Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 >> In the last month or two for you, what's this been like?
00:06 >> It's been a drastic change in my schedule, obviously.
00:10 I started at like 7 in the morning and I'm not getting home till 6 PM.
00:16 Just with lifting football until about noon.
00:20 And then basketball starts at 1, get done about 3.30.
00:23 And then of course, since I'm kinda behind and
00:26 I'm skill level with just juggling both.
00:28 I'm getting extra shots up and extra work after practice.
00:31 So yeah, just a drastic change in my schedule.
00:34 >> This is unusual.
00:35 What brought you to this?
00:37 Hey, I'd like to give this a try.
00:39 How did it come about?
00:40 Did you approach Josh?
00:41 He told us way back when that he sort of told you last spring, hey, come on over.
00:47 But when did you take this seriously?
00:49 >> So this is something that nobody knows except me and my mother.
00:54 When I was young, my mom made me write affirmations.
00:59 And so one of my biggest affirmations was to be a two-sport athlete in college.
01:03 And I started that in about fifth grade.
01:06 So it's just crazy that it's now happening now.
01:10 But this all came about with Coach Josh Eilert when he had came to recruit my
01:15 younger cousin, Jasper Johnson.
01:17 >> He's your cousin, we were talking about that a little while ago.
01:19 >> Yes. >> About your relationship.
01:21 >> Yes, he's my younger cousin.
01:22 And we went to high school together my junior and senior year.
01:26 And he came down, watched the practice.
01:29 And he loved the way I competed.
01:30 And I met him, introduced myself.
01:34 And we just kinda carried that relationship all the way until I got down here for
01:37 football.
01:38 And I just checked in every time that I came down.
01:43 He invited me to a hoop session that they had in the summer.
01:46 I competed in those and I loved the energy, loved the vibe that I got from it.
01:50 And he was like, after football, if you're still interested, you can come by.
01:56 And so after football had ended, enjoyed the bowl game win for about a week.
02:00 And then I cleared it with Coach Brown.
02:02 That was fine with him.
02:03 He gave me the A-okay.
02:05 And I told Coach Eilert, it's a go, let's do it.
02:08 >> What's it like being in high school,
02:11 concentrating on football in a state that is religious for basketball?
02:16 >> Yeah.
02:17 It's not crazy different at all.
02:24 I play football, nobody's really looking at me.
02:27 It's nothing like that.
02:28 But I will say,
02:31 it is tough being recruited from that state,
02:38 because a lot of guys are not heavy on it, if that makes sense.
02:42 >> Sure.
02:42 >> Because we are, I always say we're a basketball state.
02:46 >> Right.
02:46 >> Basketball is a really big thing down there.
02:48 So I wouldn't say it's anything bad or anything too much different.
02:53 >> But in high school football was your- >> High school football.
02:57 Yeah, that was kind of- >> Were you more concerned with football?
02:59 >> In high school?
02:59 >> Yeah. >> No.
03:00 So that's another thing that nobody really knows.
03:02 I didn't start playing football until ninth grade.
03:05 >> Okay.
03:05 >> So I've always been a basketball kid.
03:08 >> Okay.
03:08 >> So- >> That makes sense then.
03:10 >> Yeah, I've always been a basketball kid.
03:13 So yeah.
03:14 >> So at some point later in high school that football became-
03:19 >> Yeah, it did.
03:20 So I'll give you all the background on that.
03:22 So in ninth grade, I went to, well, I lived in Nashville, Tennessee,
03:25 from second grade all the way to tenth grade.
03:28 And I went to a private school named Father Ryan from my freshman to
03:31 sophomore year, freshman and sophomore year.
03:34 And the football coach there, Coach Rector, he was like, man,
03:38 you have to come out and play football, you're too athletic.
03:40 And I was against it at first.
03:42 I was like, no, coach, I came here to play basketball.
03:44 And that's been my dream, it's been my vision.
03:47 But he was like, man, I'm telling you, you can definitely come out and
03:53 play some football.
03:54 And an AAU teammate that I had currently at the time,
03:56 his dad had became the strength and conditioning coach, Coach Sharp.
04:00 So he was like, man, you're a power football kid,
04:03 just by the way you move and how athletic you are.
04:06 And that's where it kinda just changed.
04:08 And that's when it got in the way of me training for basketball,
04:11 which is not how I usually do.
04:13 And football became sort of the main priority, and
04:15 that's how it's been ever since.
04:17 >> What's football been like for you here?
04:20 Obviously, your playing time is very limited, but workouts, everything.
04:25 What you expected, harder, easier, what's football been like?
04:30 >> As far as lifting, it's definitely been harder, but
04:33 it's something that I'm kinda not
04:36 scared off from, if that makes sense.
04:40 Oddly enough, the trainer that I do work with outside of West Virginia,
04:45 he actually got trained by Coach Joseph,
04:49 Coach Mike Joseph when he was at Notre Dame.
04:51 So those workouts are similar.
04:53 But it's nothing that I'm like, my goodness, I do not like this at all.
04:59 It's definitely tough, definitely pushes me and improve my body in a great way.
05:03 >> Were you in spring ball this past spring?
05:06 >> No, sir.
05:06 >> Okay, all right.
05:07 >> I was a summer enrollee.
05:08 >> Okay, all right.
05:10 >> I was a basketball player on the football team.
05:12 >> Yeah, that's what I heard.
05:13 >> Trying to make sure, I was wondering if you ever talked to him or.
05:16 >> Not as big as Jimmy Bell.
05:17 >> Yeah, that was- >> Yeah,
05:18 I definitely heard that he was a lineman, I think.
05:21 He was going for lineman.
05:22 Yeah.
05:23 >> So trying to do both,
05:26 I mean, cuz there's great opportunities at safety coming up.
05:30 So it's not like you can just ignore football right now if you wanna win that
05:34 job, so how are you doing both and still concentrating on football?
05:39 >> Like I said, with the schedule and
05:42 just my work ethic included into my schedule, this has become like a lifestyle.
05:49 So the concentration level has just been the same steady.
05:54 And like you had mentioned with the position and everything,
05:58 like we still have two really good guys at safety, Aubrey Burks and
06:03 Anthony Wilson, and those two guys are two guys that I love to learn from.
06:08 And so that situation will work itself out, but
06:11 those are really two guys that I love learning from.
06:15 But yeah, since this has become a lifestyle,
06:21 concentration has just been the same.
06:23 >> Spear, cat, free?
06:26 >> Free, free safety with Anthony Wilson.
06:28 >> Okay.
06:28 >> You're on the road there, Texas this past week.
06:34 The Texas game obviously didn't go the way anyone wanted it to,
06:37 but the last five minutes, Josh looks down the bench, says, get in there.
06:42 What was that moment like for you?
06:46 Nervous or what?
06:48 >> Anything past nervous, I was super nervous.
06:50 Of course, as much work as I've been putting in, I've been waiting for
06:56 the opportunity, but it's just when you first get into the action,
07:00 especially with their starters still being on the floor, definitely nerve wracking.
07:05 But I think it definitely prepared me for future.
07:11 Now I'm more relaxed, even in practice, when I practice with the guys,
07:16 they're here for a reason.
07:18 Those guys are really good basketball players.
07:20 So even going against them in practice sometimes seems a bit much, but
07:23 now it's like I'm kind of relaxed now, like all right, I'm here.
07:26 You know what I mean?
07:26 So definitely nervous first time on the court.
07:29 >> Everyone is.
07:30 >> Yeah, that's what the guys was telling me when I came off the court,
07:33 because I was, nobody knows this as well, I was very disappointed.
07:37 Just on myself, cuz I was so nervous.
07:40 And I was trying to tell myself relax, but it's like I couldn't.
07:43 And the guys was like, man, listen,
07:45 you don't wanna know about our first game experiences.
07:48 So it was just like, it's normal.
07:50 So, yeah.
07:51 >> Welcome to the club.
07:52 >> [LAUGH] Yeah.
07:54 >> How did you end up at West Virginia?
07:55 Your basketball coach is a Pitt guy, right?
07:59 First of all, are you related to him somehow?
08:02 >> No, not by blood, but that's my dad.
08:04 He's been there ever since I was born, and that's who I see as dad.
08:08 >> He did the bad mouth West Virginia to you during the recruitment.
08:11 How did you end up at West Virginia?
08:14 >> So my recruitment process was interesting.
08:17 I had first committed to Ball State going into my senior year.
08:21 And then more of my film was getting exposed.
08:25 And I remember Coach Neil, no, it was Coach Shadon.
08:31 Coach Shadon Brown was about to stop by the school and
08:33 he knows my head football coach, Dennis Johnson.
08:35 And Coach Dennis Johnson was letting me know that, hey,
08:40 West Virginia is gonna be here soon.
08:43 And so I was like, okay, let's see where this goes.
08:46 I know Coach Shadon had seen my film.
08:48 He had talked to Coach Dennis about it.
08:50 They was like, no, we want this kid.
08:52 So that was later, maybe two months before graduation, if I'm not mistaken.
09:00 And even before that,
09:01 I changed from safety to go play receiver at Western Kentucky.
09:05 And I was like, I'm committed to that.
09:06 And then later, that's when the West Virginia situation happened.
09:10 And I kinda got in a sticky situation of,
09:12 am I going to Western or am I going to West Virginia?
09:16 And so I definitely, since I was a little kid,
09:21 wanted to be in Power Five, either basketball or football.
09:23 So that was the opportunity that was presented, so I had to take it.
09:30 >> Is there a difference between football shape and basketball shape?
09:34 >> 1,000%.
09:35 >> [LAUGH] >> 1,000%, because in football,
09:38 after a play, you get about five seconds of a breather,
09:43 getting the plays, getting the signals from the sideline.
09:45 But in basketball, it's constant.
09:47 I noticed that playing at Texas, about three times up and down the court,
09:52 I was done.
09:53 But yeah, it's definitely a difference, definitely a difference.
09:57 >> You still talk to Jasper not much?
09:59 I know he's at a prep school now.
10:00 So how good is he and how much do you talk to him still?
10:04 >> Man, I just got off the phone with him yesterday.
10:07 Jasper's really good, really good.
10:10 If he sees this, he's probably gonna use that against me,
10:12 cuz I tell him he's not that good.
10:14 But no, he's really good, man.
10:18 How he moves with his body is crazy.
10:20 I've been trying to learn that from him, even though I'm older than him.
10:23 Sometimes he seems like, I've said to him, Jasper, you're stiff.
10:26 But he's like, bro, it works.
10:28 I'm like, how?
10:30 He's really good with his shot, obviously.
10:32 His handles is crazy.
10:33 It's like he's just a different kind of guy,
10:36 a different kind of basketball player.
10:38 But he's always been like that.
10:39 He's always been in the gym late nights,
10:41 even before schools were even coming after him.
10:44 And so now you see that hard work paying off for him.
10:47 >> When you were talking earlier, when you were a little kid,
10:48 about how you wanted to play two sports in college.
10:51 That really goes against the trend.
10:54 Where a lot of kids, everyone's focusing now in high school.
10:57 And they pick up one sport.
10:59 Why was it important to you to play two sports in college?
11:04 >> My mom was very big on me dreaming and
11:09 accomplishing anything that I wanted to dream about.
11:11 So when I was like, mom, I just wanna play two sports,
11:15 whether that be basketball, football, basketball, soccer.
11:18 That was my third sport was soccer.
11:20 But basketball had to be included.
11:21 But no, my mom was really big on that, manifesting and
11:26 accomplishing anything you want to.
11:28 So when I realized basketball's gonna be my thing, and
11:33 then high school football became it, I was like, that's it right there.
11:36 It's gonna be basketball, football, and let's see if I can do it.
11:38 That's kinda, it's just something I dreamed about when I was younger.
11:43 >> You got a hell of a soccer team here too.
11:45 >> Yeah.
11:46 >> I mean.
11:47 >> Nah, Coach Neal probably wouldn't go for that.
11:48 >> [LAUGH] >> Nah, he's not going for that one.
11:51 >> No reservations from Coach Brown about letting you play both?
11:55 I mean, did he, you had to have a conversation with him, you said.
11:58 So how'd that go?
12:00 Did he tell you, I don't know if it's a good idea, or what did he say?
12:03 >> No, Coach Brown, he actually surprised me when we had our conversation.
12:08 He was just like, are you sure?
12:10 And I was like, yeah, yes sir.
12:12 He was with it.
12:13 He was 100% for it.
12:14 He was like, man, just as long as you make your workouts,
12:17 I'm fine with it, do your thing.
12:18 And that was kinda relieving for me,
12:20 cuz honestly I was nervous about having that conversation.
12:24 Like I said, that was something I had talked about since I was younger.
12:26 And so a few words to say no, it would be what it is,
12:29 cuz football is the main priority.
12:31 But still that little kid in me is just like, yeah.
12:34 So it was very relieving for him to be on board with it.
12:38 >> Clarification on your name, because I think in recruiting you were known as
12:42 Aiden Nelson all the time.
12:44 When did Tagaloa come in?
12:45 Are we pronouncing it right?
12:47 Is it Tagaloa?
12:48 >> Yes. >> Okay.
12:49 >> My mom has been bad on me about this.
12:52 Because on my birth certificate, my name is Aiden Nelson.
12:56 The Tagaloa part comes from, I was like, mom, I just wanna add it.
13:01 I wanted to add that because I'm mixed with Samoan.
13:04 And so on both sides of my family, there's really been no one to
13:11 get to the point that I've gotten to, whether that be college or athletically.
13:16 And so I felt like carrying both sides of my family,
13:20 I felt like representing that.
13:21 And so I just wanted to add Tagaloa to it, so Tagaloa Nelson, yeah.
13:26 >> On a football note, quick one kind of off topic, but
13:31 what big news in the video game world that they're gonna have one.
13:35 If you get an option, will you scan your likeness in?
13:37 And how does that feel?
13:39 >> Yeah, it feels good.
13:41 I talked to a lot of my friends from back home yesterday about it.
13:44 I asked them if they was gonna play with me when it comes out.
13:47 >> [LAUGH] >> All of them said no, but
13:49 I think that's a lie.
13:51 But I'm definitely excited about it.
13:53 Because that was a game that I played when I was young, NCAA 14.
13:58 And they never came out with a new win.
14:00 And now it's back, so I'm excited for that.
14:05 It came at a good time, came at a great time.
14:07 >> 14, that was the end of it.
14:09 >> Yeah, that was the end of it.
14:11 >> Yeah, I know.
14:12 >> Did you get a commitment from your basketball coach to come to the Pitt West
14:14 Virginia football game this year?
14:16 >> I'm sorry, say it one more time.
14:17 >> Did you get a commitment from your high school basketball coach to come to
14:20 the Pitt West Virginia football game this year?
14:22 And who would he root for?
14:25 >> Yeah, so he actually came to the one that we had last season.
14:30 And he said he was gonna paint himself half and half.
14:35 I was like, what?
14:37 I was like, no, don't do that, please don't.
14:40 He ended up not doing it.
14:41 So he said anytime Pitt plays West Virginia,
14:45 he's gonna always paint himself half and half.
14:48 And I don't know what type of comments or remarks he's gonna get for that, but
14:51 that's on him.
14:52 >> Well, they're both blue and gold, so you can't-
14:54 >> Yeah, true.
14:54 Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.
14:56 They're both blue and gold, so.
14:57 >> Thank you.
14:58 >> All right.
14:59 >> Thank you.