Relatively Sports: Gary Basil Joins the Show
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Kevin Coke and what he wore.
00:12 [MUSIC]
00:15 >> And man, just keep doing what you're doing because you have a message.
00:19 [MUSIC]
00:29 >> I think one of the greatest college running backs ever, obviously,
00:33 in the history of West Virginia.
00:34 But also, if you look at the stats, what he did in college football.
00:37 [MUSIC]
00:40 >> All right, my Mountaineer fans, listen, I'm always blessed and
00:44 humbled to have a former teammate on,
00:46 especially from the golden era in the early to mid 80s.
00:51 And today, as always, I have one of my favorite people of all time on my show,
00:57 and I'm blessed to have him.
01:00 So Gary played tight end for you, and the interesting thing about it is,
01:06 we call him Doc.
01:07 So I'm blessed to be able to call him Doc.
01:10 >> Yeah.
01:11 >> Who allows us to do that.
01:15 I'm glad to do that.
01:16 So I'm gonna introduce none other than Gary Doc Basil.
01:21 And thank you for the- >> Hey.
01:24 >> Take a cup.
01:25 >> No, I appreciate it, Gene.
01:27 And it's funny, you say you wanted to call me Doc, and
01:30 a lot of people don't even know my name is Gary.
01:33 They call me Doc for so long, cuz when I came into West Virginia,
01:38 I had a nickname as Doc when I was growing up.
01:42 And so everybody called me that, and even in the recruiting documentation,
01:47 it had Gary Doc Basil, I think in the Daily Anthonym, it had in there.
01:52 And Holifield always tells a story that he said he was reading the paper, and
01:56 he was like, who is Gary Doc Basil?
01:58 I mean, who is this guy?
02:00 [LAUGH] So yeah, it goes way back.
02:04 >> Man, that's awesome.
02:05 And it's funny, you segue right into where I wanted to start.
02:08 I wanted to start in recruiting, you grew up in Virginia.
02:11 >> I did, yeah.
02:12 >> So tell me about the early years of, what made you love football and
02:17 the whole recruiting process, how did that go for you?
02:22 >> So the interesting thing, Gene, is so
02:25 unlike you and some of my fellow teammates,
02:28 I was a late bloomer growing up in Virginia.
02:32 I mainly played baseball, that was kinda like my main sport, and
02:36 I played some basketball.
02:37 And quiet as it's kept,
02:39 I never played organized football until my freshman year of high school.
02:44 I played pickup and tackle in the streets, and two-hand touch and
02:49 that kind of stuff, but never organized.
02:52 And so actually, when I went to high school my freshman year,
02:56 I remember like it was yesterday, the coach called us all in and
03:00 wanted us to go to our individual positions.
03:02 And most of my friends, they had played football for years and
03:06 they knew where they wanted to go.
03:08 And I kinda stood there trying to figure out what position I wanted to play,
03:12 cuz I'd never played before.
03:13 So I actually started out playing on defense.
03:16 I was a defensive end my first year in high school.
03:20 And then I guess what ended up being what would happen to me later in life,
03:25 my sophomore year, they moved me to running back.
03:29 And so we had a need for running back.
03:31 And so it took me probably a couple of years, probably that sophomore year and
03:35 my junior year to really kinda get my footing.
03:37 And I wasn't necessarily like you, a back that had was natural ability.
03:43 I kinda had to come into that over the years.
03:47 And so then my senior year rolled around, I put up some stats and
03:51 that's when schools started coming around and recruiting.
03:55 And cuz I had actually thought I was going to Virginia Tech just for schooling.
04:01 And then when the schools came come around and
04:04 wanted to offer me a scholarship, then I took my visits.
04:08 And I think I went to Maryland when my first visit since I was right here in
04:12 my backyard.
04:13 And one of my teammates, he and I went on that trip together as well as our trip
04:18 to West Virginia.
04:19 And I went on a couple of trips, but there was something about which, and
04:23 I'm not telling you anything you don't know.
04:25 But there was something about West Virginia when I went there,
04:29 how the people were and how I was treated.
04:31 And meeting Coach Ford and Coach Neal and
04:33 Coach Cressula was the running back coach when I was there.
04:37 And so I had a good feeling as far as just the university as a whole.
04:42 And then I thought that I stood a better chance of maybe playing earlier
04:46 at West Virginia than maybe some of the other schools that I visited.
04:50 >> Wow, and you know what's interesting once again, perfect,
04:53 you segue right into it.
04:55 I wanted to ask about, and you're right, Coach Neal and
04:58 Coach Ford, that staff was just so different.
05:01 It was different than any other school I visited.
05:03 It was different even with me going to Pitt and transferring in.
05:06 And I took five more visits, so
05:08 I got a chance to see ten schools in a short period of time.
05:12 And it was just West Virginia, Coach Neal and Coach Brown,
05:15 the rest of that staff was second to none.
05:17 So your experience with Coach Neal, and how did that play out?
05:22 Because he's such a different individual, and
05:25 I don't think people give him enough credit for
05:28 the character of the man that he is.
05:31 Forget the coaching.
05:32 Whenever somebody talks about Coach Neal, and they get into the records, and
05:36 wins and losses, I've learned as I've gotten older, Gary,
05:40 that I put that to the side.
05:42 I've learned from this man as a man.
05:46 He's a man's man.
05:47 And the character that he builds with other men and
05:51 other student athletes around him, that's what drew me to him.
05:56 What do you say to that?
05:58 I mean, your experiences with him, do you agree, disagree?
06:01 What do you think?
06:02 >> I 100% agree.
06:04 He was so genuine when I met him, and
06:08 he was very upfront in kind of his expectations.
06:13 And what he wanted as a player, and also just from a standpoint of schooling,
06:19 he wanted me to get a degree.
06:21 And he was really interested in what I was trying to pursue.
06:25 And yes, about my family after we met them.
06:30 So he just was a very genuine person.
06:33 You could tell that he cared about his players and me as a recruit.
06:39 So that was one of my main reasons to go into West Virginia.
06:43 >> That's awesome.
06:44 That's the takeaway that I've gotten.
06:46 That's the takeaway that, and again, I'm not talking about any other program.
06:50 I just know what worked for me at the time.
06:52 And like you just said, the fact that he was so genuine and caring.
06:56 And the funny thing is, he will tell you not what you wanna hear,
07:00 but what was in your best interest.
07:03 >> Right.
07:04 >> And I talked to him just last week, called him up.
07:06 I always call him a few times at each.
07:08 I try to reach out to him at least two or three times over a period of a few months,
07:13 just to check on him.
07:14 And I always tell him, coach, as I get older, thank you so much for being patient.
07:22 And he'll laugh, and he'll always say to me, you did more for me than I did for you.
07:28 He always says that, and I'm like, nah.
07:31 >> Right, right, right, right.
07:34 >> Because as you get older, you realize what that coaching was all about.
07:37 You know, the life experiences and the things that we learned from him.
07:41 I was gonna ask you, do you utilize some of those skills now in your current life?
07:47 Do you use some of the things that you learned from Coach Neal now?
07:50 >> No, I definitely do.
07:52 I mean, trying to be genuine with people that I meet, my dealings in work,
07:56 and just people I come across in general.
07:59 Preparation, trying to be prepared in the things that you do,
08:02 and being accountable for the things that maybe you don't do as well.
08:06 And all those things I kind of learned.
08:09 I mean, I learned, obviously, from my parents as well.
08:11 But when I got older and when you get to college, that's kind of you're developing to a man.
08:18 And Coach Neal had definitely some influence in that respect.
08:23 >> Absolutely. And again, it's awesome when I tell parents now when kids are being recruited,
08:29 and they'll call for advice or whatever, and I always tell them,
08:32 the things that you learn at home from your parents, whatever school you go to, big or small,
08:37 you want that extension of what you learned at home to carry over when you get to college.
08:43 And I know there are some people that say, no, no, no, you shouldn't look at it that way,
08:46 because a college coach is just that, he's a coach.
08:49 No, a college coach is actually a mentor and should be an extension.
08:55 I don't want my son to go someplace where we've told him one thing at home, he gets someplace else,
09:02 and it's the complete opposite.
09:04 It's like, wait, wait, hold on.
09:06 So I totally disagree with that.
09:09 Do you get a chance to go to many of the games?
09:11 >> Oh, yeah, I try to go.
09:12 As a matter of fact, my friends, I'm almost like, where's Waldo?
09:17 Because I try to go to at least four or five games a year, and whether that's home or away,
09:23 I started out trying to go to every away game, every stadium in the Big 12,
09:29 but now that there's more teams, it's going to be harder to do.
09:32 But I've gone to pretty much all of them except for the old existing ones.
09:37 I haven't been to Kansas or Kansas State or Iowa State,
09:40 but all the others I've been to, I've been to I think like four games this year.
09:44 I went to the UCF game.
09:45 I went to the Houston game.
09:47 I went to obviously the Pitt game.
09:49 I went to the Penn State game.
09:50 So, yeah, I try to go to at least three or four games a year.
09:54 That's one of my highlights.
09:56 And actually, when I first started going, I guess shortly after I started, graduated,
10:03 I wanted to try to make sure other people were going, and then I realized,
10:05 I'm like, you know, there's going to be somebody there that I know,
10:08 so I don't have to worry about contacting somebody to go to the game.
10:12 I know I'm always going to see somebody, whether that's Andra or P-Con,
10:15 I'm going to see somebody.
10:17 And, you know, we're all brothers, and there's people that I see,
10:20 and maybe I didn't have a real strong relationship with them during the school year,
10:24 but I see them at the game, and I'm happy to see them.
10:27 We dap each other up, and we got some conversation, get some jokes in.
10:32 So it's always a good time.
10:34 Absolutely.
10:36 And you don't even -- you may not remember this, but I'm going to tell you something.
10:41 When I transferred to WVU, when me and A.B. transferred in,
10:45 you don't know how you're going to fit initially, you know what I mean,
10:49 especially coming from Pitt.
10:51 Right, yeah.
10:52 Right.
10:54 So -- but I'm going to tell you something, Doc.
10:57 You were always one of the people that I've always looked up to because of your
11:01 nature and how you carried yourself.
11:04 And like anybody else, you're observing these things when you're younger,
11:08 you're trying to figure out where you fit.
11:11 I have to admit, that locker room was such a cool locker room because nobody
11:17 walked around with a false air about themselves, nobody walked around with a chip on it,
11:21 with an ego, whatever, and that was so engaging.
11:25 It really helped my transition and A.B.'s transition from when we transferred in
11:30 because we had to -- if you remember, we had to sit out that one year.
11:32 Right, right, of course, yeah.
11:33 That was tough.
11:35 So you and a lot of other teammates, man, made it a brotherhood.
11:39 So I didn't get a chance to do it then, so I want to thank you now for that
11:43 because that means more than you even know for a kid transferring into a spot,
11:48 again, especially coming from Pitt.
11:51 You just don't know.
11:53 So I want to thank you, my good brother, because you were always there,
11:56 always a minimal to whatever.
11:58 If I wanted to talk or conversation, always friendly and approachable.
12:03 So I need to thank you for that.
12:05 Oh, well, you're more than welcome.
12:07 You're talking about put on airs.
12:09 It's been my experience with our crew.
12:12 You couldn't put on airs because somebody was going to knock you down
12:14 or say something to you.
12:15 Who do you think you are?
12:17 So that wasn't really a situation.
12:19 You could be like that in our locker room.
12:21 And I love that because that wasn't -- I'm going to tell you, which is interesting,
12:25 and again, I'm going to give Coach Nealon a lot of credit for that
12:28 because that wasn't the atmosphere.
12:32 And I've told him oftentimes the way he recruited,
12:36 it's like he recruited the person, not the football player.
12:42 And I think he knew exactly what he was doing with putting certain things
12:45 together because in certain places I went where I'm like, wait a minute, no.
12:51 This ain't going to work.
12:53 No matter how big the program was, it was like, nah.
12:58 Go on the WVU.
12:59 I got it real quick.
13:00 Nah, this is literally a brotherhood.
13:02 And these guys you're going to be friends with many, many years down the road.
13:07 Look at this.
13:08 Oh, 100%.
13:10 You know what I'm saying?
13:11 That was more important, I think, to him in building a nucleus of just good
13:15 people versus a whole bunch of -- you know, of course, we had at Nantz's
13:20 five stars, but I can't stand five stars, four stars, all that garbage.
13:23 We didn't have that back then.
13:25 But it wasn't like he was going out and telling you, you've got to come here,
13:29 you're going to start right away, I'm going to do this,
13:31 you're going to move this person out.
13:32 None of that.
13:34 So that speaks to who we are now with older men because that's what he
13:40 recruited even back then.
13:41 It's crazy when you think about it now all these years later.
13:44 Oh, you're 100%.
13:45 I mean, you know, we all fought for each other.
13:48 And even though we might play the same position, I mean, you know,
13:51 you rooted for your brother to do well, and obviously you wanted to play.
13:54 But, you know, if someone else was playing ahead of me, you know,
13:58 I wanted them to do well and I didn't have any animosity towards them
14:01 or Coach Neal.
14:02 I'm like, I've got to set my game up if I'm trying to get some more run.
14:05 And I think, you know, that's probably one of the problems now
14:07 with some of the kids.
14:08 You know, you don't have that competition.
14:10 It's like, okay, so I'm second string.
14:12 I'm not getting the run I want to.
14:13 You know, what do I need to do to step my game up versus, you know,
14:17 someone else and see if I can play there.
14:20 And that's the great, again, segue in.
14:23 You go, man.
14:24 You want to take over my show here.
14:27 Because that was one of the questions I wanted to ask you.
14:30 When you see it now, it's hard for me to kind of see where we are now
14:36 where, like you said, if a joker wake up in the morning,
14:38 he don't like the bread that they're serving.
14:40 I'm hitting the point.
14:41 Right.
14:42 It's like, wait a minute.
14:44 What about learning how to compete?
14:45 Because you're gonna have to compete in life.
14:48 Those are some of the things.
14:50 Man, coach Ford.
14:51 No, forget it.
14:53 I went to coach Ford's office.
14:54 Soon as I got on campus, maybe a few weeks, I'm on campus.
14:58 And I go to his office and you know, coach Ford,
15:01 No, no slack at all.
15:03 Yeah.
15:04 It was like, that's your question.
15:08 You're here.
15:09 Obviously, you're great running back, whatever, whatever.
15:11 But are you here to graduate?
15:15 And I'm like, yeah.
15:18 Right, right.
15:19 You stuttered.
15:21 You're here to graduate, right?
15:23 Yeah.
15:24 Okay.
15:25 Then we got to go to class.
15:27 There is no.
15:28 That was the whole thing about WVU and how you was held accountable.
15:34 You had to be held accountable.
15:35 Now I see it a lot about young student athletes.
15:39 I don't think they really understand how that's going to transition.
15:42 It helped them in life later on.
15:44 I don't think it's a skill that we can learn early.
15:47 I don't know if that's correct.
15:49 So, because I think we come in years, eight, 17, 18 years old.
15:53 And we think we got it all figured out.
15:55 But, you know, on top of that, Jean, you know, you talk about the,
15:58 the football aspect of it, but from a schooling perspective too, I mean,
16:02 those, you know, the, the kids who,
16:04 who go from school to school as far as a transfer portal, like,
16:07 you don't know how much of their, their transcript is going to,
16:09 going to translate and be accepted into the next school. So, you know,
16:13 some of these kids, they might play three or four years, you know,
16:16 bounce around from different schools and, you know,
16:18 they're not really that close to graduation. So, you know,
16:21 that's definitely a concern. And, and like you said, as far as West Virginia,
16:24 I think that was a good mix with, you know,
16:26 the way coach Nealon wanted or expected you from an academic perspective
16:29 and, and his marriage with coach Ford is how, you know,
16:32 coach Ford really held you accountable. And, you know,
16:35 he had his, his minions out there looking, if you weren't in class, you know,
16:38 you were on a list and you were running and you're doing something you didn't
16:41 want to do. So you're like, maybe I should just go to class.
16:43 And maybe it's easier to do that.
16:46 I remember I missed one class. I remember this.
16:50 And boy, coach Ford was hot, but he said, well, you already know,
16:55 it's no reason for me to yell. You already know what's going to happen.
16:57 Right. Right. You got to get up at 6 AM.
16:59 I was like, don't make him run.
17:04 So I had to do everything else but run.
17:12 And that was it. I'll tell you what, I never missed class again. Yeah.
17:16 Yeah. That was it. You're right.
17:19 That part of it being held accountable because I felt like later on,
17:24 I use a lot of that now in my business and as a,
17:27 as an educator and all that stuff. But more importantly,
17:30 it's all the things that I don't think young men get a chance to think about
17:35 because this stuff has happened so quick.
17:37 The recruiting process now is far different than what it was when we were
17:41 being recruited. 100%. It's a different business.
17:44 So the model now is I got to tell parents, listen,
17:47 you better get learned financial literacy.
17:50 Better go get yourself an accountant and an attorney.
17:53 I'm seeing some of these deals, Doc,
17:56 some of these deals, these guys are making 2.3 million. Right. 1.5.
18:01 You know what I mean? It's like, wait, whoa, hold, hold, wait a minute.
18:03 You know what I mean? I don't think,
18:05 I just think where we are in college major sports is such a different place
18:10 than where we were.
18:12 And I think it's hard to tell a kid or their parents where to go to school
18:17 because they're not looking at the best education.
18:20 They're not looking at the best fit for their child.
18:23 They're looking at how much money they can get out of the deal.
18:26 Right. Yeah. And it's, I hate to say it,
18:30 it's a shame because you fall on,
18:34 those are false pretenses when you pick a university and it doesn't work out.
18:38 And then you get the option to go someplace else.
18:40 No, I mean, you're 100% right.
18:42 And I'm glad we kind of grew up in the time that we did because,
18:46 in addition to all the things we've talked about,
18:49 I thought, and I'll talk about relationships,
18:51 like you talked about at the beginning. So, you know, in August we had a,
18:55 you know, a reunion of sorts of the guys that I came in with,
18:59 and there was maybe like 10 or 15 of us. And, you know, it's truly,
19:02 as you know, it's truly a brotherhood. I mean, you know,
19:04 you would do anything for those brothers. You, you know,
19:07 you're there for them, you know, in their hard times, you're,
19:09 you celebrate them when the things go well.
19:11 And you can't really have that if you're at a school for a semester or for
19:16 a year, and then you go somewhere else,
19:18 you can't really build those relationships. And, you know, I, I wouldn't,
19:21 I wouldn't trade anything for the friends that I made at West Virginia.
19:24 I mean, they're, you know, they're lifelong friends and, you know,
19:27 we had a great time that weekend we were there and, you know,
19:30 chopping it up and, and catching up and telling stories and telling some
19:34 lies and, you know, hugging it out and stuff. And, you know, it was,
19:38 it was a great experience. And, you know, I was glad that, you know,
19:42 I had those friends and brothers.
19:44 Absolutely. Now you got it. You got to share some stories.
19:47 Now you got to share a few stories. What's some of the,
19:50 what's some of the funniest things you can remember?
19:52 Cause I remember quite a few,
19:54 but what are some of the funniest things you remember from some of,
19:57 some of our our band of characters?
20:00 I'm not sure if I can share those on this.
20:05 You know, I'm trying to think, cause my memory is not as good. So,
20:11 you know, there was definitely more stories than, but you know,
20:15 I will say this, I mean, I'm happy that there,
20:18 there's no video and stuff for some of the things that was kind of going
20:21 on, you know, cell phones. But, you know, there was just, you know,
20:25 we had just, you know, getaway weekends doing stuff. And, you know,
20:30 obviously when we were West Virginia and those times,
20:33 like there wasn't a whole lot of things to do,
20:35 like there is probably now. And, you know,
20:38 you stayed in towers for a couple of years and so you really bonded there.
20:41 And then, you know, then you'd move off to, you know, off campus, but,
20:45 by that time you already had a bond. So, you know,
20:48 somebody might have a little party, a little get together. And you're like,
20:50 all right, we're showing up there, you know, we're getting, you know,
20:53 maybe some adult beverages and coming through and, you know,
20:56 hanging out and, you know, we're going to Stansberry,
20:58 we're playing some hoops and, you know, we're doing that, or, you know,
21:02 we're going to the movies or we're going bowling. You know,
21:04 we just did whatever there was to do,
21:07 or at least find something to do for entertainment. You know,
21:09 that's what we were doing. You know, somebody, and somebody had a car,
21:12 you know, like, like I didn't realize this until later in life that,
21:16 you know, I had a car, I think probably like my third year. And, you know,
21:20 we had such a brotherhood. You just let people borrow your car.
21:23 You didn't really think anything of it. And somebody was telling me,
21:26 they're like, you know, I was driving your car.
21:28 And I didn't even know how to drive a stick when I took your car.
21:30 And I was like, and my father kept coming through here.
21:33 He had to change the clutch twice. And he's like,
21:35 I know you don't know how to drive a stick. So what's going on here?
21:38 I'm like, I don't know, I guess it's these Hills, but no,
21:41 the reality was I was letting people, you know,
21:43 like hollow field and West and those guys drive my car.
21:45 And I don't think they knew what they were doing.
21:47 Hey, did you ever take it down the truth?
21:50 I did now. I mean, now I never told him back then, but now, now, you know,
21:54 there's a lot of things that come out now and he's like, I didn't know that.
21:57 Yeah. Well, you know, we're adults now.
22:00 I can share that with you now.
22:03 Right. Exactly.
22:04 And I'm sure at some point my son will tell me some stories too.
22:08 And you're like, okay.
22:10 Yeah, exactly.
22:13 I remember it was too funny.
22:15 We used to have the linemen versus the running backs.
22:19 You wrestling with each other. Oh yeah.
22:22 In a TV room.
22:23 Yes.
22:24 And I think for the longest time, me and AB was champs.
22:27 We did okay.
22:29 Okay.
22:30 What?
22:32 We were the best.
22:34 We were the best.
22:35 We were the best.
22:37 We more than held our own. Okay.
22:40 That was the funniest thing. And I remember.
22:41 Oh my God.
22:46 Somebody got slammed upside down on the wall.
22:51 And it makes so much noise that they caught one of the coaches.
22:54 Cause they thought we went through the wall.
22:55 I can see that.
22:57 Yeah. And it was so funny.
23:00 It was almost like in unison.
23:02 Coach turned the corner. We all sat down.
23:05 You're right. Right.
23:06 Like we were being an orchestra or something.
23:10 Yep.
23:11 Clean fun.
23:12 Like.
23:13 Fun clean fun.
23:15 Right. When I look at certain, some of the things I hear.
23:18 Again, I told coach Neal in a few days ago, man.
23:22 You're missed.
23:24 You know who you were as a coach is totally,
23:27 is totally missed in this current state of college sports.
23:32 Right.
23:33 None of the shenanigans that most people you heard about,
23:36 cause I had friends who went to other universities, you know,
23:38 as you did as well. Right.
23:40 And I would hear horror stories about what's going on off the field and
23:44 coach don't care.
23:46 I never ever felt that with coach Neal and or the staff that he
23:49 assembled never.
23:51 And to this day, I give every last one of them coaches and the men,
23:54 the credit that I think they deserve because they're really good men.
23:57 Good character, man.
23:58 Yeah.
23:59 Yeah.
24:00 You're right. I'm 100% right.
24:01 Yeah. That speaks volumes. Speaks volumes.
24:04 When your parents had a chance to meet coach Neal and how did they feel?
24:07 You know, they loved coach Neal. I think, you know,
24:10 I think it really started out with, like I said, coach.
24:12 Cause he was the one that recruited me. So he would come.
24:15 And that was kind of how the, you know,
24:17 the relationship kind of started and then, you know,
24:19 going there for my visit and meeting coach Neal and,
24:21 and sitting down with him and, you know,
24:24 I know they felt real comfortable that they could send their son to this
24:27 place.
24:28 You know, that they weren't there on a regular basis and that, you know,
24:31 I was going to be taken care of. I was going to be looked after.
24:34 I was, you know, they had been best,
24:35 my best interest in mind as far as, you know,
24:38 academics and just being safe and, and then, you know,
24:42 the last part is the football stuff.
24:44 Right. Yeah. And that, that again, that's awesome.
24:47 I always think for me personally,
24:49 that's the best possible end result.
24:53 When you're talking about picking the university,
24:54 it shouldn't be about football. Right.
24:57 I said, well, the whole process of Brandon, listen,
24:59 pick a school that if you wasn't playing a sport,
25:03 you would still want to go to that school and attend that university and
25:07 graduate. Right. And that's how we look at it.
25:09 Like pick a place where you would want to graduate from first,
25:12 you know, and I know people looking at me like, what?
25:16 He's a high school American. Why would you tell him that?
25:17 Because that's the most important thing.
25:21 The foundation of a decision can't be based on the fun part of it.
25:24 I always do it the opposite.
25:26 Give me the hard stuff first and we'll figure out the fun part later.
25:30 You know what I mean? So, I mean, you're right, but I will say this though.
25:35 The football part was good though, too. West Virginia. I mean the, you know,
25:39 I was the fan base there. I mean, you know, I'm always amazed. I, you know,
25:42 I was, I was an okay player. I mean, I, you know, I did start in,
25:45 but I wasn't, I guess maybe part of my name was kind of maybe recognition,
25:49 but I'm always amazed when I see some,
25:51 some fans of a certain age and I introduced myself and like, Oh,
25:55 you play tight end. Right. I'm like, you shouldn't remember me. I mean,
25:58 you know, you know, somebody, you or AB or made, you know,
26:01 those guys you should remember, you shouldn't be remembering me,
26:03 but it's a testament to the fan base at West Virginia and how much they,
26:07 they love the university and the football team and you know,
26:11 the obviously the state. So it's, you know, I'm, I'm always proud to,
26:15 you know, put on my WV outfits and I'm out and I, you know,
26:19 you always see somebody and, and you know,
26:22 whether it's the airport or whatever you go, you know,
26:24 let's go and you hear Mountaineers and you know, that's,
26:27 that's always a fun time.
26:28 Absolutely. Doc, all these years later, I agree with you 100%. I,
26:33 and my wife said,
26:34 you are so disrespectful because I don't care what college campus I'm on.
26:39 Yep. Yep. I think going to represent WVU and it's so funny,
26:43 especially Rutgers. Oh, really? Oh, absolutely. Oh,
26:48 I go on their campus almost purposely, but West Virginia on
26:53 it's just one of them things, but you're a hundred percent right.
26:59 I love our fan base and I think I'm hoping that our current Mountaineers,
27:05 they really get that experience and years down the road,
27:08 they can also buy and talk the way we're talking now.
27:11 And I think that is so important to do that brotherhood in the camaraderie.
27:15 You have that for life.
27:17 I don't know if they have it. I mean, I, you know, I can't say, you know,
27:22 with a hundred percent certainty, but it was like I said before, you know,
27:25 you start out in towers for a couple of years and you know,
27:27 you see each other day in day out. I mean, you have to have, and then,
27:31 you know, practice. So you really have that bond.
27:34 And I think now when they come in, I think they, you know,
27:37 they can already stay in like their own apartments and stuff. So, you know,
27:40 you're not really around each other as much.
27:42 And so you might have a little click as far as a few people, but you know,
27:45 when we would go somewhere, it might be like 10 or 15 D I mean, you know,
27:49 it wasn't like a couple of people. I mean, there was, you know,
27:51 some couple of people might do some things with especially roommate or
27:54 whatever, but you know, we went somewhere, we showed up and you know,
27:57 whether, I mean, it could be anywhere. I mean, you know,
27:59 we'd go to a fraternity party or, you know, like I said, the,
28:02 the other activities that I mentioned, I mean, we, we just did stuff. And,
28:07 you know, and, and everything was shared. I mean, you know,
28:10 if you had a couple of dollars, it's like, all right,
28:12 so somebody get a case of forties or, you know, we're gonna get some,
28:15 some food. I mean, who's who can buy pizza. And it was just like,
28:18 you just shared it. It wasn't anything that was, you know, your own self,
28:21 you were selfish that way.
28:22 And I'm hoping and praying and a lot of people get a chance to see
28:28 relatively sports with Eugene Napoleon and this interview they're going to
28:31 see. And I'm hoping and praying that some of the younger players get a
28:35 chance to view this and understand exactly what we're talking about.
28:38 Cause that's, what's key.
28:39 You're going to be human being far longer than you're going to be a
28:41 football player.
28:42 So be the best version of yourself that you possibly can be.
28:45 And then bring your brother along with you.
28:47 Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, you know, we, you know,
28:49 we obviously have some conversations when we're together, but you know,
28:52 you're asking about your kids and you know,
28:54 what kind of work you do and you know,
28:56 we try to get together you know, every so often,
29:00 whether it's in Morgantown or, you know, someone's where they live.
29:04 Like I know like last year,
29:06 McMee and John Talley and Larry Hollywood went down to hang out in
29:10 Atlanta with Stacy Smith and Gary blue Mullen and,
29:14 and fish Todd Fisher. And I mean, we just laughed the whole weekend,
29:18 just laughed and laughed. And you know, that's,
29:20 what's all about cause you know, you're, you're playing,
29:22 I don't care how good you are.
29:23 You're playing day is going to end at some point. And so then reality is,
29:26 it's like, you know, the things that you are important, your friends and,
29:30 you know, kind of life after football.
29:32 Absolutely. Absolutely. I got about a minute left.
29:34 Let me ask you a quick question.
29:35 So if you had to give advice to a young student athlete,
29:38 that's trying to pick a university, what advice would you give them?
29:41 Well, I can't like, like we've said, I mean, when you go there,
29:45 you want, you want to check out the university,
29:47 do some research ahead of time, as far as,
29:50 you know, kind of their academics, the studies that you're trying to,
29:54 you know, get your major in and, and then, you know,
29:57 really pay close attention when you meet the coaches and, you know,
30:00 you meet some of the other players,
30:02 especially going to a recruiting trip and see how they talk about their
30:05 experiences, how they like it. Cause you know,
30:07 you can kind of get a sense of the kids that are there. You know,
30:10 if they really like being there and, you know, if they're talking,
30:13 you know, bad about the university, you know, you,
30:15 you can have some hesitations there, but, but,
30:17 you know, I think, you know, doing your research and, and like I said,
30:20 just basically talking to the coaching staff and, you know,
30:24 I think those are the kind of the key things to deciding on where you want
30:27 to go and spend your next four or five years.
30:29 I appreciate you. I really do more, more than, you know, my good brother.
30:33 Thank you so much. Like I said,
30:34 in the time of your schedule and share, you know,
30:37 some fond memories of WVU. Oh yeah.
30:40 Well, I'm happy you had me on, man. I really appreciate it.
30:42 And I'm glad you're here.
30:43 I appreciate you man. You want to give a few shout outs? You can definitely.
30:46 Shout outs.
30:47 Yeah, you can.
30:48 What do you mean?
30:49 You want to shout out some of your brothers. You definitely can.
30:51 You know, cause I know.
30:52 I know when we put this up, they're going to be watching it.
30:54 Well, you're a hundred percent. You know, I was, you know,
30:56 it's kind of funny because I was like,
30:58 I wonder if Jean's going to get me on it. Cause I saw a peak on,
31:01 uh, some of the other shows that you did.
31:03 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:05 I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:06 I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:07 I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:08 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:11 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:13 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:15 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:17 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:19 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:21 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:23 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:24 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:25 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:26 And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get on it.
31:28 So it's kind of interesting how life kind of goes along.
31:30 And now, so we're on this text string with all of my class of '83 guys.
31:35 And we just, it just blows up.
31:38 And all day, everything, every day, it's just text and text.
31:41 And sometimes I'm like, maybe I should turn my phone off.
31:43 Because it might be any time of the night.
31:45 Because everybody has a different schedule.
31:47 So I might wake up and I'm getting a ping at like 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning.
31:51 I'm like, ah, I should turn this off.
31:53 But yeah, all those guys, John Talley, Stacy, David Grant,
31:58 all the guys, Wes Turner, all the guys I came in with.
32:01 Benny, I could go on forever.
32:06 Well, you know what's funny?
32:07 So you make sure you send them this link when this pops up.
32:11 I definitely will.
32:13 So everybody can be involved in it.
32:16 I'm trying to get Stacy on it.
32:17 I'm trying to get everybody you just mentioned.
32:19 I want to hear the folks.
32:20 I think it's important.
32:22 It's really our legacy when you start to think about it.
32:26 Yeah, hopefully they won't be calling me too much.
32:28 And maybe I said something I didn't know I said.
32:30 [LAUGHTER]
32:33 But then again, listen, we're all brothers.
32:36 So yeah, you know how brothers can be.
32:38 Oh, I tell some of my coworkers, I said,
32:40 if you don't have tough skin around this crew, you can't make it.
32:43 Because nothing's off guard.
32:46 I mean, you can say anything.
32:49 Talley still gives me a hard time.
32:50 Because when we were in college, he was going down some hill
32:53 and hit some gravel.
32:55 And he crashed his bike.
32:56 And that's when we roomed together.
32:57 And he came in.
32:58 He had his bike over his shoulder.
33:00 And he was all scarred up.
33:01 And I started laughing.
33:02 And he was like, oh, so you're just going to be laughing at me, right?
33:05 And I'm like, yeah, you're right.
33:06 I shouldn't.
33:07 Are you OK?
33:08 And he's like, yeah, I'm good.
33:09 And then I started laughing again.
33:12 And so then-- but I did give him a reprieve.
33:16 Because probably about five years ago, I wrecked my bike.
33:19 I was riding my bike.
33:21 And I ended up breaking my arm and everything.
33:24 So I called him.
33:25 And I was like, all right, man, it's payback.
33:28 You can laugh at me, since I laughed at you back in the '80s.
33:32 And to his credit, he's like, no, man, you're all right.
33:35 And he was generally concerned, obviously, about my well-being.
33:38 So yeah.
33:41 [LAUGHTER]
33:43 Well, I'm glad that you was all right.
33:45 Thank you.
33:46 And I'm glad he took the high road.
33:48 He did take the high road.
33:49 [LAUGHTER]
33:51 Yeah.
33:52 I'll talk to you soon, my good brother.
33:53 Thank you so much.
33:54 All right.
33:55 Yeah, good talking to you, man.
33:56 Always good talking to you.
33:57 All right, Mountaineers.
33:58 I told you I would have my man on.
34:00 And here he is.
34:01 Gary, thank you.
34:02 I'll talk to you soon, brother.
34:03 All right.
34:04 Later.