Frank The Tank | Frank Walks
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00:00 Of course, this man needs no introduction. This is Eric LeGrand, the inspirational
00:07 leader of Rutgers football. In 2010, he was injured. He fractured his C3 and C4
00:16 C3 and C4 vertebrae in a game against Army and it left him paralyzed.
00:23 But he has gone on beyond that. He has become an inspirational leader and he's
00:28 become the symbol in the face of the hope of Rutgers football rising to new
00:34 heights. Well, thank you for joining me, Eric.
00:36 It's a pleasure to be here, Frank.
00:38 All right, let's do it.
00:40 How are you feeling these days?
00:53 I feel good, man. The summertime is coming. This is what I thrive.
00:56 And honestly, just living my life to the fullest, man. It's a blessing.
01:00 Every day at both grounds is a good day.
01:02 I mean, the horrible day. Every football player, this is somewhere in the back of their head that this could happen.
01:11 Now, you're covering a kickoff against Army. And what was it like with the rehab?
01:19 How hard was it to get, just to get? And you're so positive. That's one great thing about this.
01:25 You're so positive. How were you able to overcome this and thrive the way you have?
01:31 Honestly, when I first got injured, I saw a lot of people that were in my similar situation I had no idea about.
01:37 When I was here at Rutgers, I lived in my little bubble. I was playing here, obviously at the stadium I'm wearing today.
01:43 And working out all the time, going to class. I didn't know anything else outside of here.
01:47 After my injury, though, I saw people that lost family members, friends, that didn't have nobody supporting them.
01:54 And I said to myself, look at all the support that I got. I'm not going to let this injury hold me back.
01:59 I'm 20 years old, God willing, I'll live many more years from here on out. And that's kind of how I approached it.
02:05 Now, a big help for you was, of course, Coach Shiano. Greg Shiano.
02:10 I mean, how important has his support been over all the years?
02:14 Coach Shiano is honestly, feels like a father figure that turned into a friend now.
02:19 From drafting me to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I remember when he recruited me, he said he's going to treat all of his players like they're his kids.
02:26 And those dark nights in the hospital, when he was staying with me until 2 a.m. in the morning so my family could get some sleep and get some rest.
02:34 There was just no better example of what him standing by his word. And, you know, he turns boys into men.
02:40 And it's not easy to play for coach, but I bet you you're going to learn a lot.
02:45 And I believe here, you'll become a better person and go into deciding whether that's into the NFL or just in general into life.
02:52 Now, one thing I noticed about Rutgers is they actually do turn a lot of players out.
02:57 Come on now. Yeah, I know people love to mess with us because, you know, we're not, you know, the Michigans and Ohio State's winning national championships and things like that.
03:05 But I'll tell you what, Rutgers, when you come here, you're going to get great players.
03:09 You're going to get smart players. And we do turn out a lot of guys. I believe Coach Shiano's put in a hundred.
03:14 And Pachenko, I mean, Pachenko is. Come on now. I mean, there's a guy that's like completely like underappreciated and been a key part of two Chiefs championships now.
03:24 That's a seventh round pick. And all he still talks about is keep chopping.
03:27 As you know, it's a lifestyle here when we talk about the chop.
03:30 People love to say, but here it's a lifestyle to us. And Pachenko, even though I'm a diehard Denver Broncos fan, I love to see all the success he's having with the Chiefs because he deserves everything, especially what he's been through in his life.
03:41 It's just amazing to see everything that's coming his way.
03:44 I mean, Rutgers football, even though it may not be a big name program, may not have the success of others.
03:50 This is the birthplace of college football.
03:52 There you go, Frank. OK. We are the birthplace of college football.
03:55 And, you know, back it was 1869 when that first game happened.
03:59 November 6, 1869.
04:01 Exactly. So when that first game happened, it would not be the college football without Rutgers.
04:05 So people can say what they want about us, but you're going to get some tough, pretty guys. And we're the ones who invented the college game that we all love.
04:11 Of course, Rutgers this year, the Big Ten is expanding. It's becoming a monster conference, a mega conference.
04:18 So we're going to watch Rutgers going up against USC, UCLA, Washington.
04:24 It's kind of crazy to be honest with you. Teams traveling to the West Coast like that.
04:29 But I'm excited because USC, UCLA, obviously, you know, they have special talent, special athletes, but they're going to get that physicality of the Big Ten.
04:37 I think it might catch up a little bit by surprise with how physical this conference is.
04:41 I mean, we see it week in and week out, whatever's in the running game, defense.
04:46 So those Pac-12 teams that are coming out to the Big Ten might be in for a rude awakening in the beginning.
04:51 You know, I think Rutgers has a better chance of beating those schools than they do Michigan or the United States.
04:56 Hey, I will agree with that, man. It's going to be fun to see, obviously, different schools coming in here and some of the prestigious universities like USC.
05:04 But I think Rutgers has a great chance against them as well.
05:07 I mean, Rutgers last year had a great season. They made it to a bowl game and they beat Miami.
05:15 First time ever.
05:16 They beat Miami in the pinstripe bowl.
05:19 That was, you know, that's what we're used to here. When I was here, it was all about going bowling.
05:24 Getting into that preseason, get those extra, I mean the postseason, get into those extra practices, the developmental of the players is huge during those times.
05:33 It's almost like an extra spring ball. So Rutgers is now back on track of being able to do that.
05:37 Like you said, being able to beat Miami in the pinstripe bowl, that's just a start. It's only the beginning, Frank.
05:43 I mean, not that we think right now. I mean, if they could build something, maybe one day actually play in this playoff game.
05:51 That's the goal. That's the goal. I don't care what anybody says.
05:54 You know, you don't sit here and just say, "Oh yeah, we want to go to this bowl game or that bowl game."
05:59 No, you want to be in that college football playoff.
06:01 And I believe that one day we're going to get there.
06:04 Keeping our guys here, developmental, you know, the developmental program that we are.
06:08 You see guys like Kyle Banunga, watch out for that name again this year. Special, special players here at Rutgers.
06:14 Now, who are some players to look out for in this upcoming year for Rutgers?
06:18 So, like I just said, Kyle Banunga, who was a Big Ten leading rusher last year, is coming back.
06:23 I'm so happy that he'll be back. Aaron Lewis, a defensive end, wreaking havoc.
06:28 Tareem Powell, our middle linebacker, battling back from adversity from two injuries that he just had.
06:33 But he'll be ready for the season, ready to go. Those are all NFL talent, NFL players.
06:38 And so, now before the September 7th game, you're going to have a special walk, I understand, this year.
06:47 Every year I do my 5K walk to Believe, which we always had here in the stadium in June.
06:52 But we want to get more of the Rutgers community involved, so we said we're going to switch it up this year.
06:56 We're challenging people to do the 5K on their own from now until August 30th.
07:02 Do it on your own, your way, run, walk, roll. Do your 5K, you sign up.
07:06 And then on that day, we're going to meet at the top of Scarlet Nightway, and we always do this big Jersey-themed boardwalk.
07:13 When you come down the boardwalk, you get to enjoy all the food trucks, the rides and stuff.
07:17 We're all going to meet at the top of there, walk down the boardwalk together, and then we're going to go into a huge tailgate.
07:22 And then obviously have a lot of fun there, and then go into the game where we take on vs. Akron.
07:27 It's going to be a special day on September 7th. I can't wait to see everyone out here.
07:31 But like I said, do the 5K your way on your time period, and then it's going to be a celebration that day.
07:36 I'm telling you, it's going to be special. We're going to make it on.
07:39 Scott Van Pelt's the best that he saw that day.
07:43 Of course, and you know, Scott Van Pelt walked with us. That was a great walk I had.
07:48 And it's VP, that's the man.
07:51 And does Rutgers play Maryland this year?
07:55 We do. It's kind of turned into like, they're trying to make it that forced rivalry, because everyone has their own rivalry in the Big Ten.
08:03 We were the newest additions before the latest ones, and we're right down 95.
08:08 They're kind of trying to make it into that, you know, little bit of rivalry.
08:11 I will say they've gotten us the past few years, but Taliyah's gone now.
08:15 I think we're going to be back on top again.
08:18 I heard he's signed a contract with the Seahawks.
08:21 Yeah, he did. I'll tell you what, watching him play, he was special.
08:25 I give credit where credit's due. He tore us up.
08:28 It was very hard to get to him, and he got that ball out fast, and he was chucking that thing all around the field.
08:33 But don't worry, we're going to be back on top again.
08:35 Of course, I'm a fan of his brother.
08:38 I know, Dolphins guy. I know you're a Dolphins guy.
08:41 How are you feeling about your season coming up with them?
08:45 I don't like that sigh right there, Frank.
08:48 I question the defense, but if the offense is healthy, who's going to stop them?
08:55 I mean, the offense, believe me, I told you I'm a Broncos fan.
08:59 Y'all hung 70 on us. Probably could have got to 100 if you wanted to last year.
09:03 But it's rough times for my Broncos country.
09:07 It looks like the Broncos are completely tearing it down and rebuilding with Trent just trying it.
09:14 With the quarterback situation, it doesn't look too promising.
09:19 See, you say that. I'm actually kind of happy we took Bo Nix.
09:22 A guy that's been through, obviously played a lot of football, he's been in college for like 17 years it felt like.
09:27 But a guy that I believe who could deal with adversity, when you play for a guy like Sean Payton,
09:32 you got to be ready. He's going to bring it every day and he's going to rip you down.
09:36 And you got to build yourself back up.
09:38 And that's why someone like Bo Nix, who I feel like has been through that ringer already,
09:41 he'll be able to take them more than, you know, we brought on Zach Wilson.
09:45 I'm like, I don't know how I feel about that.
09:47 Because you saw what happened to him in New York.
09:49 Sean Payton is not going to take it easy on him.
09:52 I mean, Zach Wilson just didn't look like he was mentally ready for the NFL.
09:56 It just was not his time, especially playing in New York where, you know how our fan base is out here.
10:03 It's no joke. It's no joke.
10:05 I mean, I hear a certain baseball team is actually afraid of me, with my criticisms.
10:15 Oh, your baseball team, your Mets? I know all about your Mets and your way into the table.
10:21 I'm a Yankees guy, so, I mean, obviously we haven't been to the Providence Clans since 2009.
10:26 But, tell you what, we're doing well this year and I'm excited.
10:31 All right, now, every time you come to the stadium, you get to look up right there, number 52.
10:39 Oh, yeah.
10:41 What does it mean that Rutgers honors you in such a way?
10:44 The only number retired by Rutgers football.
10:46 You know, it's still surreal to me because I'm just a kid from Avedon, New Jersey,
10:52 who came here to make my dream come true, make it to the NFL, you know, playing the game that I love.
10:58 To be in the birthplace of college football with the only number ever retired,
11:02 with all the greats that have come through here, the Paul Robesons of the world, Kenny Brits,
11:06 Devin McCourty, you know, Ray Rice, and my number's up there.
11:10 It's just amazing to see and every time I pass by it, it's just a moment, you know,
11:15 just because my injury happened to me, it doesn't mean that I was going to let it take me out
11:19 and that's kind of what represents that, that perseverance of being able to just go through life and handle adversity.
11:24 Now, you're still a big part of the Rutgers program.
11:28 You do the radio.
11:30 I do. I've called every game since, jeez, what's that, 2012, and I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.
11:39 I've seen the 70-point losses and I also see the comeback wins versus Michigan State here last year.
11:45 You know, when you work this long now with the university, you do go through rough times,
11:50 you have to course, but that's what makes those special times so much more special
11:54 because of everything that you see in the program developing, the new different coaches, staff,
11:59 and their styles that come through, so it's been pretty awesome, honestly.
12:03 And of course, another big part of what you do is the Eric LeGrand Coffee House.
12:09 Ah, yes. So I started the coffee house during the pandemic.
12:12 My goal was I wanted to bring unity to the community where the daily couple believe.
12:16 My motto has been believe since my injury, and I remember the world was at each other's throats, man.
12:21 Everyone wanted to kill each other. I'm like, how can I just bring people together
12:25 and make them just forget about all the bullshit that's going on in the world?
12:28 And I just thought, what do people want and what do they need? Coffee.
12:32 So you come to my house and you drink a cup of coffee, it's just that daily affirmation, you know,
12:37 forget about all the shit that's going on in the world and just think about the positive things that you can do.
12:42 I want to remind people every sip of that.
12:44 Of course, you have the coffee house. I've seen Eric LeGrand Coffee at the Prudential Center.
12:49 Ah, yep.
12:50 And it's at several other places. You can order the coffee online.
12:54 Yep, another place to go to order online. We had it at the Prudential Center as well as down by Bourbon, too.
12:59 I've been able to be out there, and I love seeing that throughout New Jersey.
13:02 We just launched Bourbon and also the state of New York, so Eric LeGrand, Kentucky, straight Bourbon as well.
13:07 So I'll take care of you in the morning and I'll take care of you in the evening, too.
13:10 Now, what is going on in terms of recovery for spinal injuries?
13:18 How is that progressing with the programs you're doing, with the money you're raising, with the Believe Foundation?
13:27 What's going on with that these days?
13:29 So it's very cool being able to work with the Christopher A. Dayton Reed Foundation, my foundation, Team LeGrand.
13:34 We've been able to raise over $2 million in spinal cord injury research, close on $3 million.
13:39 And you see the things that are happening, whether it's epidural stimulation where you're literally implanting stems into somebody's lower half of their spinal cord
13:47 and turning them on, and you're seeing people regain back function throughout their body, standing up and walking with a walker,
13:53 bowel-bladder function, sensation throughout their body.
13:57 From when I got hurt in 2010 to where we are now, it's just absolutely incredible.
14:04 And I can't wait to see where the next 10 years takes us, honestly.
14:07 And then a lot of stuff is being done with stem cell research.
14:10 It's funny because, you know, the people that are dealing with the spinal cord injury, we don't care how we get there.
14:15 As long as we find that cure, like it doesn't matter if it's stem cells, if it's epidural stimulation, just find us that cure
14:20 and we'll get there. And the Christopher and Dana Reed Foundation is doing their part so we can live Christopher Reed's dream, and that's the world of empty wheelchairs.
14:26 I mean, that would be fantastic to see one day.
14:29 I mean, if you're able to, like, one day take another step, walk out on the field, I mean, that would be a dream come true for everyone.
14:37 I mean, Frank, I'll tell you what, it's going to be a big party in New Jersey that day.
14:42 I'm going to turn this whole state upside down that day.
14:45 And that day, I truly believe that's going to happen in our lifetimes.
14:48 I can't tell you when, but I'm going to control what I control and work my ass off to get there.
14:52 I mean, you're an inspiration. Every day, you're an inspiration.
14:56 I mean, you are basically the face of Rutgers football.
15:02 You're going to find here pictures of Rutgers players that have played in the Super Bowl.
15:06 Oh, yeah. You can see these are my guys right here in the bottom half.
15:09 I play with all these guys on the bottom half and some even on the top.
15:13 So these are my guys I got to play with.
15:16 Devin, Jason, McCord, my brother was a little bit after me.
15:19 Duran, Doudou, Logan Ryan, Tim Wright, Jonathan Freeney, Alex, and Vesto.
15:25 Those are all my guys, man. It's crazy to see how we're all the way back here.
15:29 Oh, Harry, he had a great career.
15:31 In the '70s, yeah, of course, with the New York Giants, walk on, became a captain and then obviously winning Super Bowls as well.
15:37 Isaiah Pacheco, what he's been able to do, two Super Bowls.
15:40 So, yeah, we have our lineage here. It may not be like Alabama, but I'll tell you what,
15:45 you get a Rutgers football player on the NFL roster, you know you're going to get it.
15:49 We do well. We're always prepared.
15:53 If you notice, a lot of them played for the Patriots.
15:56 Yeah, Bill Belichick knows. He told us the smartest player that he's ever drafted was Devin McCord.
16:02 So that goes to say a little bit something like that.
16:04 He always had a passion for Rutgers players. He always went after Rutgers players.
16:09 I mean, because the more you can do, the more that you're worth.
16:13 And we're here at Rutgers. We do a little bit of all. We don't just play defense, offense.
16:18 We play special teams. You know, we're involved in all the return, kick return, kickoffs.
16:23 So it's the more you can do, the more valuable you are.
16:26 And Bill Belichick used to take a lot of value in that.
16:29 I mean, Bill Belichick's philosophy is always do your job.
16:34 And that feels like that same philosophy is here.
16:38 That's why him and Coach Shiano get along so well with each other.
16:41 And, you know, when they get together in the offseason, they're obviously they're sitting down talking ball.
16:44 But it's about the philosophy of do your job.
16:47 And the demand that Coach Shiano used to put on us, if you don't do your job,
16:51 you get that one person that messes up a play, it messes up the entire thing.
16:55 And it just emphasizes that over and over again.
16:57 Let's just say, Frank, you don't want to be that guy. You don't want to be that guy.
17:01 So Bill Belichick has that same philosophy as well.
17:04 We see like Nick Saban's of the world as well, too.
17:08 I mean, with the NIL deal, do you think Rutgers one day could maybe find a way to become a top 10 program?
17:20 I'll tell you, it sure is hard. It is hard with NIL.
17:23 Obviously, you see these big schools. You go down south where there's nothing but football.
17:28 All these companies are throwing their money at that.
17:31 So we're up here where we have how many different professional teams up here?
17:35 It's just ridiculous.
17:37 There's nine. There's nine in New York and New Jersey.
17:40 It's hard to fight for dollars. But guess what? The proof is in the pudding.
17:43 If you put the product on the field, you get the players doing the right thing.
17:47 That's been a struggle. That's been a struggle for anyone.
17:51 But if you get the right players here, back in 2006, when that time when Coach Shiano's first go around here,
17:57 there was nothing like being on that field.
17:58 I was a junior in high school. Got the storm to field for Pantamonium and Piscataway.
18:02 I wasn't going anywhere else. I'm like, "There's no way I'm leaving this thing."
18:05 I remember in those days Rutgers was using James Gandolfini a lot.
18:09 Yeah. James Gandolfini.
18:11 To get players here.
18:14 It was like, "Join the Rutgers family." He got heavily involved.
18:19 All you guys. We even had your boy David Wright on the sideline for some of those games back in the day.
18:24 It was like Celebrity Row at Rutgers University.
18:27 You got to get back to that now.
18:28 It's always been tough for the New York team.
18:31 If you were to forecast this upcoming season for Rutgers, what do you think would be a good season for them?
18:37 Last year they won a bowl game. They had the 6-6 season, won a bowl.
18:42 What would be this year's goal?
18:43 A lot of people are saying the over/under of their wins this year is 6.5.
18:47 I'm going to go on the high end. I'm going 9 wins this year.
18:50 I looked at the schedule and I really believe that if everything goes right, obviously injuries and that shit.
18:56 But I really believe that Rutgers can get 9 wins this year.
19:00 I'm going to put it right there out there to the world to see.
19:02 I don't care what you say. You can fight me on it.
19:04 If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I'm going to say 9 wins for this card.
19:07 9 wins for Rutgers. You heard it here first from Eric LeGrand.
19:10 Thanks again. This was a pleasure.
19:13 You inspire me. You inspire everyone.
19:16 I know one day you're going to walk.
19:19 You just have it in your mind you're going to walk and you are going to walk.
19:23 And Frank, I got one more thing for you. I know you're a big Seton Hall guy, but I got to give you some shit.
19:28 This year, we're going to make a bet, you and I.
19:31 If Rutgers beat Seton Hall this year, you got to come out to Jersey Mike's Arena,
19:35 formerly known as the Rack, dressed in Rutgers gear.
19:38 And if Seton Hall beats Rutgers, I'll show up to a game.
19:41 I'll deliver the whole team coffee and whatnot and I'll be dressed up in Seton Hall gear.
19:45 You got a deal with that?
19:46 Get her on.
19:47 Hell yeah, baby. Let's go.
19:48 Get her on.
19:49 Go RU, baby.
19:50 [MUSIC]
19:53 (upbeat music)