July 16, 2024 • 11 mins
Former Longhorn Legend and rising media superstar Fozzy Whittaker joins the program to discuss his foray from the gridiron to the media side during his first SEC Media Days.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
We continued from SEC Football Media Days, and as true a Texan As has
ever walked the face of the earth, joins us. And there's true at
Texas long worn as has ever walkedthe face of the earth joins us.
Now the gentleman known as Foz withWhitaker Fozzi, we all know him.
Great to see. How are you? I am doing fantastic first media day
a part of the media that I'mactually here on site. This is interesting.
(00:24):
Now you're gonna have to refresh mymemory on this eighth nine or ten.
Were you part of the Texas contingentthat went to Big twelve Media Days
twenty eleven? So was the onlyyear? Okay travel, Yeah, media
Days? And what were your memoriesof that when you came up? So
we were we might have been inthe Omni. I can't remember. I
(00:46):
think there was one year we werein the Omni. That might have been
when the Big twelve was trying torescue itself and the we're handing out backpacks
and everything. So I think itwas that year, if I'm not mistaken,
But we were in Dallas. Wetook a trip. It was myself,
Blake, Gideon and Keenan, Robyep, We've all three showed up,
came in and had an opportunity tospeak with everybody. And being on
(01:08):
the media side, it is hectic, but it doesn't feel as hectic as
it was as a player, asI was going from table to table to
table to table to table, talkingwith somebody, take a little break,
and then go talk talk, talktalk, and then it was all done.
But it was very quick. Itwas very thorough right to the point,
(01:29):
you know, talk to who youneed to talk to, and then
that was pretty much it, andthen we drove back to Austin after we
finished. But from the media perspective, right, we got sixteen teams split
up over four days. Being apart of this from this side of the
coin has been eye opening because Ihave much more respect. And I've talked
about this even whenever we were doingthe NFL Draft stuff, but I have
(01:53):
much more respect because these are notshort days like you all are on from
seven am all the way into theend of the media day finishes at four
point thirty five pm, and thereare people not just you all, but
across this entire ballroom doing the exactsame thing, pulling long days. Whether
(02:14):
you're on the air of the fulltime or sitting in press conferences or breakout
sessions or whatever it might be.It is straining on the body and the
mental side of it, where you'reconstantly taking notes, always having to listen
to what the next coach is saying. You got four teams, twelve different
players throughout the course of that,all four coaches. It's a lot to
take in if you're not prepared forit. But ultimately it has been a
(02:37):
fun experience. I've been absolutely celebratingthis opportunity in this moment. It's inaugural,
it's the big one right Texas andOklahoma first year, So being a
part of that, man, I'mtruly blessed and just appreciative of everything that
I've been able to experience so far. When you were a part of this
as a player, I seem toremember this is kind of how it went
(02:58):
down. Coach Brown would do athing where you guys would come in he
would not have seen you under NCAArules, to talk about stuff and how
the offseason workouts were going at thattime. Things have changed a bit now
since then, but the way Iunderstood it is you guys would go to
dinner the night before something sometimes andhe would want to know who's playing well,
(03:23):
who's working hard. That's where hesays he first learned really about how
great a quarterback Colt McCoy could bewhen he found out when they were all
saying, he's the guy, evenmore so than Jevin's need. He's the
guy the players of that. Soyou had that, and then there was
like this morning breakfast thing and meand a couple other media members would be
invited up to a private deal andwe would do that. Then they would
(03:43):
come in for the car wash allthe way around on that thing. But
it was always different and different backthen, even in the procedure of the
way it does it. So whatreally strikes you when you're here is it
just the the circus environment of itall. Is there always seems to be
(04:04):
like an intensity to get to thenext event, get to the next press
conference, get to the next breakoutsession, whatever it might be. I
think for me it's a slightly differentexperience. We're on a completely different floor
with serious XM, so like it'sit's not as hectic on the fifth floor.
I've been told it's quiet up there. It is very quiet, but
(04:24):
they bring in we have an opportunityto meet with the coaches. And I'm
working right now with Chris Buden Dustydevour Chek, who are also serious XM
and ESPN analysts and they carry theirown cash in respect. So yeah,
so the three of you are goingto get some respect from these coaches coming
in. That's the goal, right, We hope that's in case. But
we're working nine am to noon,so we're on a three hour time frame.
(04:46):
Then the afternoon crew shows up JacobHester, Chris Dorin and coach new
Heisel regular Heisel. So we kindof got shifts of how we split it
up. The early crew us wetake on the first two team. So
this morning we were able to speakwith coach Kirby Smart the Georgia constituents,
and then we had Josh Hipel inTennessee. And then this afternoon, you
(05:08):
know, the afternoon crew gets OklahomaBrent Venables and then they get Eli Drinkwitz
in Missouri. So it's been reallycool being able to number one talk to
these coaches. Right, I've nevergotten a chance to meet with Josh Haipel,
and I know he went to Oklahoma, but he still was a really
good quarterback and what he's been ableto do at Tennessee, considering coming off
(05:29):
of the infractions that they had andtheir story is just incredible. With what
he's been able to do in house, he's been able to revolve the talent.
Hearing his players talk about him wasreally pertinent. Hearing Georgia talk about
what made Kirby smart who he isthat was really impressive. Same way with
Shane Beemer right whenever his players talkedabout him and we got a chance to
meet with Luke Dody the athlete forthem, it was like unbelievable eye open
(05:55):
experience from him being in four differentpositions all throughout his then same way,
like it's just hearing the players talkabout their experiences but then reverting it back
to the characteristics of their coach asto why they chose that program or why
they're put into that position. Thatstands out the most to me, What
do you like most about being amember of the media now and what do
(06:18):
you like the least? I thinkfor me being able to talk with the
coaches on a more personal basis,right, this access I don't take for
granted because there would be no othertime frame that I would have the opportunity
to have fifteen to twenty minutes justto talk about ball, sure with the
coach. And that goes for anyhead coach, right for whatever school.
(06:42):
It's your pressed to be able tofind a window that you can do that.
So being able to have that typeof access the players, that is
also awesome. Right, it's acouple of players here that are way more
high profile. I really understood thatwhenever I came in and every single player
that walked into the room that wewere hold see the interviews inn had better
clothes, had better shoes, hadbetter outfits. Like my media day,
(07:05):
we had Chip issued polos. Likethese guys are walking in full Gucci suit
with Gucci shoes and the belt andthe Gucci lapel pin and product shoes,
and it's it's unbelievable, custom tailoredfitted suit. It's it's unbelievable what these
(07:25):
guys wear. Like, man,this is a draft fit wear on draft
night. These guys come and suitedand booted for the media days. But
I think that access though, beingable to see that, being able to
interact with them, talk to them, just have that connection piece and then
just talk ball. Right. Ilove football, So being able to talk
ball and understand what has made yousuccessful, what have you learned from previous
(07:47):
seasons, or what's getting you tothe next step in your career. That
is what is invaluable to me.But the thing I hate the worst that
I dislike it probably, Man,I'm hard pressed right now to find that.
It's maybe the travel, maybe havingto fly or drive to where you're
(08:11):
going, and rather I just wishI could snap my fingers and be on
that charter there right now. Justhey, take care of me, let
me be there and I don't haveto worry about it. Fast forward through
the travel park, just end upthere because I'm excited, Like whenever I
go to bed at night tonight,for instance, Man, I'm like,
I can't wait to speak tomorrow toKaylin de Bor, Like I can't wait
to speak to whoever right Sark's comingin tomorrow too. Obviously, I'm definitely
(08:37):
excited to talk to him about whathe has plans and the other three guys.
But like, that's where I'm at, man, It's it's not really
any lows in the business that I'veexperienced. So that's good. Fazi Whitaker
with us here for a couple moreminutes has the general conversation amongst the coaches
or players been it's Georgia to beat, and then maybe Texas as a shot
(09:01):
or Baby Alabama as a shot,But this is Georgia's league to win this
year. You know what I findthe most I guess interesting or ironic about
this time frame is that every coach, no matter what they did last year,
no matter whether they're at in theirprogram leading into training camp, has
(09:22):
this unwavering, like positive belief inwhat they have going on. And it
doesn't matter who you talk to,right Clark Lee all the way up to
Kirby Smart, Mark Dukes, SteveSarquisa, doesn't matter, Jeff Levy,
first year, doesn't matter. Theyall have this unwavering belief that they're going
(09:43):
to experience success this year in someform or capacity. That's before the first
ball is kicked off and before thefirst game is had, and then once
the season goes on, you startto really see where the level of operation
was, not just for the coachbut also the team, and where the
chemistry levels are, how do theygel, how do they mess together?
(10:05):
And then the talent and the depthlevel, because we know football is a
game of attrition and then you startto see the reality of Okay, some
of this was all talk, someof this needed to be addressed, some
of it was bad luck. Weknow how that plays into the role.
But I think that's always an interestingpiece to me, is the level of
optimism that coaches and players have goinginto the season. And then I would
(10:28):
love to interview them again at theend of the season, playback some of
the audio and be like, hey, remember, do you feel like you
were still successful in this aspect ordo you feel like you were able to
make the strides to make you whetherit's a better person, better player,
better coach, whatever the case maybe. But that optimism is something that
I've taken away from noticing everybody hasit, which is typical no games have
(10:50):
been played yet, But how doyou respond whenever you start facing adversity in
week number one or two or threeor four. Well, you are perhaps
the best example of overcoming adversity I'veever run across it, and so it's
always great to see you. Iappreciate, appreciate you. Stopping by Fazzi
Whitaker the Lifetime Long Worn. Youcan hear him on Serious XM from nine
to noon Serrius XM, Big twelveRadio, Right, not Big twelve?
What is it? SEC Radio?Yeah, we'll be I got so used
(11:13):
to saying that I've got to retrainthe brain. Yeah. I see all
the branding and I'm still like,oh yeah, this is not Big twelve
it Cats Pazia on Sirius XM.We'll bring in Conceivable to you coming up
next when we continue from Dallas atthe Omni Hotel on Sports Radio AM thirteen
under the Zone and the iHeartRadio app.
We continued from SEC Football Media Days, and as true a Texan As has
ever walked the face of the earth, joins us. And there's true at
Texas long worn as has ever walkedthe face of the earth joins us.
Now the gentleman known as Foz withWhitaker Fozzi, we all know him.
Great to see. How are you? I am doing fantastic first media day
a part of the media that I'mactually here on site. This is interesting.
(00:24):
Now you're gonna have to refresh mymemory on this eighth nine or ten.
Were you part of the Texas contingentthat went to Big twelve Media Days
twenty eleven? So was the onlyyear? Okay travel, Yeah, media
Days? And what were your memoriesof that when you came up? So
we were we might have been inthe Omni. I can't remember. I
(00:46):
think there was one year we werein the Omni. That might have been
when the Big twelve was trying torescue itself and the we're handing out backpacks
and everything. So I think itwas that year, if I'm not mistaken,
But we were in Dallas. Wetook a trip. It was myself,
Blake, Gideon and Keenan, Robyep, We've all three showed up,
came in and had an opportunity tospeak with everybody. And being on
(01:08):
the media side, it is hectic, but it doesn't feel as hectic as
it was as a player, asI was going from table to table to
table to table to table, talkingwith somebody, take a little break,
and then go talk talk, talktalk, and then it was all done.
But it was very quick. Itwas very thorough right to the point,
(01:29):
you know, talk to who youneed to talk to, and then
that was pretty much it, andthen we drove back to Austin after we
finished. But from the media perspective, right, we got sixteen teams split
up over four days. Being apart of this from this side of the
coin has been eye opening because Ihave much more respect. And I've talked
about this even whenever we were doingthe NFL Draft stuff, but I have
(01:53):
much more respect because these are notshort days like you all are on from
seven am all the way into theend of the media day finishes at four
point thirty five pm, and thereare people not just you all, but
across this entire ballroom doing the exactsame thing, pulling long days. Whether
(02:14):
you're on the air of the fulltime or sitting in press conferences or breakout
sessions or whatever it might be.It is straining on the body and the
mental side of it, where you'reconstantly taking notes, always having to listen
to what the next coach is saying. You got four teams, twelve different
players throughout the course of that,all four coaches. It's a lot to
take in if you're not prepared forit. But ultimately it has been a
(02:37):
fun experience. I've been absolutely celebratingthis opportunity in this moment. It's inaugural,
it's the big one right Texas andOklahoma first year, So being a
part of that, man, I'mtruly blessed and just appreciative of everything that
I've been able to experience so far. When you were a part of this
as a player, I seem toremember this is kind of how it went
(02:58):
down. Coach Brown would do athing where you guys would come in he
would not have seen you under NCAArules, to talk about stuff and how
the offseason workouts were going at thattime. Things have changed a bit now
since then, but the way Iunderstood it is you guys would go to
dinner the night before something sometimes andhe would want to know who's playing well,
(03:23):
who's working hard. That's where hesays he first learned really about how
great a quarterback Colt McCoy could bewhen he found out when they were all
saying, he's the guy, evenmore so than Jevin's need. He's the
guy the players of that. Soyou had that, and then there was
like this morning breakfast thing and meand a couple other media members would be
invited up to a private deal andwe would do that. Then they would
(03:43):
come in for the car wash allthe way around on that thing. But
it was always different and different backthen, even in the procedure of the
way it does it. So whatreally strikes you when you're here is it
just the the circus environment of itall. Is there always seems to be
(04:04):
like an intensity to get to thenext event, get to the next press
conference, get to the next breakoutsession, whatever it might be. I
think for me it's a slightly differentexperience. We're on a completely different floor
with serious XM, so like it'sit's not as hectic on the fifth floor.
I've been told it's quiet up there. It is very quiet, but
(04:24):
they bring in we have an opportunityto meet with the coaches. And I'm
working right now with Chris Buden Dustydevour Chek, who are also serious XM
and ESPN analysts and they carry theirown cash in respect. So yeah,
so the three of you are goingto get some respect from these coaches coming
in. That's the goal, right, We hope that's in case. But
we're working nine am to noon,so we're on a three hour time frame.
(04:46):
Then the afternoon crew shows up JacobHester, Chris Dorin and coach new
Heisel regular Heisel. So we kindof got shifts of how we split it
up. The early crew us wetake on the first two team. So
this morning we were able to speakwith coach Kirby Smart the Georgia constituents,
and then we had Josh Hipel inTennessee. And then this afternoon, you
(05:08):
know, the afternoon crew gets OklahomaBrent Venables and then they get Eli Drinkwitz
in Missouri. So it's been reallycool being able to number one talk to
these coaches. Right, I've nevergotten a chance to meet with Josh Haipel,
and I know he went to Oklahoma, but he still was a really
good quarterback and what he's been ableto do at Tennessee, considering coming off
(05:29):
of the infractions that they had andtheir story is just incredible. With what
he's been able to do in house, he's been able to revolve the talent.
Hearing his players talk about him wasreally pertinent. Hearing Georgia talk about
what made Kirby smart who he isthat was really impressive. Same way with
Shane Beemer right whenever his players talkedabout him and we got a chance to
meet with Luke Dody the athlete forthem, it was like unbelievable eye open
(05:55):
experience from him being in four differentpositions all throughout his then same way,
like it's just hearing the players talkabout their experiences but then reverting it back
to the characteristics of their coach asto why they chose that program or why
they're put into that position. Thatstands out the most to me, What
do you like most about being amember of the media now and what do
(06:18):
you like the least? I thinkfor me being able to talk with the
coaches on a more personal basis,right, this access I don't take for
granted because there would be no othertime frame that I would have the opportunity
to have fifteen to twenty minutes justto talk about ball, sure with the
coach. And that goes for anyhead coach, right for whatever school.
(06:42):
It's your pressed to be able tofind a window that you can do that.
So being able to have that typeof access the players, that is
also awesome. Right, it's acouple of players here that are way more
high profile. I really understood thatwhenever I came in and every single player
that walked into the room that wewere hold see the interviews inn had better
clothes, had better shoes, hadbetter outfits. Like my media day,
(07:05):
we had Chip issued polos. Likethese guys are walking in full Gucci suit
with Gucci shoes and the belt andthe Gucci lapel pin and product shoes,
and it's it's unbelievable, custom tailoredfitted suit. It's it's unbelievable what these
(07:25):
guys wear. Like, man,this is a draft fit wear on draft
night. These guys come and suitedand booted for the media days. But
I think that access though, beingable to see that, being able to
interact with them, talk to them, just have that connection piece and then
just talk ball. Right. Ilove football, So being able to talk
ball and understand what has made yousuccessful, what have you learned from previous
(07:47):
seasons, or what's getting you tothe next step in your career. That
is what is invaluable to me.But the thing I hate the worst that
I dislike it probably, Man,I'm hard pressed right now to find that.
It's maybe the travel, maybe havingto fly or drive to where you're
(08:11):
going, and rather I just wishI could snap my fingers and be on
that charter there right now. Justhey, take care of me, let
me be there and I don't haveto worry about it. Fast forward through
the travel park, just end upthere because I'm excited, Like whenever I
go to bed at night tonight,for instance, Man, I'm like,
I can't wait to speak tomorrow toKaylin de Bor, Like I can't wait
to speak to whoever right Sark's comingin tomorrow too. Obviously, I'm definitely
(08:37):
excited to talk to him about whathe has plans and the other three guys.
But like, that's where I'm at, man, It's it's not really
any lows in the business that I'veexperienced. So that's good. Fazi Whitaker
with us here for a couple moreminutes has the general conversation amongst the coaches
or players been it's Georgia to beat, and then maybe Texas as a shot
(09:01):
or Baby Alabama as a shot,But this is Georgia's league to win this
year. You know what I findthe most I guess interesting or ironic about
this time frame is that every coach, no matter what they did last year,
no matter whether they're at in theirprogram leading into training camp, has
(09:22):
this unwavering, like positive belief inwhat they have going on. And it
doesn't matter who you talk to,right Clark Lee all the way up to
Kirby Smart, Mark Dukes, SteveSarquisa, doesn't matter, Jeff Levy,
first year, doesn't matter. Theyall have this unwavering belief that they're going
(09:43):
to experience success this year in someform or capacity. That's before the first
ball is kicked off and before thefirst game is had, and then once
the season goes on, you startto really see where the level of operation
was, not just for the coachbut also the team, and where the
chemistry levels are, how do theygel, how do they mess together?
(10:05):
And then the talent and the depthlevel, because we know football is a
game of attrition and then you startto see the reality of Okay, some
of this was all talk, someof this needed to be addressed, some
of it was bad luck. Weknow how that plays into the role.
But I think that's always an interestingpiece to me, is the level of
optimism that coaches and players have goinginto the season. And then I would
(10:28):
love to interview them again at theend of the season, playback some of
the audio and be like, hey, remember, do you feel like you
were still successful in this aspect ordo you feel like you were able to
make the strides to make you whetherit's a better person, better player,
better coach, whatever the case maybe. But that optimism is something that
I've taken away from noticing everybody hasit, which is typical no games have
(10:50):
been played yet, But how doyou respond whenever you start facing adversity in
week number one or two or threeor four. Well, you are perhaps
the best example of overcoming adversity I'veever run across it, and so it's
always great to see you. Iappreciate, appreciate you. Stopping by Fazzi
Whitaker the Lifetime Long Worn. Youcan hear him on Serious XM from nine
to noon Serrius XM, Big twelveRadio, Right, not Big twelve?
What is it? SEC Radio?Yeah, we'll be I got so used
(11:13):
to saying that I've got to retrainthe brain. Yeah. I see all
the branding and I'm still like,oh yeah, this is not Big twelve
it Cats Pazia on Sirius XM.We'll bring in Conceivable to you coming up
next when we continue from Dallas atthe Omni Hotel on Sports Radio AM thirteen
under the Zone and the iHeartRadio app.
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