realize how valuable it is
to just be able to pay
your own rent every month
and not worry about like,
"Am I gonna be okay?"
All those things were tough
to envision for me, at a point,
'cause I couldn't get anybody
to train with me.
- It was a year from living in a car...
...just trying to figure out
how you're gonna eat your next meal.
But I don't get caught up
in, like, right now
or my comfort,
because that's fleeting.
- I'm always thinking about the long game.
How was I going to
lay my cards on the table
because these are the things that I want
and I was gonna do everything
I could to make it happen.
- Right!
- And then, boom, all of a sudden,
I'm living a life like
I couldn't have, like, dreamed of.
Quarterback guru Quincy Avery...
Quincy Avery, president at
an elite quarterback training program.
His clientele must be elite.
I can't stand Quincy Avery.
This is a guy who was
a Division-2 wide receiver
and then he wants to act
as if he's a quarterback guru.
What you're doing is working,
and they're making money
and having great careers.
Quincy Avery is somebody who I trust.
He's one of the best quarterback coaches
that I've ever worked with.
He's someone that
you're not just going to work out with
just to do the workouts
and not talk to him again.
He's somebody that, you know,
you can chop it up with about life.
He's one of the best to do it,
and he can relate to me
and, you know, other Black quarterbacks,
in terms of what we have
to go through to be successful.
Hey, guys, let's go!
I've helped hundreds of young men
get college scholarships.
I've trained more NFL quarterbacks
than anybody in the world.
There's some kid today
who could be the star quarterback
of an NFL team ten years from now,
who's not being given the opportunity
to be the quarterback
of their ninth-grade football team.
And that's really what I hope to impact.
Keep moving through the throw.
I'm saying, like, it's not necessarily
the football that we're trying to emulate.
Literally, the whole point
of how we're training
is to help you guys--
when shit happens in games,
that you guys can self-organize
and make a throw on the ball
and be in a contentious spot.
We're showing you different ways
to do all the things that we talk about.
Set. Hut.
-
Good.
Hey, so, Malik,
did you know you got a 32
on the-- on the one event?
I don't know how I got that.
But I ain't cheat though.
I ain't cheat though.
They can't say I cheated.
I ain't finish neither though.
- Huh?
- I ain't finished.
- I had like ten questions left.
- ...like ten questions.
To be able to play
at the college level is a huge deal.
But now that there's one
more step above that,
that they know
that they're on the cusp of,
and it means so much to me to help them
take that next step in their journey.
- Set. Hut.
- Get it. Good--
No, too quick.
Don't be in a hurry.
Quincy has always been straightforward,
and he's gonna shoot it to you honestly
so you can, you know,
get the most out of it.
I mean, he's not gonna sugarcoat it
'cause that's not gonna help you
at the end of the day.
No, no, no, no.
- Jesus!
- Damn.
- What I did wrong that time?
- You only took two steps.
He thought I j-- I, like,
got mad at him for some shit
that he didn't do wrong.
When I was in college,
I was throwing it great
but my feet were horrible.
And we kept doing drills,
and I would keep messing up,
and then make a great throw,
and then I'd be talking back to him,
like, "Yeah, you see that?
Yeah, yeah." Just popping it.
Set. Hut!
What-- what was that you're doing?
I don't wanna hear that shit.
He was like,
"That's not gonna get it done.
"Like, you could throw it,
but you gotta be able
to do the things that take no talent,
you gotta do it the right way."
Set. Hut.
Yeah!
- There it is.
- Yeah!
And I think it's an understatement
to say training with Q
changed the mindset that I had
about the sport in general.
- Set. Hut.
- Get out.
Yeah, good job, Lik.
Black quarterbacks
are often given the perception
of us not being able to make
accurate passes and great decisions.
So, everything that I'm doing
is aimed to fight the stigmas
that we face because of that.
I just take my foot around
and be able to go...
When I was really little
and I got to see Warren Moon
being one of the very few
Black quarterbacks
that we had to look at or emulate,
he gave a lot of young Black men
who wanted to be quarterbacks hope.
I started learning about all the things
that Warren Moon had to go through.
He had to show and prove over and over
that he was one of the best,
just to get an opportunity.
It's just what they did, because they
didn't think we were smart enough.
And you could talk about anything else,
but when you really drill it down,
they didn't think we were smart enough
to play the quarterback position.
You know, I've heard all my life,
"Black quarterbacks
are running quarterbacks.
"They're athletes back there.
They're not pocket passers.
Might not be as smart with
the X's and O's," things like that.
Quincy knows, you know,
what the Black quarterback goes through
or what we have to go through in terms
of what we have to go through in life.
Black quarterbacks
are the same as white quarterbacks,
it's just oftentimes they had
to go through a little bit more
to get to where they are now.
It is gonna be more difficult
because we're a Black quarterback,
but we're not gonna let that be
the reason we say we didn't make it.
I think a lot of the reasons
I do what I do
is because there wasn't somebody like me,
for me, when I was growing up.
I didn't have, like,
an older, like, person
I could lean on for advice,
or I could talk to about things
that were going on,
or even with someone there to push me
to let me know, like,
"This is what is required
to get the things that you want."
But I can be that for somebody else.
Hey, you can either go out
on a right-foot double tap if you want
or we can go left-foot lead.
Aye. That's really good.
My mission is to make sure
there's no quarterbacks
who feel like you're in it by yourself,
that there's no support system.
I want you to know that there's a lot
of Black quarterbacks out there
who've been through the same things
that you're going through,
and that you have a community.
My philosophy is,
you don't know what is the moment
that can change your life,
for good or for bad.
And wherever you can help out,
you should help out.
I think about, like,
the C.J. Stroud situation.
And he needed some help to get there.
The first time I met Q
was in Long Beach,
at Elite 11 at the regional.
The thing that I
talked about earlier
and that you guys happened to miss,
if you're confused,
just ask some questions.
If you guys are not saying anything,
you're not gonna get where you wanna go.
Elite 11 throws a number
of regional camps across the country,
and then they invite the top 11
high school quarterbacks to the finals.
And these quarterbacks
often go on to be the face
of not only college, but the NFL.
Set. Go.
Right read! Right read...
And he's watching me,
you know, he was like,
"Man, who are you?"
And I'm like, "Uh, I'm C.J."
And he was like, "Okay,
I'm gonna check you out today."
And I was like, "Bet."
Ooh!
Let's go, C.J.
Set. Go.
Good read, good ball.
I'm doing good in the drills.
I'm putting all the money.
C.J. was so locked in,
from on the field to the playbook.
But I didn't get the invite that day.
Jack Miller, where you at?
Our MVP.
Going to the Elite 11 finals.
Come on up, Jack.
Man, I remember, I was hot.
And he texted me,
he was like,
"Bro, come to the one in Oakland."
So, my mom, she did a great job
hustling up some money
for us to get a hotel.
We was in the hood, but...
Here we go, C.J.
The next day, I get up.
I kill it again, like,
I'm doing really well.
- Hey, that's ice cold.
- Yes, sir.
That's ice cold.
Great job.
But, don't get the invite again.
And I was like,
"Man, I spent all this money,
my mom sacrificed, like,
working extra hours."
Like, I'm like, "Dang, like,
man, I let my family down."
But Q was like,
"You should just reach back out."
And I was like, "Bet."
So, what I did, was I started DMing
and emailing part
of the Elite 11 team every day.
C.J. gets singularly focused,
and he's just all in.
Mom.
Mama, guess what?
They invited me.
Oh, my God.
They invited me.
C.J. is the absolute last person
who was picked for the Elite 11.
That's a great throw!
C.J. was so locked in
on every single thing that was going on.
Set. Hut!
You could see his confidence
growing with every single throw.
Every opportunity he had,
he took full advantage of.
Stroud, with loads of time,
fires over the middle
hits a wide-open man.
Eyes downfield,
finds a man in the back of the end zone!
And our overall Elite 11
quarterback MVP for 2019,
C.J. Stroud!
And I won MVP.
He goes out there
and goes from 24 to one.
Unheard of.
And before we left there,
I called Ohio State, I said, "Look,
"this is the quarterback
you need to get from this class.
Like, you need to make sure
you get C.J. Stroud."
I'll probably get in trouble
for this, I really don't care.
Q actually paid for me
for a flight and a hotel to--
'cause it was an unofficial visit,
and Q paid for it.
Q paid for me to go.
Man, it makes me wanna cry.
Um, because like, bro,
like, no one trusted in me.
I don't think bro knows this,
but like, it meant the world--
and he was there with me the whole time,
like, never left my side.
And, like, bro didn't know me that well,
but he just trusted me, you know?
The Ohio State.
-
I am committing, like, two weeks later.
At the time,
I didn't have my father in my life.
I had other father figures,
but, like, you know,
none of 'em would, like, do that,
and like, bro, it just meant the world.
Quincy was one of the first people
to tell me I was special
and tell me that I had a real talent
and that I could take it
as far as I wanted to.
I don't know if he knows that,
but I'm just very appreciative
of it, you know, so...
He's just been, uh, really
just a role model in my eyes.
There's these little moments
where if you don't do everything right
and it doesn't go your way,
if you don't just catch one little break,
your life could be dramatically different.
That's why you gotta present yourself
as the best version of yourself,
every single day you wake up.
I think that's the thing
that I learned from my mom,
probably more than anything.
Hey, love.
- How you doing?
I'm good.
You see this tree right here?
We'd be at the tree.
It'd be me, Sean, and Terrell
and we would play football.
So, if you crossed over that
last steps in the brick house...
- You'd score.
- ...if you made it past--
I always saw him
as a quarterback.
I've never played
any position in football
other than quarterback,
until I got to college.
But it was just quarterback.
But that's all I'd seen.
And my dad was a quarterback,
my dad coached quarterbacks.
I envied my dad,
and him playing sports,
and him being a quarterback
growing up.
There was nothing else in my life
other than wanting to be a quarterback.
That was everything to me.
Being a Black quarterback at that time,
I knew I couldn't play anywhere else
but in the Big 10.
The Big 10 was loaded
with African American
quarterbacks at that time.
And the University of Minnesota,
they had a history of Black quarterbacks.
Sandy Stephens opens the fourth frame
with some beautiful faking.
Sandy Stephens was one of the first
African American
All-American quarterbacks.
Stephens passes perfectly
to Tommy Hall on the Purdue three.
Tony Dungy had an impressive career
with the Golden Gophers,
named Minnesota's MVP,
chosen as team captain in '76,
recognized as an All-American contender.
Tony was the personification
of what a quarterback was in my mind.
So, it was nowhere in the world
I was going anywhere else
but to the University of Minnesota.
One of our coaches came in
and said, "We've got this young man,
we think he has potential
to be a great quarterback."
Sure enough, they were right.
They'll start Wendell Avery.
He, uh, came in, right away,
dug his heels in,
and we've been friends ever since.
Tony Dungy was definitely a mentor
as far as how to do things
in this confined area
of being a Black quarterback.
After I left, he got a chance to play,
and they did some good things.
Quarterback Wendell Avery
unleashes a 45-yard bomb.
Hauled in!
A 21-yard pickup and a fresh
set of downs at the Gophers' 46.
When I was a young kid,
you would see how people revered him
as that quarterback
from the University of Minnesota.
Wendell Avery, fires deep...
- ...for a huge gain!
He just gave me like a--
a tremendous sense of pride.
Then, to go see him
thrive as a coach.
I really just thought my dad
did everything the right way.
Once I made the decision
that I was gonna coach,
I wanna be perfect,
and that was my driving force.
I wanted to be better than most,
and that was my mindset.
I'm always gonna be better than most.
And from there,
I got a call from Coach Dungy.
Said, "You ready to go?"
I said, "I'm ready to go."
Next thing I know, I'm in the NFL.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And I saw how all the stars
of that football team
gravitated towards my father.
I don't think that you could put
into words, like, how good that feels,
as a little kid, like, to know that
your dad is, like, that revered.
I remember he had this big
S-Class Mercedes
when I was a little kid,
and he would put me in the front seat,
and I'm like,
"Like, my dad is like a superhero."
Me having a son
has been the highlight of my life.
I tried to do as much as I can,
as often as I can, with him.
There's not a city or a town
that I coached in
that Quincy hadn't been a part of.
I wanted to make sure
that he was exposed
to what I was doing
and how I was doing it.
But not only that,
I just wanted him around me.
Being a father and being a coach,
it's a lot of movement.
So, I missed a lot of Quincy's stuff
because I was coaching.
But he used to send me clippings
when he was in high school,
that he was one of the top passers
in the state back then.
We're at Washburn High School
where I grew up.
Played quarterback here.
So, like, when you're a little kid
and you're in this neighborhood,
every Friday night when you drive past
you'd hear the announcers
and all the stands getting filled,
you'd be like, "Man, I can't wait
until I'm that guy,
like, doing those same things."
And then, you do it.
I know that somebody's gonna be
driving down 50th Street,
they're gonna look,
they're gonna see these lights on,
and they're gonna be seeing me,
and you're gonna hear that
"Touchdown Millers," right?
You get to hear that.
And then the stands would be full
every week 'cause we never lost.
It was-- you were like a rock star.
A lot of the confidence that I have now,
being able to walk in a room
and feel like I am who I am,
is because of things
that I did while I was here.
You know, I talked to Quincy
about how there's a lot of parallels
between being a Black quarterback,
man, and father.
We have to set a standard
that's a little different than most.
You have to be on your P's and Q's,
and I guess that's with us in life, also.
Life for African Americans
is uncomfortable
and it's just something that I understood
that he would have to face
as a young Black man growing up.
In high school,
Quincy had been telling me
that his teacher was racist,
and that he didn't like him
or the other Black students.
So, there was an assignment
that was due,
and the teacher gave him a D.
And one of his friends said,
"I bet you if I turn it in,
I don't get a D."
So, he scratched out the D,
turned the exact same paper in.
And the teacher graded it
and gave him a much higher grade.
That felt like a lot
of what we experience
as African Americans.
We claim that things
are just merit-based.
Like, "If you do the work, we'll put you
in a position to be successful."
But that situation showed me,
like, you can do the work,
you can do it exactly how
it's supposed to be done,
but there's still some guy
who gets to choose his own criteria,
say that this was good
enough or it wasn't.
That was just one grade that he gave me.
But that man
didn't stop teaching that day.
Like, his bias gets to continue
to affect kids,
day after day after day.
And it's little things like that
that can have lasting impact,
so that when you look
at yourself in the mirror,
you start hearing the voices of the people
who didn't think you were good enough
and you start hearing them yourself.
And that's impact that people like that
have on many young
Black and brown kids today.
There is bias by so many people
on what they think a quarterback
is supposed to look like.
EJ Colson is someone I've trained
since they were in middle school.
And even though EJ has always
wanted to be a quarterback,
he's faced a lot of the same roadblocks
that so many other
Black quarterbacks face.
And that's coaches
trying to move him to different positions.
Football is my passion.
I want to go play football
for ten, 12 years.
From the time he was five,
he has always wanted
to be on that football field.
- Oh!
- Whoo!
Through the years,
there's so many coaches
that have seen his athletic abilities
and they always wanna move him
to something else.
Yes, he could do that.
But he's a quarterback.
So many times,
the young kids that I see
who really want to be quarterbacks,
and the coaches
just don't see 'em that way.
It's not because they're a bad kid,
it's not because they're not talented.
It's because somebody
who's been really important to them
has never looked like Black folks.
And that's really what I hope to impact,
to show these people
that that young man can do all the things
no white quarterback can do.
EJ, come demo one!
Kick back, kick back,
shuffle, evasive.
Go.
EJ and I worked hard together,
and when he got his chance,
he did everything he could with it.
Biggest moment,
it was my first varsity game,
and the night before,
like, I cried out of joy.
Like, it's finally here.
Like, I waited so long to get here.
And I threw my first touchdown.
- We won.
Everybody told me
I was an athlete.
Nobody believed in me
being a quarterback,
so it was like,
they can't tell me nothing now.
Like, I've done it,
I've done what they said I couldn't do.
It was just amazing.
The thing about EJ
is he just kept working hard.
He kept his head down,
kept his goal consistent
so that he could get the opportunity
to be a quarterback.
But what happened with him--
and the story's like as old as time--
Black quarterback does really good,
but, "We're just gonna move you
to wide receiver."
Tony Dungy orchestrated
the most dominant scoring drive
of the Gophers' season.
Playing in college,
it was pretty popular
to take good athletes
and move them around.
Dennis Franklin won 30 games
in three years,
but then they told him, you know,
"If you wanna play in the NFL,
you have to change positions."
Rookie Dennis Franklin,
once a Michigan quarterback,
made the move to wide receiver
and established himself
as a deep-threat starter.
I talk about Warren Moon
a lot with this because
he had to run his 40s
slower intentionally,
so that they didn't move him.
Back in that day, if you had
the ability to move around and run,
they considered you
a dual-threat quarterback,
which still,
there's definitely a stigma to it.
Growing up, Peyton Manning
was the standard for quarterback.
Pocket passer, stay in the pocket,
try not to run, try not to take any hits.
There weren't too many, you know,
dual-threat rushing quarterbacks.
I remember in high school,
man, like, I would go to camp,
and they would write,
"dual-threat" on your name tag.
And dual-threat just came with the stigma
of, "This guy just likes to run around.
He's not gonna sit in the pocket,
he's not gonna make reads."
In the National Football League,
we've been the victim of,
"Well, we've always done it this way."
The quarterback
had to be 6'4", and strong arm,
and only function in the pocket,
and be this type of leader
that everyone looked at.
Sports is very much a business,
and you can't forget
the people evaluating,
the people in the decision-making
of who gets the role,
the people in the decision-making
of who cuts the check,
having fundamental interests
and being able to look at the screen
and identify yourself as the hero.
So, what we have is
a large population of people
not getting the chance
just based upon how they look.
So, you have a guy like Warren Moon,
Offensive Player of the Year,
led his team to a Rose Bowl victory,
and he didn't get drafted.
So, for six years, he was in
the Canadian Football League,
until he got the chance in the NFL.
I had total confidence
in what I was doing on the field
and my accomplishments
spoke for themselves.
The only part that I was worried about is,
how would I be perceived by white America?
Because there's a certain
percentage of society
that doesn't like Black people.
One day in Cleveland,
we were winning the game,
and, uh, it was on my birthday.
I had thrown
five touchdown passes that day,
and then all of a sudden,
our head of security comes over
with two police officers,
and-- and they, uh, surround me.
And he says, "Warren, there's been
a death threat on your life
and, uh, we gotta make sure
you get off the field safely."
But that's one of the reasons
why I decided to play this position,
because it came with a lot of pressure.
There was a huge responsibility
every time I went out to play
because I needed to
represent for my race,
because I felt it.
I felt it from fans,
I-- I felt it from people
that came up to me in grocery stores,
just walking down the street.
I had to take that baton
and do what I could do
for that next generation of guys
to get more opportunities.
Back when I'm in high school
and my dad
was coaching
for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
I'm watching football
and it's a Sunday night game.
And across the ESPN ticker, it says,
"Wendell Avery missing from the game."
That had a-- a real shift
on, like, how I saw things
and I saw him,
because you did all these things,
like, you made all these steps,
all these sacrifices,
spent so much time away
from, like, me, your son,
to go coach
all these different places.
And then,
you just gave it up.
Right?
Over something so-- so stupid, so silly.
All I wanted to be
was an NFL coach, period.
That was my whole life.
To get in the room,
finally be there...
and piss it away,
makes no sense.
A year after that, he's my coach
at this camp that traveled
around the country.
- And we go to the first stop.
We get to a hotel.
We're there, and he's like,
"I'ma get out real quick.
I'll be right back."
Wake up the next morning,
he's not there.
My dad left me in a hotel room...
because of his addiction.
That was when I really had
an understanding, like,
he may love me,
but at this-- this time,
he loves this other thing more.
That's kinda when I started, like,
to see my dad different.
I probably just started
seeing the world different.
It wasn't just him, but it's like...
damn, people can--
can really let you down.
It was a very hurtful
and impactful experience
that could have really destroyed Quincy.
He was very angry.
Hey, how far are you away?
Probably 15-20.
Have you been there before?
Yeah, that's where I had
my surgery and everything.
- Okay.
- Uh,
it should be
on the third floor.
Alright.
I'll be there in 11 minutes.
Alright, bet.
Today was supposed
to be his first day throwing.
So, headed there now to see
what the doc says,
in regards to him being able to throw.
I thought 2023 was gonna be
a big season for Deshaun,
but shortly after he really
started to hit his stride,
he his shoulder.
Can Cleveland turn things around at home,
and put one in the win column,
against Tennessee?
Watson fakes the handoff,
breaks free, battles through defenders!
Another day of practice for the Browns,
another day without
Deshaun Watson participating.
The quarterback remains
sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Browns' quarterback saying
he hasn't been able to fully throw.
When asked if he thinks
he'll be able to get back to 100%
at some point this season,
Watson said quote, "I'm not sure."
Watson, back out
with the team, throwing the football,
hoping he might be back
against the Colts.
Empty backfield on third and seven.
Watson senses pressure closing in.
Watson said,
"I'm praying," as to the shoulder,
it's not anything worse."
A must-win AFC North battle in Baltimore.
The ball comes loose,
scooped up,
thrown to the end zone!
Browns pull off the win, 33-31!
Deshaun Watson is set
to undergo season-ending surgery
for a broken bone
in his throwing shoulder.
He's been on the field
for just one full season
in the last two years.
It's been nothing
but disappointments...
- Yeah.
- ...with this contract
since the moment that they traded
for him and signed it.
It's already going down as
one of the worst contracts in NFL history.
I cannot believe that he'll
be full strength next year.
I mean, even if he is,
fragility is the number one
on-the-field issue for him.
- What's up there, brother?
- What's up with you?
Is, uh, Dr. Rob here?
Yeah, he said he should be
pulling up right now,
or he already should be here.
Are we throwing at UCLA?
- Or you wanna throw somewhere else?
- I was gonna figure out everything now.
I only throw like three times
a week for right now.
- But not far?
- Not far, like--
Because I ain't even
thrown a football, so...
- Well, you said--
- I just been throwing
- those little weighted balls.
- The plyo balls?
- Mm-hmm. Okay.
- Let's do it.
- How you guys doing?
- How you doing?
Alright. How you doing, sir?
My concern is,
do you remember that thing
I used to tell you about,
like how he was having you
do those warmups
and plyos and opening your hip?
Remember all that stuff?
No, no, I don't think that
with the things
that he's doing rehab right now,
are setting you back.
I think...
Mm-mm, I think that he's--
I'm on board with him doing that.
I think that everybody is.
I-- I am-- I--
Well, I have real conc--
I don't want him to do anything like,
"Hey, no, your body should be moving
like this when you throw."
It's light, but we got
12 days to throw, bro.
So, literally,
whatever you need to do, I'm here.
You know what I'm saying?
Heading to the field now.
Trying to see if he's gotten stronger.
He can't even--
he can't even really throw for real,
like, we ain't have--
Oh, he's not ready?
Basically, what they told him
was like, "Yeah, not yet."
- But they didn't--
- Ah.
But kinda, but-- but not yet.
Can't risk it for sure. Yeah.
So, we were getting ready
to go through the college process,
like finding teams,
I'm sending out my highlight tapes.
And then there was a bunch
of HBCUs that offered me.
And my mom's like,
"You need to go to Morehouse.
"It's the best HBCU
there is in the country.
I want you to go there."
My freshman year, I redshirted.
And then, like, I know,
"Hey, I might start this
next year, but I might not."
Like, there was a good chance
I wouldn't.
My whole life, I thought
I was gonna be this quarterback, right?
That's the whole thought.
Like, I'm gonna be this quarterback.
But at that point in time,
in my heart of hearts,
I knew that I wasn't talented enough
to go to the NFL.
You gotta be bigger,
you gotta be stronger,
you gotta be faster.
So, I was trying to take matters
into my own hands.
Coach is like,
"Yo, you'd be a starter
at wide receiver for us right now."
I just-- I love football.
I wanted to do it.
One of the oldest
rivalries in all of college football,
Tuskegee and Morehouse.
Out of the shotgun is Sterling,
has a receiver open.
That's a first down
to Quincy Avery.
Completes his pass to Quincy Avery.
Throw over the middle, wide open.
Inside the 10,
inside the five,
to the end zone.
- Stretching for the pylon.
Give him a touchdown!
Quincy Avery
for a clutch catch-and-run,
takes it to the house.
So, I graduate from Morehouse, I'm 22.
At that point in time,
like, my new vision
was gonna be NFL,
college head coach.
Like, that's the thing that I wanted.
So, my dad called UCLA.
His buddy, DeWayne Walker,
had just left.
He was like, "Yeah, I'll try
and help you out, I'll make a call."
Right? So, I drive from Atlanta,
clear across the country,
to Los Angeles, California.
So, I see Coach Neuheisel,
who was the head coach at that time,
walk in the office.
He sees me on the couch and he's like,
"Yeah, what are you doing here?"
I'm like, "I want a job."
He's like,
"Man, that's not how this works."
Goes back to his office.
He comes back out that evening,
I'm still there, right?
He's like, "What are you doing?"
Like, I'm like, "Oh, I want a job."
He's like, "That's not how it works."
He leaves.
He comes back the next morning,
I'm there on the couch.
Same spiel. "What are you doing here?"
"I want a job."
Comes out that day, he's like, "Yo,
if you're here tomorrow, we can talk."
Walks in, of course, I'm there.
Goes into his office,
calls me back,
and he's like,
"Look, we don't have a position for you,
but you can volunteer.
You interested?"
Of course.
I didn't really think about
what that looked like.
Volunteer.
You're not getting paid,
but you're expected to work
like a-- a full-time coach.
And at that time,
I was living in a locker room
because I don't make any money.
I can vividly remember, like,
seeing $4.39 in my bank account.
Like, stuff like that,
it was-- it was miserable.
Just not making any money,
not having...
any way to really provide for yourself.
So, you-- you--
you master survival skills.
This is at a time where UCLA
was even tripping about,
like, giving us food.
So, the coaches would have us
go get the dinner, right,
before we got into our staff meeting.
And I would just get,
like, four to-go boxes.
That to-go box would have
to last me that lunch,
that dinner, the next morning lunch,
and whatever I wanted to eat
in between.
You really learned how to, like,
just be okay in a world of suck.
I'm sleeping on a carpet,
throwing a couple blankets down
and just sleeping on top of that,
barely getting any rest.
That sucked.
I needed to be in the office
every day at 4:30,
leave at 11:30, midnight,
when the head coach left.
Sleep, work all day, work all night.
Live in the locker room.
Eating the same things
over and over again
because I couldn't afford anything else.
So, that was the first year.
The next year,
I got like $1,100 a month,
which was not enough
to live anywhere.
So, for two years...
- ...I just grinded that out.
It becomes so watered down
nowadays, 'cause, like, it's a clich.
It's like the Black athlete story
of like-- but it's real.
I remember I used to wear
these small cleats.
Like, I-- I wore a 13 in high school,
and I had size, like, 10-and-a-half,
all I could afford.
And I've always had
kind of bad eyesight.
Played with one contact in my eye,
and I, like, savored that contact.
Like, I, like, treated it like it my baby,
'cause if it ripped,
or it broke, or it fell out,
I wouldn't be able to see at practice.
And I never said a word to my mom
because I already knew she was--
she had a lot of pressure,
she was already going through enough.
Like, I remember coming home,
my mom was just, like, crying
about, like, bills
and like, worrying about, like,
we didn't know what--
what was gonna happen next.
It was hard and I remember, like, man,
I devoted my life to sports after that.
Yeah, man, there's so much adversity
I-- I faced early in my life
with, uh, family issues that we had.
My dad was my role model,
you know what I mean?
He's the one who taught me everything,
was always the one person
I always could, uh, rely on,
and go to and ask questions to.
But he passed away
when I was 14 years old,
so going into sophomore year
of high school.
But once I started getting
a couple offers in football,
I was like, alright,
this is gonna be my sport.
This is gonna take me to the next level,
take me to college,
let me get that education,
get school paid for, all that.
You know, talk about NFL talent.
It's 'cause of throws like that.
Jordan Love
finding the hole in the defense.
And Jordan Love gets the touchdown.
That's when it really hit me, like,
alright, I'm gonna go to the NFL
and keep taking this football route
as long as I can.
The Packers will pay Love $220 million,
making him the highest-paid
quarterback in NFL history.
That's the dream,
you know, you make it to the NFL.
You wanna be able to help
my family out with everything.
As a Black quarterback,
I just remember my dad
telling me in middle school, like,
"You're gonna have to be twice as good
as a white quarterback to, you know,
get the same amount of credit."
Growing up, I had a lot of raw talent.
You know, I wasn't really
too big on my fundamentals.
I didn't have any offers.
So, in my sophomore year
in high school,
I started training with Q.
He taught me a lot of new stuff.
As I got better, as I started
to progress as a quarterback,
uh, you know, I kept moving up
in the ESPN ranking.
To the point where it was me
and Trevor Lawrence at the top,
we were at, you know,
number one and two.
The wait is over.
Quarterback Justin Fields
made the big announcement.
Quarterback Justin Fields
took off his Harrison Hoyas jersey
to reveal a University of Georgia jersey.
I ended up committing to Georgia
and, you know, going to Georgia.
But Georgia just played
at the national championship
the year before with Jake Fromm,
who was still there.
So, I played a little bit
in my freshman year.
I didn't play as much as I'd like to.
But you know, I did what I could
when I got in the game.
Justin Fields in.
The game, we played
Tennessee my freshman year,
I scored two touchdowns.
Justin Fields.
Touchdown, Georgia!
Then, you know,
Coach Smart was putting me in,
taking me out, putting me in,
taking me out.
Now, Fromm back in.
And there was a fan in the stands
who, um, when I got taken out
after I scored a touchdown,
he said, "Put that N-word back in."
There was a group of girls right below him
and he just kept yelling it.
They asked him to stop.
He just kept, you know,
saying it, saying it, back and over.
"Put-- put that N-word back in."
After the game,
it was kind of a big story.
An incident unfolding
at the University of Georgia.
A former Greensboro High School
baseball player
is being accused of shouting racial slurs
at a football game
to quarterback Justin Fields.
That was the low point for me.
I mean, just the emotion.
The biggest thing with Q
and what he preaches is, you know,
staying even-keeled and kinda having
that, you know, "Eff it" mentality
and, um, you really can't be fazed
by anything.
So, it's really just how you
react to the negatives
and that defines who you are as a person.
Later in my freshman year,
I was with Dwayne Haskins,
we were working out together with Q,
and I found out that Dwayne
was declaring for the NFL.
And because I didn't know
how long I would have to sit
to, you know, be the starting
quarterback at Georgia,
so I felt like it was
a good opportunity for me
to, you know, go up at Ohio State
and compete for the starting job.
Major news here in college football
that's involving Justin Fields.
Fields is expected to transfer
to Ohio State.
He had worked out with
private quarterback coach Quincy Avery,
who had Dwayne Haskins,
so he has a really good sense,
from what I'm told,
what it's like at Ohio State.
But the big question is gonna be,
can he get eligible this year?
Fields will appeal the NCAA rule
forcing him to sit out next year.
Q brought up the idea of using
that, you know, particular situation
to get immediate eligibility
the next year to play at Ohio State.
It's not just about
on-the-field techniques.
It's me making sure that I exhaust
every resource available,
figuring out every way
that we can work around a situation...
so that they can get
everything they deserve.
I learned a lot of life lessons
from Q and his journey.
He said, "No matter who you are in life,
you're bound to face adversity,
"you're bound to face challenges.
"But it's the way you handle 'em
and the way you bounce back from 'em
that shapes you to be the person
who you're gonna be in the future."
So, I just kept working at my position,
and I just kept getting better and better
and better and better.
And it really wasn't till
my first year at Ohio State
where I was a Heisman finalist
where it was like,
alright, I actually have a chance
to go to the NFL.
Buckeye Pro Day
there on the campus of Ohio State,
and a look at Justin Fields
live in his throwing session.
Once in the discussion
for the number-one pick,
Justin Fields is now
the third-ranked quarterback
on Todd McShay's big board.
He's fifth on this one.
It just seems that
Justin Fields' stock is falling.
How does the season end?
And without a game being played,
without an interception being thrown,
without a turnover being committed,
this brother dropped
to arguably the fifth-best quarterback.
Well, how the hell does that happen?
What seems to happen when
we're evaluating Black quarterbacks,
there are subtleties that
Black quarterbacks get critiqued with.
They say certain things that their
counterparts never get critiqued with.
Justin Fields,
his reads are still developing
and his mechanics need fine-tuning.
I always hear,
"Black guys are very talented,"
as if Black quarterbacks
aren't hardworking,
they're just God-gifted,
have this natural ability.
He's got an absolute cannon for an arm.
His athleticism is next-level.
But success still comes down to
precision passing.
-
Yes, Justin Fields!
Another throw, on the move,
on the money.
When you do what he's done
and you have the rsum that he has,
and then that gets ignored,
I'm just saying like, damn.
It's disheartening to see that,
because how much do you
need to be able to do?
With the 11th pick,
my Chicago Bears select
Justin Fields, quarterback, Ohio State!
I'm ready to work.
There's been too much talking lately.
I'm just ready to work - that's it.
The media picks
and chooses on who, you know,
they wanna talk good about
or talk bad about.
People saying,
"Oh, he's a running back, da-da-da-da.
He can't throw, he can't read
a defense, this and that."
I do think, in a sense,
that has something to,
you know, do with my skin color,
at the end of the day.
Not too long ago,
many of the top Black quarterbacks
would go undrafted.
And I know we're not at
that point anymore, but in today's age,
Black quarterbacks find themselves
sliding down draft boards.
And that's why I'm here,
so that they know that I have their back,
and they know that there's a community
of people around them
that believe in them.
We got draft prep going on.
I think the general
consensus of these guys
that are getting ready for the draft
is just nervousness, right?
Because you don't know where you're going,
what's gonna happen,
where you'll get picked up,
if you'll get picked up.
So, it's probably one of the most
difficult points in your life
as a, uh, athlete.
Emery, don't get too wide, right?
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three.
It's not make the move and-- Nah!
Make one move,
get your feet in the ground.
I want the quarterbacks
who are in my ecosystem
to see themselves.
No matter what people say about you,
the opinions that they have,
the no's that they tell you,
you get to write your own story.
Do you see the difference?
- Yeah.
- You stopped,
rotated around, and the ball
jumped outta your hand.
That's what we trying to get.
Working with someone
like Jalen Hurts,
he has that unwavering faith,
despite how many times
things may have not worked out
like they were supposed to.
Like, growing up,
he was always a great football player,
like, high school, all those things.
But he was someone
who didn't make the 11 at Elite 11.
He's not the most
naturally gifted person,
but he's the hardest worker
you'll ever meet.
And so, every time he came back,
he was better than he was before.
Jalen, he's a very reserved guy,
and I imagine the only people
who really get to the inside
are people who have been
around him a lot.
- Mm-hmm.
- But when did you first meet him?
So, I think I met Jalen when he was 16,
but I didn't really start
working with Jalen
until after he had got benched
from, uh, that National Championship game.
- My God!
- You weren't there.
It was one
of the most awful, deplorable,
embarrassing, impotent performances
that I have ever seen.
People in that situation
look at every single person
other than themselves.
But he turned inward,
and the only thing he thought about
was, "How could I improve so this
doesn't happen to me again?"
- Full cadence.
- Wide 80. Wide. Set. Hut!
Everybody in the game of football,
is gonna have situations
where they don't play their best.
Now, we'll go red zone.
But that's where you have
to push through and persevere,
because when you keep doing that,
eventually, the universe
will bend to your will.
Whoo!
If you want it bad enough.
Who you reading here?
Outside, in man.
In man on the line of scrimmage.
That draft prep with Jalen Hurts is
probably the most I ever grew as a coach.
What if you get free access
and they're giving you cover three,
and we got passed off in switch team?
Keep my corner same to my seam.
Getting here.
We built this Pro Day script
and it was so meticulous.
You got the, uh, OTB.
You're gonna be on the right side.
And he would scratch things out,
put it back in, and scratch it out.
Yeah.
Perfect tempo.
I'd like to know
the player whose draft stock
that you think will rise
the most at the combine.
I'm going with Jalen Hurts.
Coming out in the draft
that year, everything you asked me to do
during the pre-draft process,
Jalen Hurts crushed.
Jalen Hurts is a name on the rise.
Now, his stock seems to be climbing fast.
There's clearly been progress.
His footwork's sharper,
his release is more compact.
It reflects who he is as a player,
and I've become a huge fan.
He's really impressive.
At Oklahoma's Pro Day,
Jalen Hurts is out there slingin' it.
He put on a flawless
performance in his Pro Day,
hitting every kind of throw
one could have asked for.
Some had him as a fourth-rounder,
but I don't see him falling
past the second.
Excited to see which team
takes a shot on Jalen Hurts in the draft.
The Philadelphia Eagles
select Jalen Hurts.
We're on a bit of a run!
A lot of people thought Jalen Hurts
was gonna be like a third or fourth-round
draft pick or later.
The Philadelphia Eagles wound up taking
Jalen Hurts in the second round.
And that's the biggest example
of what Quincy Avery does.
Stick with it, grind, hustle
He can take a guy
who was supposedly broken,
who people have given up on,
Q takes those guys
and he gets them there.
Shine
Grind never stop, grind never quit
Gotta keep it movin',
gotta keep it goin'
Hustle hard, and it's showin'
Where I'm goin'
you ain't goin'
I think a lot of times
people get hung up
on the particular set of circumstances
they're in at that moment.
People don't understand,
like, that's fleeting,
that's gonna be here short-term.
But the things that you want,
like, you get the value down the road
from having those sacrifices.
Part of my job
was evaluating quarterback tape.
And I'd see so many kids
from the Atlanta area
and I'd be like,
"These kids are talented,
but they don't have the--
the technique or the tools."
- "Oh, he's just doing this wrong," right?
And there's these little,
small errors that they're making
that's preventing them from being
the best versions of themselves.
And I'm like, "I can help dudes
live out their dreams."
I saw a market, right?
The market was,
these young men need help,
and I saw a really simple solution,
like, I can help them.
When I'm driving across the country,
I'm thinking success looks like
I can pay for my own apartment
and have a car.
Like, that's what success
was looking to me like.
And I thought that it would
be really, really quick.
This is an untapped market.
There's kids who need help.
I thought that instantaneously,
I would have 12, 15 clients.
And it couldn't have been
anything further from the truth.
- So, I would spend hours
on Saturdays and Sundays,
going to youth football games,
cutting out flyers
and putting 'em on cars.
Marketing to these youth kids' parents.
Like, they're playing fourth, fifth,
sixth-grade football, right?
Their parents are all in, they're spending
their whole weekend there.
I would think that they would want
someone like me
to be there to help 'em,
and they weren't interested.
- I couldn't get anybody to train with me.
I couldn't get 'em to train
with me for free.
I couldn't get 'em to pay me to train.
So, that didn't work.
Being homeless in Atlanta
was really unique,
because if you'd pop
my trunk at any given time,
you were able to quickly see, like,
I had all my little duffle bags,
like rows in a dresser.
Homelessness
is a different experience
because to not have a space
to rest from the doubt
and the naysay
that may be in your own head,
especially as a African-descent male
who's looked at to be
a provider, a protector.
And your brain is then even saying, like,
"Man, you can't even
provide or protect yourself.
You should just give up."
Throughout the difficulties
and tough times,
I knew that I was gonna do the things
that I was passionate about,
and I wasn't gonna let anything stop me.
Then I'm like, alright, let me reach out
to these people on Facebook.
And I did this for hundreds of teams.
Get up every morning,
take a shower at the gym,
- and go right to Starbucks.
Find a kid, try and cross-reference that
with the parent on Facebook,
then try and make sure
that they're in the location
that makes sense for this kid.
And I'm doing this hours,
upon hours, upon hours.
And no one responded.
So, that's another five months,
so I'm like nine months in.
Then like, alright, well,
let me try high schoolers.
I tried to reach out to high schoolers.
Another three months,
nobody responded.
And I'm like, I gotta figure out a way
to get people to train with me.
There was a lot of risk
in what Quincy did,
in terms of his career goals.
But he was dedicated,
and he was willing to bet on himself
and sacrifice things that
other people wouldn't sacrifice
to accomplish what his goal was.
Man, do you know the level of resolve
and fortitude it takes,
night after night,
week after week,
month after month,
to look yourself in the mirror and say,
"Man, I believe in you, man.
Keep going"?
That's a different type of hustle.
So, my last-ditch effort was,
I'm going to come up
with a competition
that allows these top quarterbacks
in the state of Georgia
to compete with each other.
I came up with this formal,
like, invite letter,
sent it to the coaches.
On the back end, I sent a formal PDF
to their parents and the kid,
let 'em know that they're invited
to this one-of-one opportunity.
Little did they know
that I had to get the gym
at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday
because I couldn't afford time
to rent out a football field.
Nobody came to this event.
Not one person.
That was the hardest part for me,
because when you have an idea,
you know that it should work,
but you can't get people
to buy into your vision.
That's difficult.
At night, it's dark for everybody,
but it's definitely a little darker
when you can't see the light
of opportunity on the horizon.
I think that everybody, in their life,
at one point or another,
has an opportunity
where you get your big break.
For me, it was when Josh Dobbs
followed up with me.
And then, that was, like,
the first even inkling of momentum.
He hit me up on Facebook
in the fall of my junior year.
I think, at the time,
he would-- just had left UCLA.
So, he had the UCLA in his background.
So, it almost looked like
he was a college coach at the time,
reaching out for recruiting.
And he just said, like,
"Hey, I'm having a local camp
with some local high school guys.
We'd love for you to come out."
And well, I played baseball in the spring,
so I couldn't make the event.
Um, so I hit him up, said,
"Yo, I can't make the event,
but would love to do some work with you."
Quincy said, "Alright, perfect.
I'll have receivers there ready to go,
"and I'll have cameras so we can
just get a baseline
of your skillset, and go from there."
So, I had a boy who lived in town.
He had one camera, but he had
some other ones that weren't working,
like a GoPro that didn't work.
I'm like, "Bro, I need you
to come out here,
I need you to bring,
like, all your cameras."
He's like, "No, they don't work."
I'm like, "That doesn't matter."
Right? We gotta give him the illusion
like this is something different
than anything he's experienced before.
So, we pulled up at North Park,
um, he has the GoPro set up.
He, like, straps it to my forehead.
And we did a workout.
I remember his mom, like,
drives up on the curb
to watch the whole workout,
like, she's an attentive eye.
We get done, walk over to her.
Just hoping that he liked the workout.
She's like, "Yeah, well,
let me talk to Josh about it."
So, in my heart, I'm like,
"Damn, I really hope this worked out."
A couple days later,
Josh reaches out to me,
like, "How much can we work?"
I'm like,
"Man, we can work out every day."
Quite frankly, it was, like,
the most instructive,
well-run quarterback session
I'd ever had.
That throwing session
led to coming back the next Sunday,
which then led to coming back
the next Sunday after that,
which then led to, "Let's meet,
whether it's in Alpharetta,
or down in the city,
let's get a session in."
Same tight base, J.
Better.
We trained, like, four days a week,
balls to the wall.
Keep those knees up.
Shoulder.
He didn't have any scholarship offers yet,
so we went all in.
There! Now, Josh, do it in less steps.
Firm.
That's what I want right there.
See the difference?
When I met Quincy, it was probably
about a month before I was heading off
to my first Elite 11 camp.
And I am the second finalist.
So, me and Quincy continued our work,
we continued growing.
And by the second regional,
I had another good showing.
Ah! Nice!
And on national TV, I got invited
to participate in the Elite 11.
That's a touchdown!
Way to compete, baby.
Nice job.
And so, in that competition,
I went from being in the top 25
to being in the top 11 quarterbacks
of the 2013 quarterback class.
Having Quincy in that role
propelled me into one of 11,
and brought a ton of opportunities
for me to go on
and achieve my goals and dreams
on the football field.
Josh ends up getting
scholarship offers all over the country,
chooses to go to Tennessee.
He said something to me, like,
"Man, couldn't have done it without you."
And when I got off the phone,
I just started crying.
And that's the moment I realized,
it's bigger than football.
I'm sure as he's probably
shared in his side of the story,
I never really saw
that footage from the GoPro.
I don't think there was a SD card
in the GoPro,
is what I've learned over time, man.
But, for real, it wasn't about that, like,
I knew that he's just always
cared for me as a person
and me as a player.
And I think that's what
has always mattered to me.
This is, like,
EJ's third game on this team
since he moved
in the middle of the season.
It's really cool seeing, like,
him starting varsity games,
being the guy on the football field.
I've got to see a lot of guys
go through it,
but every time you see somebody
go through their own unique experience,
I think it's really cool.
My first thought before every game,
I say a prayer, God protects him.
He protects all the kids.
Here at Cedar Grove,
those coaches believe in him.
And I'm just so glad
that we can finally settle in.
And I love to see him play.
I love to see him
when he's in that mode.
- Young man, young man
- I know what he can do.
Trust and believe
I just know he's gonna do
great things.
Amen. Let's get it, y'all!
His name, everybody's gonna know it.
- How you doing?
- What's going on?
Hey. This looks good.
Let's see if it tastes
as good as it looks.
Where did you order it from?
- Huh?
- Where did you order it from?
I don't need that.
I don't need that, like, energy.
Actually, I made this.
This is lemon butter chicken.
Okay.
Hey, what was
the final score last night?
56-0.
Oh!
We mad.
We was mad about that, man.
- You're mad about that? Why?
- It was supposed to be 70-0.
- We was supposed to go 10-10-9.
- Y'all stopped scoring.
- Yeah.
- I thought y'all did it on purpose.
Like, trying to have
some class or something.
See, y'all was a little late,
so the food might be a little colder
than I think.
- Mm-hmm.
- But we about to see.
- Just make sure you get some of the--
- It's good.
- I appreciate that.
- Mm-hmm.
Hey, what happened on that, uh,
pass you didn't throw on the, the slant?
EJ, what are you doing?
That was not a good idea or decision.
Well, let's put it-- I didn't know.
I thought it was the bubble screen.
And then you found out later.
Yeah, it was a slant
with the bubble screen.
I saw the slant out the corner of my eye.
I said, "Oh, my God."
Mm-hmm. Like, those are big plays.
And I'd be like, I would agree on that.
Like, okay, you can do
a better job on that.
But I watched the game.
I'm like, you did some good things.
Like when you went flat escape right,
crossed your foot over,
you threw a perfect ball.
Good-ass pass, boy!
That was great.
Like, that's something
- we worked on all the time.
- Right.
Just the consistency
of, like, little things, like...
- Yep.
- ...throw a slant on time.
Throw a hitch on time.
Like, we know you're super talented.
So, you being super talented,
that'll get you a scholarship.
Get it there, EJ!
Yeah.
So, "Okay, cool,
I get to get a scholarship."
But that's not what lets you
play in college.
So, I just think in terms
of, like, your next steps,
you have to do a better job of knowing
what the defense is doing, right?
Because defenses work
in a structure, right?
Everything works together on a string.
Like, one guy can't come
unless the next guy rotates.
So, when you see the defense
go from an over front to an under front,
and the strong safety rolls down,
you already know, like,
"Oh, they're gonna bring Sam, Mike,
"strong safety's gonna
come down to the hole.
This is what they trying to do.
Here's how I beat 'em."
That's what you can do to defenses
if you understand what they're doing.
And I want you to be able
to play football like that
so you don't have
to overpower people with your skills.
- Mm.
- Now, it's like,
"I can do it with my mind.
And if that falls apart,
now, I'm still better
than you athletically."
- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
If we can do those things
in this off-season,
that takes you from being, like,
"EJ is a good quarterback,"
to, "EJ is now one of the best
quarterbacks in the state,"
and then everybody--
and then your mailbox is full.
- Yeah.
- Quarterback Takeover's there to help you,
so we're gonna put the things in place
for you to get the attention you need.
- But we gonna do it.
- Fo' sho'.
We can make it happen.
You got everything you need.
- Oh yeah.
- We just gotta put the work in.
Let's get it.
So, at that point in time,
I had Josh and we worked out a ton.
He was getting ready to go to Tennessee
and I was starting to get younger kids.
'Cause younger kids would
see me working with Josh.
Josh was always super helpful in me
finding and training other kids.
This guy has helped me become one of
the top 11 quarterbacks in the country.
Clearly, he knows what he's talking about.
He deserves, also, to be able
to teach, and coach,
and mentor the next class
of quarterbacks across the United States.
I'm moving back, I'm escaping, escaping,
and using my core to still get it there.
So, next year,
when I was an Elite 11 alum,
I had the opportunity
to take Quincy to Elite 11
and introduce him to the coaches.
And he brings me up there
when they all know Josh,
and they're talking about how good
his fundamentals were,
how polished he looks.
A couple days later,
Trent Dilfer calls me, he's like,
"Hey, we're building
the staff for Elite 11."
And I said, "If you wanna earn
this thing, you gotta come to Columbus."
He had brought
all the top quarterback trainers
from all across the country.
I'm nobody at this time,
but no one really is.
Like, this is a new industry.
I put him on a drill
I really cared about.
We're, like, nervous,
'cause every time he walks by,
like, "Did-- did I coach that
exactly how he wants it?"
He was not just coaching the drill,
but he was playing
the outside rush backer.
And he's running around,
sweating like a dog.
I thought I was gonna pass out
because I was trying to coach so hard.
And then we get done, and I'm like,
"Well, what happens now?"
- Couple days later, Trent's like,
"Yo, we want you to--
to be a part of the staff."
When I watched Q,
the biggest thing was that communication,
that engagement, the ability
to give 'em the why.
So, his was coaching always was,
"Hey, this happened,
and here's why it mattered."
And every kid that went
through that drill that day
- was better when they left.
Basically, from there is like
when my career took off, right?
Between that Elite 11 experience,
you know, Josh helping me out,
getting on that staff,
Trent Dilfer believing in me.
Coaching there, that's where I meet
Deshaun Watson, his junior year.
Deshaun didn't come from much at all.
Like, they're living in a house
that Warrick Dunn gave them.
So, here's somebody who had to work
after football practice
just to help out, right?
His mom was suffering
from tongue cancer,
and Deshaun basically had to be
a leader in that household.
Then Josh, probably, the exact opposite.
Josh's parents were always there.
So, it was like two different ends
of the spectrum.
Both super talented.
Deshaun's probably like the number-one,
number-two quarterback in the country.
Dobbs is like number 20.
So, they're both elite recruits.
Let's go.
But the common thread
between these two individuals
is just their work ethic.
Like it.
They both were willing to work
extremely hard to be successful.
Do it again.
Close your shoulder up. There.
Yes. Let the hem go.
Both throughout high school and college,
every break, they'd be working out alone,
they'd be working out together.
Yeah.
They both just decided
they were gonna work
as hard as they could at football
to be the best versions of themselves.
- Great.
- Get that again.
- Finish it.
- Last hard.
Treat it like two.
We ended up working on today
when we got on the field,
it was all about getting back on base,
back on platform, being able to drive,
stay big through my chest.
Right hook is the same thing
as throwing a football,
staying big, finishing,
really working towards greatness.
- Nice and right straight.
- Same thing.
Working towards greatness is what we on.
At that time, they both
go through difficulties,
but they're different.
Deshaun's were, like, at home,
all these different things,
like, difficulty, difficulty, difficulty.
Then when he goes
on the football field, smooth sailing.
Dobbs, at home,
everything's taken care of.
But when he goes
on the football field, it's difficult.
Yes, I'm their trainer,
but it's more like a big brother,
little brother situation.
So, seeing them battle
and just grow
through these difficulties,
it was really, really special.
Josh wins a TaxSlayer Bowl,
then he wins an Outback Bowl.
He wins a Music City Bowl.
He holds the single-season record
for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Deshaun Watson
was a two-time Heisman finalist,
Davey O'Brien Award winner,
national runner-up
and a national champion.
It's so cool to see these guys
go on this journey
where it's high school,
they're grinding it out, college.
They get to see this real success.
And then draft day, in 2017...
I mean, at that point, it's a culmination
of 20-some years of hard work,
like, them doing everything
they could to get there.
Seeing them getting drafted,
all I could feel is, like,
deep down, like, true happiness.
It wasn't about me,
wasn't about the business,
it was about them and--
and achieving their goals
and, like, seeing them happy.
You know, it's interesting because, like,
this moment when they make it to the NFL,
I mean, I knew it would be important
or helpful,
but you don't know
that basically from there
is like when my career took off.
Let's go, quicker.
Come on, come on, y'all.
Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
That's really good, E.
We have to move from one spot to another
and be ready to throw.
You guys got me?
I didn't know like,
"Okay, I'm successful."
Like, you might be in it,
you don't know it's happening
and then, boom, all of a sudden,
it's kinda like an avalanche.
- Quarterback guru.
- Quincy Avery.
One of the best
quarterback coaches
in the game, Quincy Avery.
I think that it's transformed to, like,
NFL coaches see me
when I walk into a building
and when I talk to them.
And now, I'm living a life
like I couldn't have dreamed of.
He putting all he got into us,
so we gotta put all we got into the game.
One of the coolest things is
I help hundreds of young men
get college scholarships, right?
Like, everybody doesn't make the NFL,
but I changed a hundred people's lives,
like, helping them get this scholarship.
I do understand it was your first day
and I understand
we were really, really hard on you.
But we expect greatness, alright?
We expect greatness with everything.
The way you do small things,
the way you do all things.
The things that I went through
made me really understand
that you need struggle,
because success
is kinda like a fast car.
Think like a Dodge Viper.
If that's the first car you get,
probably gonna it up.
Right?
You're gonna crash it.
Hey, man, hey!
All these extra steps don't work!
Then, you throw an interception.
Then, your girlfriend mad.
Then, your parents upset,
they sent you to damn camp.
Y'all get y'all minds right!
You need your Hyundai Elantra
or something like that.
You need to, like, go through,
like, some of the difficult times
so you can learn how to handle it.
I'ma build my guys up,
fill them with confidence,
and let them know the thing
that we have to worry about
is what is next?
How do we continue to being
the best version of ourself?
And that's what I lean on.
resilient.
Hey, when I got QB, you got takeover.
- QB!
- Takeover!
Today, I'm out in LA,
working with Deshaun
with ramping up his
throwing situation.
So, we've been managing workload,
managing workload, managing workload.
And now, it's time to, like,
just keep ramping up the deal
so that he's going to be peaking
when it's time to get back
to camp with his team.
It's been really interesting,
because you have one person
who is the most important asset
on a multi-billion dollar company,
and you happen to be the person
who works with them.
If it doesn't go right,
$250 million investment
in that person crumbles.
So, I'm speaking
with the trainer all the time,
and speaking with the head coach,
speaking with the staff,
constantly figuring out
where we are with the plan.
How do we make sure
that this looks right?
And I think that it's a unique position
for someone like me to be in,
because I-- I don't work for the team,
I work for him.
Early on in this process,
coming back from my shoulder injury,
I kinda wanted it to be one-on-one,
very detailed,
very point blank of just like,
"Alright, this is the things
that we need to work on
to get back to where we were before."
'Cause you know,
without throwing five, six months,
you don't lose it all,
but you kinda get little bit rusty.
You know, we wanna make sure
we fine tune things
so whenever we do, you know,
get back into live action
during training camp,
everything is clicking on point.
I don't even call him
my quarterback coach.
So, when people ask me,
I'm like, "That's my brother, Q."
You know, we go back
since I was in high school.
He was one of the first guys, you know,
thought something special about me.
I've known Deshaun
since he was... 10th grade.
It's not like someone who I just met,
a professional athlete,
who it's just been like
all great times, right?
I've seen the struggles,
I've seen where he grew up
in Gainesville, Georgia.
Like, I've seen the tough parts.
That connection, he understands me,
you know, he can keep it real with me.
He can always be honest
with me about everything,
on the field, but also off the field.
And I think that, you know,
he's a guy that I can look up to,
I can, you know, follow,
as far as just, you know,
being that man, that father,
that brother that, you know,
have a lot of experience
in this game and in this life.
Undoubtedly, people are gonna need you.
And having somebody's back is a choice.
Like, you get to make that.
You get to decide, like,
how you're gonna handle these moments.
The thing about, like,
Deshaun's situation...
...I remember when the first
allegation came out.
With 22 women filing these suits,
what can you tell us about
what actually happened
with these women?
In that situation, it was like,
"Alright, what do I do?"
And rather than waiting,
I drive to his house,
we sit in the kitchen
and we just talk, right?
I think that, at that point,
he just needed somebody to talk to.
I'm-- at that point,
I'm not a quarterback trainer,
I'm not any of those things.
I'm-- I'm just a friend, right?
And I think, in moments like those,
those are where your friends can step up.
I think it'd be easy for a lot of people
to, like, jump ship or abandon him,
'cause of the things that are going on
and how it maybe look.
But I-- I think that the things
that I went through
made me really understand
how important that was
to, like, just be there.
It's difficult for people of that stature
to find people who really
hold their feet to the fire,
like, "Man, we gotta do better
here, here, and here."
I'll critique you, like, I'll tell you,
you know what I'm saying,
like, "We gotta do better,"
but I'm not gonna abandon you.
These guys look at me
like a mentor or the brother.
And I think that, as someone
who's been, like, left at times,
where-- where I just needed
somebody to talk to
or I just needed a father,
I knew that I could be there
for him in those moments.
Quincy, he'd be there
for anything and everything.
You can call him
about something off the field,
you can call him about stuff on the field.
I feel like he's just straightforward
and can give you an unbiased opinion.
And I feel like that's more valuable
than a lot of stuff.
You know, you get
some coaches to where,
you know, you only communicate with them,
you know, on the field.
But with Q,
he's a person that you can trust.
Quincy Avery is somebody
who I lean upon,
uh, really since high school,
and has put a lot of faith into me
and confidence.
Also has stuck up for me
in a lot of different ways,
with ball, away from ball,
and really just been, uh,
really just a role model in my eyes.
Q found a way to connect
with his clients
in a way that most
quarterback coaches don't.
People who are excellent at what they do,
prove that, not only
by the results you get,
but by what you do to uplift
the people around you.
When you talk about
the Quincy Avery Effect,
I've seen the Quincy Avery Effect
in real time.
And you can't deny the results.
You want me
to grab something to dust with?
Or you want to just get 'em out first?
We'll just get 'em out first,
and then I got--
- We'll see how to arrange 'em.
- Okay.
Now, what about this big trophy?
Oh, that one need
to go up here first.
Uh, we grabbed the trophies
because it just told of our journey.
It's been a long, hard road,
but we finally made it
to one of the-- the top goals,
and that's college
and playing college football.
Yeah.
EJ my baby, that's my baby.
And I had already said, I didn't know
we were gonna be moving to Orlando.
But visiting here, it just felt like home.
And so, we ran it by EJ,
and he was like, "Okay, okay."
You know, it's like, three
or four more boxes of trophies, right?
You're not gonna be able to put
- all these trophies in here.
- Mm-mm.
EJ was able to maximize
his potential,
excel throughout
his high school career.
-
Won state championships.
Colson, looking deep.
Got a man open.
He's got him.
He just hangs it out there perfectly.
Cedar Grove, state champion.
EJ even left high school a year early
so he could get to college sooner,
because he's that talented
of a young man.
I couldn't be here without my family,
my coaches,
um, my teammates,
and my community.
Y'all are a big part of it,
for real, all of you.
I thank God and I love y'all.
So, with that being said,
I will commit
to the University of Central Florida.
The vision that we had two years ago,
was pick a good school,
what your major's gonna be,
and then the football will pay for it.
And it came to fruition.
That scholarship
wasn't given to him.
He had to work for it,
and sacrifices are a part of it.
If you want to get somewhere in life,
you will have to sacrifice
certain things.
You know, football,
it took me away from a lot,
you know, people would say you
not being able to have a "childhood."
But you know, when you get
to live a life like this,
just because we have
to sacrifice things like that,
it's-- it's a blessing.
Q deserves a lot of gratitude
for helping EJ get to the point
that he's at now.
- Where are you talking about?
- On the right.
Just the time that he spent
with him, not just on the field,
but the conversations
that they had out-- off the field,
uh, just helped EJ get to the next level.
He's only 17 years old
and he's already started
his first college game.
I'm hopeful that he's gonna
have an amazing career
and, eventually, the opportunity
to someday play in the NFL.
My parents mean everything
to me, um, you know.
For them to do everything they have done,
it's just them being them, and you know,
they never asked for anything.
Um, they never, you know,
threw it back in my face.
They never, you know, "We do this."
They do it because they love me.
It's just-- it's a blessing
to have, you know,
a supporting pair of parents like that.
I know that my dad
wanted to be a good father.
And I think that for most of my life,
he was a really good father.
It takes a lot of self-work
to, like, forgive somebody
and know that the things that they do
weren't intentional to hurt you.
It's just-- it's life.
None of it was intentional.
You know, from a young mind,
a young perspective,
you know, he has to process
and go through everything,
you know, for himself to--
to see what it was.
My feelings and love for my son
has never, ever changed, ever.
You know what I mean? Never.
But, you know, from my perspective,
perfection, guys.
I was a perfectionist all my life.
That devastated me more
than anything in the world.
But not only that,
it made me react to something
in a way that I probably shouldn't,
'cause I overdid it as far as
me punishing myself.
As a result of me not being
perfect no more, who was I?
I was able to forgive him
and we're able to move forward
and we're able to have
a great relationship,
because I do love him,
I do care about him.
And I-- I know that he means well.
Pops, you did well for yourself, man.
Uh...
I wanna let you know
that I do appreciate you.
Um, all the groundwork that you paved,
and all the things that you've done,
good times, bad times,
I saw you persevere.
And persevere through some
of the most difficult moments
that could break a weaker man.
And I think that me
being able to see that
has allowed me to do many of the things
that I've been able to do today.
And those things shaped me,
and have allowed me to shape
many young men who I see to this day.
So, I wanna let you know
I appreciate you,
they may not know this
but they appreciate you,
um, and I hope we get to
continue this for a long time.
- 'Cause I love you...
- My brother.
- I appreciate you.
- ...and I appreciate you.
Same here. Same here.
My relationship with my son has been, uh,
more than I can ask for, really.
Uh, as we continue to grow
and be around each other, you know,
with nothing but love,
and that's the way I want live my life.
You know what's crazy?
No one gets it.
As I was growing up,
I see my mom sacrificed a lot
to, like, make sure we always had
the things that we needed.
She laid the groundwork on what,
like, hard work looks like,
what commitment looks like,
and what sacrificing
for others look like.
And I think that's something
that has been paramount
in the things that I've been able to do,
to this day.
So, one of the coolest moments, to me,
and when I felt like
I was successful is,
I was fortunate enough to be able
to pay off my mom's house.
Read it. What does it say?
"4608 was the house
you made into a home."
And I actually had a picture
of my mom's front door.
It had the address on it,
and I'm just letting her know, like,
how special the memories were
that were created in that house,
and that, um, I just didn't want her
to have to worry about it anymore.
So, I was gonna take care of it.
And that felt good, um, for sure.
She-- she started crying,
like, some slow tears,
but it was-- it was cool.
That, to me, was probably the moment
I'm like, "Yeah, I did it," right?
And I've been on a football field
with everybody. Like...
everybody, like, I've been on a
football field with every single person.
But that moment was probably cooler to me
than all those other things.
Even though I can't repay
all the things she did for me,
I wanted to do something special for her
that I think that she deserves.
I've seen guys with
so much potential, like, not make it,
It hasn't been 'cause
they weren't talented enough
or didn't put in the work.
It's usually because things off the field
changed the whole trajectory
that they had been on.
Life is hard.
People get comfortable
in thinking that this is how
it's supposed to go.
It's supposed to be all butterflies,
and smooth, and gold, and...
Nah.
This shit is tough.
My mom told me
she had tongue cancer.
She was just like, you know,
"Things gonna be alright."
"And I just want you to--
don't worry about me.
"I'ma be fine.
"You just worry about taking care
of your little brother and sister
"with your big brother,
"and you be the best son
and be the best football player
you can be."
One thing I've learned
in this world, it's all about faith.
You have to surround yourself
with the right people, right,
that have faith in you,
that see the potential in you
that you see in yourself.
Q was there
right by my side dealing with it,
and walking through
this whole process with me.
And that was the moment where it clicked.
I took it to a whole 'nother level.
Being young, Black,
I was always looked at
as, like, negative or defensive.
I never really, like, got to have
those conversations with my dad.
You know, like he-- he raised me
until I was like-- like 12, 13.
And, like, for a young boy,
like, you need your father
to correct you in those moments.
And I initially didn't have that
at that time.
Back in high school
when I didn't have any offers,
I remember times in my, you know, bedroom
when I'm by myself,
just, you know, crying,
and you know, crying to myself
and just wanting an offer
from somewhere.
I just wanted
someone that believed in me,
my skills and abilities,
no matter what they looked like.
My dad left me in the hotel room.
And just learning,
like, in terms of football,
it had no impact,
because football's a thing
that was gonna be there.
It's not gonna, like, betray you,
or leave you alone,
or abandon you.
It's gonna be there.
And you have the ultimate choice
in, like, how this game is gonna go.
I get to lock in and focus
on the things that I want to,
and it's like an escape
from everything else.
Every time you step on that field,
it's like jumping out of a plane
and it's like, that-- that rush,
your-- your energy, the blood is flowing,
your heart's beating.
Being out there in front of those fans,
and I think adrenaline-wise,
the closest comparison
would be like NASCAR racing.
Football is special,
because it's one huddle,
one voice, one call to action,
and that's to win.
When you learn so much about yourself,
you know, the kind of person you are.
That's why football is special,
because it teaches you
so many life lessons.
But I love this game.
The game changed my life.
Football affords you,
I mean, the opportunity
to continue to play the game you love,
and get to become that superstar
that you looked up to as a kid,
which is, you know,
something that you always dreamed of.
To see Quincy Avery
help young quarterbacks
grow on the field, off the field,
grow as young men,
- teach them the game...
- Right! Left!
...especially when we have
the history where that wasn't there
for young African American quarterbacks.
And that's what Quincy's doing now,
and I think it's beautiful.
He believes in what he does
and he believes in the people
who he's trying to uplift.
- Look at Jalen.
Quincy Avery took this guy
who needed to find something
inside of himself
to see if he could reach a certain level,
and Quincy got it out of him.
Super Bowl 59 MVP,
quarterback Jalen Hurts.
I've helped people
just live their dreams, right?
And that's how I measure success.
I'm blessed to be in the position I am,
to do the things that I'm doing.
The next step for me is,
I'm going to be the voice
of the quarterback position.
You've gotta start putting quarterbacks
in the position to be successful.
We need you to be confident, right?
You cannot have a great quarterback
who's not confident,
there's no quarterback...
That I get a seat at that desk.
I get to shape the way
we view and analyze
these young Black quarterbacks,
so that they can get a fair shake.
That someone who looks like them,
has been through their experiences,
can see this from more
of an unbiased view.
But at the end of the day,
my job every time I go on that field
is to be the best version of myself.
Because I don't care
if you're in fifth grade,
trying to be the starting quarterback
on your middle school team,
or you're trying to win an NFL MVP.
Wherever you're at,
tomorrow's the most important day for you.
And I don't take that for granted.
- I love this one
Yeah
Aye
They say a quitter never wins
And a winner never quits
Aye
Better than ever, I'll say it again
Better than ever,
beginnin' to end
The road has been rough
but I'm here to win
Whatever it takes,
I won't ever quit
You could doubt me
That won't change much
And when you see me shinin'
Don't change up
Champion, overcomer
All year round,
winter, summer
Say champion, overcomer
All year round,
winter, summer
Yeah, they knock me down,
I recover
And I'm back now,
better than ever