Quincy Avery Effect, The (2025)

[bunniefuu]

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 sh*t 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 sh**t 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 sh*t

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 sh*t.

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 k*ll 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 b*mb.

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 r*cist,

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 ba*ls.

- The plyo ba*ls?

- 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 *-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 *-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,

ba*ls 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-a*s 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 sh*t 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