Alex Molden: Reaching the NFL Was Just the Beginning

On this episode of Fit For Radio, Drew sits down with Alex Molden to talk about a journey that started with constant change and led all the way to the biggest stage in football.

Growing up, Alex moved around frequently as a kid, adapting to new places and new environments while developing a love for the game. That path eventually led him to the University of Oregon, where he became an All-American and one of the top defensive backs in the country before being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

His professional career came with its share of injuries and adversity, but Alex persevered and played eight seasons in the NFL — a milestone reached by only about three percent of players.

In this conversation, Alex shares the mindset that helped him push through setbacks and the challenge many athletes face when the game ends: redefining who you are. After football, he reinvented himself as a high-level trainer, motivational speaker, and author who now inspires others to pursue their best selves.

He also talks about the role that matters most to him today — being a husband and father to eight incredible kids.

This is a story about perseverance, reinvention, and finding purpose beyond the game.

Transcript

Introducing Alex Molden

SPEAKER_01 0:00

And I was like, I'm about to work out. And I was like, hey, hey, man, why are you still punting? He said, oh, I got a scholarship. And I was like, uh, scholarship? What's that? He was, Alex, you don't know what a scholarship is? I was like, genuinely, I don't know. What is that? And so he broke it down and he said, oh no, I'm getting my books and uh half of my tuition paid for. And I was like, hold on, hold on. You're playing football. You're punting, and you're getting part of tuition in school paid for. He said, Yeah. That was one of the most impactful conversations at that time I had in my life. A light bulb goes off. And I was like, hold on. So when I watch college football, you telling me those guys, they have college paid for because they play football? Yeah. Changed my life.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Tiedeman, your host, and we are, as usual, here at the Stafford Hills Club. As I rolled in here this morning, got my gym bag packed away. After we're done with the interview, I'll be over there working on my mentals and my physical health, uh, crushing it. And then maybe I'm gonna go full on dawn mode and hit up that steam room when I'm done. If you haven't been here, if you haven't seen all of the amenities, the amazing new weight room, check it out, staffordhills.com and hit me up personally for half off your initiation. Today I've got an amazing guest uh in the studio here with me, uh, a guy who actually is spent some time at a place I love very much, which is the University of Oregon playing football for the Ducks, went on to the NFL, and then has redefined himself through multiple phases of his life, but uh so happy to have him in studio. It's Alex Molden. Welcome in.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Drew, man, thank you so much for having me. Um, I'm really excited for our conversation today.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Yeah, it's great to sit down with you. I actually had multiple friends uh reach out to me. I actually meant to bring one up before we came on, but someone who spent some time with you over at Nike long before another mutual of my friend, uh one of my friends got us together for coffee. And he said, you got to get Alex on the show. And then his next quote was, he will change your life. And so I thought that was quite a little compliment coming your way. Now, just to walk it back for you, uh, you were raised in a military family, correct? Correct. Um, and you spent some time traveling around as a kid. Now, did you spend time in in other countries? How did how did you grow up?

Growing Up a Military Kid

SPEAKER_01 2:51

So originally from Detroit and lived there until I was, uh I want to say four or five. And then we, my dad got stationed to uh Fort Seal, which is in Oklahoma. So I spent three years in Oklahoma, and then from there we went to Germany for three years. And then from there, we got back to the States by the time that was like 10 or 11. So this was in '83. And um, yeah, so I we call uh Colorado Springs home.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Okay. So did you find that difficult moving a lot as a kid, having a pickup and and not get those long-term friends? Or how was that for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:29

I mean, it was early enough where it it was like an adventure. You know what I'm saying? Like you uh, you know, you spend some time. It was, you know, you had make friends, and when it was always like the sad part, moving away from your friends, thinking you're gonna see them again. But also the the really tough part, but I got used to it, and it really helped me out later on in life, was like being that new kid in school, you know, and the anxiety that comes with that. Like you coming in, and you know, uh most of the time we was getting there, not at the beginning of the school year, but like midway through. Which is way harder. It's way tougher. So getting in there, um, kind of figuring out where things are, um, the friend groups and whatnot. And um, but it really helped me out later on in life. But it was very uncomfortable when I was going through it during those early years.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

And as a guy who ends up being an athlete and traveling from city to city, I could see how that would kind of it would be a bit of a trial by fire to build you into being able to kind of be a chameleon into different cities.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, with the cities, which was cool, seeing different, you know, the deep south down in New Orleans is totally different than West Coast San Diego, right? But it was really going to the different teams. You know, I played for eight years in the NFL and I played for four different teams. And, you know, you're going, you're, you, you're going to this new team that has a different culture, and you're trying to fit in. Like you're trying to, you know, early on it was trying to fit in, but now it's like, okay, I'm old enough. Let me uh let me go on here and do my job, get the the proper uh language, because with football, everybody runs the same thing. It's just the different things that they call. You know, you just got to get the language right. But then also the empathy, because you start to realize like some of these rookies or some of these people who are coming, they're they're new to the squad and they're they're new to the city. Some of them might have families, right? Some of them, you know, they're they're hanging on by a thread. And I've been there, you know, and I wanted to um show them that, man, I want to make them as part of the team as quick as possible because I've been where they are, you know, and I did it at a at a young age. Yeah. But now I'm doing it at a professional level.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Well, I think that's impressive, you know, to remember those things and remember those feelings, you know. So when you come back from Germany and and you guys find your way to Colorado, that's where you end up finding kind of like a home base for a while. How long do you get to stay?

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Yeah. So I was there from fifth grade all the way to uh graduation of high school.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Oh, so you got a good solid run there.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yes. Yes. I have a lot of, you know, high school to middle school friends, both male and female, that I still keep in touch with.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Are you playing sports at this point? I know that you uh for in the grand scheme of football, especially the way kids are now, they're introduced so early. Were you playing other sports? I mean, you're in Germany. Were you playing soccer? Were you playing other basketball? What were you or anything organized? Um, yeah.

Discovering Football

SPEAKER_01 7:01

And it was more just to get the kids out the house, right? Yes. You know, my dad was he was working, he was out in the field or doing whatever with the army. And so my mom, it was her and, you know, twins. So me and my twin brother. So a lot of it we just get him out of, get us out the house. And there was a recreation center. So anytime there was like, you know, there was baseball, there was soccer. Um one of the sports that I really remember, and I remember having a lot of success in at a young age was track. And it was jumping.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Okay, so were you doing a high jump?

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Yeah, yeah, high jump. I remember doing a broad jump. And I I just remember like when you would win, you get these ribbons. You get blue, right? Blue for first place, you get um red, I think for second, green for third. I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

What color was participation? Because I believe I have an entire closet full of those if you'd like to see them.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

This was back before. No participation. There ain't no participation uh uh ribbons.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Well, in all fairness, I don't think my dad would have let me keep them. Um so you end up going to school in Colorado, but at some point you start playing little football in the streets. Is that where the game comes to you first?

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yes, yes. And and this was when we were in Germany. So I want to say like fourth or fifth grade. And the thing about it is um me and my brother, we never watched it. You know, it's not like my dad was some, you know, some NFL junkie or college football junkie. And, you know, plus we was over in Germany, so we didn't we didn't watch a ton of TV.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

There's not a lot of football on TV over there.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Yeah, so uh when we would go out there in the streets, and because we lived on base, and so in base it was, even though we lived in Germany, like everybody, you know, was American. So, you know, you go out in the in the lots and they're playing football. And so we go out there and, you know, this is back when they would have two captains, typically was the two best players, and they would pick. And they, me and my my brother, we was always picked last.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

And it's so nerve-wracking during that process is they're they're uh they're pointing over with the finger and it's right past you every time. I'm like, man.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

And uh, but it was it was because we didn't our our lack of knowledge. We were pretty good athletes, but you could jump. Yeah, they can jump, they can run, but man, I didn't know what a wide receiver did. I didn't know what a quarterback, what's their job? Yeah. And what what's a defensive back? What do they do? Who who is Lawrence Taylor? Who's Walter Payton? They, you know, everybody. Everybody's saying, hey, I'm Walter Payton, or I'm Tony Doriset, I'm Lynn Swan. And I was like, who the hell are these people?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

And so the biggest Hall of Famers of their time is who they are. Um, so do you does that become motivation for you to not be picked blast, or is it just a time where you remember before the talent part of it kind of shined for you?

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yeah, it was more, I it wasn't motivation, I don't think. It was just um lack of knowledge. And for me, you know, with the frustration, um, I remember one particular time I went inside and my dad was home and I was like, you know, almost in tears. And like, dad, can you teach me football? And this is, you know, this is early, this is early 80s. Ain't no internet.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

You can't you can't just go look it up on the net.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

It ain't no Google, ain't no YouTube. And oh, and my dad said, you know, hey, we have a set of encyclopedias. Why don't you look and see in F and see if there's uh if it's football is in there? And so for everybody who's under the age of 40 in a set of encyclopedias, that was our that was our world wide web. Yeah. And so there's a every book which was about, I don't know, two or three inches thick, A, B, C, right? And so I looked under F and I looked, and and uh sure enough, they had football. And so I learned the game of football from the from a granular level. Like I learned what the positions were, I learned what what defenses were, what their responsibilities, how they lined up. So I learned it like literally the game of football for an encyclopedia.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Yeah, and and I'm so thankful that I did because um, you know, there's people, there's coaches that, you know, you don't know how how much knowledge they have, and they can be giving you something that's way over your head. And you skip some of the it's like this, it's like um you know, having a having a child, and they go from being all wobbly, not being able to move, and then they're uh they're almost ready to crawl, but you skip you you skip crawling and you go right to walking. And there's a lot of things that, you know, neurologically you skipped a part of the process. Yeah, the connection part that often comes. So um I'm very thankful that I did learn the game of football that way.

Learning the Game

SPEAKER_00 12:26

And I'm from a time where we still had encyclopedias because I remember them coming door to door and sold a set to my parents. Now you were uh you were definitely doing a better job of actually opening them. I think I was stacking them on the ground to reach a candy jar, but uh all that being said, it was it was a different time of learning. You know, now with uh YouTube and Chat GPT and all this stuff, it's just all instantaneous. And one thing about what you've got there though, rather than YouTube, is it was basically the law of football or the the down to its fundamentals and not, you know, some guy ad-libbing or not necessarily being correct, or half the time you you go to these search engines or these uh AI things, and they don't, they like you said, they skip a step or they don't understand entirely what's going on. Yeah. So for you, um, as you're now in Colorado, do you at what point do you realize that you're no longer gonna be the guy who's gonna get picked last and that you actually have a knack for this?

SPEAKER_01 13:36

I think it really um it started at the Boys and Girls Club. Now I wanted to play in fifth grade. I wanted to play in sixth grade, I wanted to play in seventh grade, but my parents wouldn't let me. And a big part of it was finance. Because it's expensive. Yeah, it was expensive. So, you know, we didn't have$200 to go and, you know, to, you know, for registration and cleats and whatnot. Matter of fact, I remember the first pair of cleats that I had, I got it from my dad's, you know, when I was in eighth grade, my dad's friend had a pair from his old high school years. Now, the thing about it, they were like a size 14.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

And what are you wearing at that point?

High School Football Journey

SPEAKER_01 14:25

I don't know, maybe nine. Nine. Yeah. Right? I'm serious, man. It was like I had to wear five pairs of socks. I know that. And then I had to roll the front, you know, I had long socks, so then I can be able to roll it back so it's more padding, so it'd feel better, at least or fit better. And so um, yeah, that was my first kind of go ahead at it.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Well, I mean, if you can get good at a game in size 14 shoes when you're a nine, you just it's kind of like wearing a weighted vest, right? You know what? I never thought about it like that, but yeah. Once that comes off, you're just fleet of foot. Yeah. Um, so you in high school, are you are we talking freshman, sophomore year? When are you starting to get um you know, eyes on you?

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Um, I want to say, like, really, really, I was good in eighth grade. And I didn't say this before, but what gave me confidence was I started lifting weights. I started lifting weights at the boys' club. This is before they became the boys and girls club. But in the boys' club, I started lifting weights maybe like in uh sixth or seventh grade. And um And that's ahead of the curve. Most sixth graders aren't touching a weight. Yeah, but it was because of the relationship that I had with the um with direct director. He was such a cool cat. He was strong and big. And I was like, man, how do you I could be like that guy? Yeah, how do you do that? Man, come on in here. And you start doing like pull-ups and push-ups and stuff like that. And man, I started to see after a long time, I started to see some of the some of the fruit. And I was like, man, I like this. And um, so it that's that was one of the first deals is getting confident in something. And so I just kind of borrowed that confidence and put it into football. And, you know, I my freshman year played well, got moved up to varsity. Um matter of fact, um the when I got moved up, I was thinking, oh, I can, I'm gonna play. And, you know, in a playoff game. That's typically what happens, right? You're yeah, you're freshman, you get moved up. Pulled up for the playoffs. And I was like, oh man, man, I didn't know this until I got there at the game, but they called me up to be a ball boy. I thought I had my pad. You're ready to rock. It's oh no, no, no, no. No, no, you're gonna shag, you're gonna shag the the balls, you know, when it kick, when the kicker kicks it, yeah. You get that to the referee. So you weren't even in uniform. I wasn't even uniform.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

No, I had my jersey on. Yes, but still it was kind of like honorary member that. Yes. And it is kind of a way for the coach, and I don't know what kind of coach you had, but it kind of it kind of leads you into being one of the guys the next year. Because I'm guessing you came in as a sophomore and and that that whole narrative shifts.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Yeah. Yeah. I it was one of those things like, you know, I coach on and I speak on leadership, right? And expectations. And expectations can be they can be good, and sometimes they can be not so good. And so the expectation of me, you know, um, you know, playing varsity football as a freshman, I expected it, but it didn't happen. And so, but that fueled me to go out there and show not just to coaches or to my teammates, but to myself. And so I went up, you know, as a sophomore, had an opportunity to st to start, and um, and I did that. We were switching off and on me and another, uh, he was a a grade ahead of me. And I ended up uh pulling my hamstrand. And it's the first injury I ever had. And um, I just remember, you know, battling back from that. And I was relegated or relegated to um to JV. Okay. And so I remember, you know, you you're with varsity for half the year, and it's just a different thing. You kind of get sucked down into this different V-League type of a thing. And I remember that was the first time I seriously, honestly thought about quitting football. I remember skipping practice.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Which that is, I mean, and you're just a kid at this time who shouldn't be judged by it, but that's the kind of adversity, though, that you have to find a way to battle through. I mean, that's the kind of thing where, and you're a father, and I'm a father, where my kid gets in the car at soccer and she's been put on the B team and the other girls are on the A team and she thinks it's unfair, and you can see they're just starting to go down a rabbit hole of I'm gonna quit. And it's like, hey, take it easy, take it easy. That's just a that's young blood feeling right there.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Yeah, but that's being in your emotions. Yes. You know, and sometimes, you know, when you you can be in your emotions, you just can't live there. You know, because you live there, then you start to believe a narrative that's not really true.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Yeah. Acknowledge them, don't wallow in them. Yes. Yeah I think that's that's good advice. So you you don't quit, right? You you stay with the team. Do you have to finish your sophomore year with uh JB or do you get brought back to your team? Yeah, I end up getting brought back.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Yeah, and uh played, played in uh uh towards the back end of the season and then into the playoffs.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Okay. Um, and so you you get into the playoffs. Are you at a bigger school? How how is this school at football?

SPEAKER_01 20:03

In in Colorado Springs, we were we were one of the dominant teams.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Okay, so you're in the action every year? Yep, every year. Okay. Um now you guys get to the playoffs sophomore year. Um, as you're as you're cruising along, uh, do you find more success than just getting to the playoffs? How does this team go deep in a state run? Or how do you how do you start to establish yourself? Because I I mean I know where you end up. You end up in college and the pros. So, you know, so many high school football players, their story is just like yours right here, like at sophomore year. We're right there. Most of us don't end up doing what you did. So where is the difference? What where does it change?

Bulking Up

SPEAKER_01 20:49

I think for for me, it changed when I um I found out what this vehicle could do. Right. What when you really pour in your all and you really um you really just man, you put all your eggs in one basket. And for me, it happened the summer before my junior year. Right. So I'm out there um training, right, during the summertime, and you know, I'm about to do some some wind sprints. And I see a uh a former player who I played with. He was he was a senior, I was a sophomore, right? And um, we're out there, he was a punter. And so he's punting these balls, boom, you know, just banging away. Yeah, and he was a good punter. And I was like, I'm about to work out, and I was like, hey, hey man, why are you still punting? He's like, Oh, I got a scholarship. I got a scholarship at Adams State. And I was like, uh, scholarship? What's that? He was Alex, you don't know what a scholarship is? I was like, Junior. I don't know. What is that? And so he broke it down. And he told me, oh no, I'm getting my books and my my books and uh half of my tuition paid for. And I was like, hold on, hold on. You're playing football. You're punting, and you're getting part of tuition in school paid for. He said, Yeah. That was one of the most impactful conversations at that time I had in my life. A light bulb goes off. And I was like, hold on. So when I watch college football, and I'm watching Oklahoma, and I'm watching USC in Notre Dame, you telling me those guys, they have college paid for because they play football? Yeah. Changed my life. Like I had, I was like that, that racehorse when they get those blinders. Yep. Now it's on. That's and that's when I heard that, I started doing all type of research. And this is, like I said, pre-websites and all that type of stuff. I had to, I started looking, um uh, what was that? Uh Sports Illustrated. Oh, yeah. And I started like, okay, reading as much as I could about like what are the uh what are the benchmarks for these, you know, these football players. Now I remember, you know, there was uh Tony Mandrich. He was an offensive lineman. Yeah. He showed like an incredible bulk, right? How much he ate, how much he weighed, how strong he was, and all that. And I was like, okay, that's what I needed right there. Now, granted, this dude is 315 pounds, right? I can't do the same workout and move the same weight, but I was shooting for that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Yeah. I mean, your frame doesn't scream that we want you to run up into the 300s. I don't think that's gonna be ideal. But um at some point, did you go through a growth spurt? Was there a, or were you always, you know, kind of moving along the same size scale? Because you started lifting weights when you were a kid, and so you were already kind of building a bulk. Was there into that sophomore junior time? Is do you get bigger? Is there, or are you is it just about work ethic?

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Um, I think it was just about work ethic. It's not like I'm as you didn't have this monster like moment. I was I was long. You know, I was probably the same height, right? About 5'11. Um, but I was just skinny. I remember in my freshman year, I was like 135 pounds. You know, I looked, man, my arms were long, long legs, short torso, built funny. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And big hands. Um, but I didn't really grow a ton more. You know, I started to pack on weight and build more muscle. Yeah. Um, and, you know, I wasn't technically a pretty runner. I was fast, but that was just because my mama's genes, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

It was, it was all you were always gonna be fast. And, you know, I will point out that you should call the people over at uh Wikipedia. They're robbing you of an inch and a half. They've got you at five, nine and a half on Wikipedia. That's some bulls. I'm gonna tell you right. They got you at five, nine and a half, and I'm like, I met this guy. I stood next to him. There's no way he's five, nine and a half.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

You know that. You can't believe everything you you see or read or or hear on the internet.

SPEAKER_00 25:28

That's 100% true. It's the Fit for Radio Podcast, and it's brought to you by the Stafford Hills Club. If you haven't been here, you gotta check it out. Staffordhills.com. They've got everything you need, whether you're lifting weights, you're into the cardio, or you'd like a guided class, they've got everything there. Also the salt water pool, people doing laps with the steam coming off it at dawn. It's so nice. Or if you just want to swim on your own time, they've got you covered and kick back and relax as we're about to see sunshine every day here soon. So Stafford Hills is your spot to get ready for that beach, bod, staffordhills.com. So you're now at the tail end of high school, and I've always wondered this about college. I went to U of O. I'm a huge duck fan. I've been to a billion games, but I always wondered about the athlete. You know, when do they actually, and it's getting earlier and earlier anymore now, especially with the pay-to-play stuff. But back when it was standard issue behavior, when did schools actually start to try and rope guys into their program?

SPEAKER_01 26:39

That was typically like um, well, for me, it was at the I want to say my junior year. Okay. And it was because I went to some camps before my junior year. I went to the Colorado uh Boulder, you know, CU. I went to their football camp. And then I also went to another um, it was a camp. Yeah, I just, you know, it gave me a chance to compete.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

And Colorado is the juggernaut back then because it's 90 and 92. They've got title contender teams, and I believe they won one right there. They won it 90, uh 90, maybe. 90, yeah. Yeah, and so there's no better place to go to football camp in 1990-ish than Colorado. Yes. Um, so that kind of that puts you on somebody's radar, right?

Getting Noticed

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Well, it was really um, it was really, they knew about me. CU did, but nobody else. And so um that year, my junior, I had a stellar year. Like I balled out. I went bananas. Nice. And at the end of the year, I was um uh, or I want to say bef beginning of my senior year, I was a preseason All-American. So And that changes the eyeballs as well. That changed the eyeballs, yeah. Because I, you know, I didn't do anything as a sophomore. I barely played. So I had to go improve myself my junior year.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

They didn't see you shagging those balls freshman year. Yeah. The fastest I've ever seen someone return a ball to a sideline. But how dare they? I didn't even know what a scholarship was. I don't know what I was saying. Turn it down.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

That doesn't sound like me. Right. But uh yeah, so you know, balled out, you know, did my thing as a junior, and uh now I started getting, you know, I remember getting uh my one of my first phone calls was from Oklahoma. And I was like, wow, this is Oklahoma then USC. These are the biggest programs ever. Yeah, Oregon and and uh, you know, Colorado, Tennessee. You know, so these schools started contacting me. It was cool to get letters, but then once they, you know, were able to start calling and you start to hear voices and you know the pit and the whole deal.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

That gets you It's gotta be exciting, right? Because like the world feels like it's your oyster at this point. Oh, yeah. Like you you've got you've got decisions to make. Um, but I see the and I know your journey, but I I see the shirt that you're wearing right now, and it's a bit of a giveaway. Um, but how is it that you choose a school?

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Man, that was that that's tough because you have um, you know, you have all these schools, they're kind of telling you the same thing, what you can do for them, what they can offer for you, uh the dynamics of you know, playing in a prestigious conference or you know, prestigious team. But for me, it really came down to like when I went to their campus, how did it make me feel? And I went to Colorado's campus and that felt like home, you know, because I'm in state and whatnot. But the thing about it, and they just won, right? They just won the national championship. But I was I wanted to use this vehicle to get out of the state. You were ready to roll. I was ready to roll. And for, and it's not for the reasons that you know maybe somebody might think. It was, I know if I was if I was in that state and something, if I would get a phone call from my mom, because she was in an abusive relationship, you know, after my mom and dad divorced and she got remarried, and he was an alcoholic. And um, you know, and it happened before where he would put his hands on my mom. So there's always the fear of that. The fear of that. And I'm like, okay, I'm two hours away. If I get a phone call, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna get somebody I didn't have a car, but I was gonna get down there. And it's not gonna be good. It's not gonna be good. And so I was like, I don't want to have that.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

Access at all, right? Yeah. I mean, that's an it's an interesting way of looking at it too, because you know, it it you know what you're capable of and who you're going to protect, right? And so I think it's a uh it's a commendable thing. Because when I found out that you went to Oregon and weren't from there or from the California feeder schools, I was like, you know, it's interesting to me because we spent so many years trying to convince good players to come to Oregon because they're afraid of things like rain and just uh dark and gray and gloomy. And, you know, it's and forever that was the stigma. And so to grab somebody of your caliber and to get them to Oregon, that was kind of before its time a little bit, because Oregon's program wasn't the glistening thing that it is today. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

They weren't, I didn't watch many, they weren't never on TV. No. I never remember seeing them ranked.

Going to Oregon

SPEAKER_00 32:06

We would play at 9 a.m. I mean, always. 8 a.m. sometimes and unheard of now.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

Yeah. But it was just when I came up, it really the biggest thing is the the coach that recruited me, his name is Coach Neil Zumbucos. And so he was coach Zoom. Okay. So he had our area. And it was just the relationship that he built with me and my mom and my brother. That was one of the biggest reasons I came to Oregon. It wasn't because they was in the Pac-10 or their win-loss records or my ability to, you know, play early. None of that mattered. It was just the relationship and how he was authentic. And it was always about um what um what the University of Oregon could do for me. And he wasn't trying to sell me like like other people were. I went to, you know, Tennessee, went to Colorado on on visits. Oregon didn't, Coach Zoom didn't tell me, oh, you're you're crazy for going to, for even thinking about these schools, where Tennessee and CU, they were doing that. And it just left a bad taste in my mouth. And so, you know, with the just the way he recruited me.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

So when back in those days, and you you don't have to make any school specific here, um, especially if it's Oregon, but is it like they say in the movies where they bring you to town and they're showing you all the glites and the glamour and the pretty girls and the and the lights and the I mean fancy dinners? Like, is how how do they schmooze you in the mid-early to mid-90s? Oh man, that's a good one. Because that's a different uh different thing.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

I remember going to, and this is my first time, and and and when I did my official visits, my mom didn't come with me. I was so low. Yeah, so that's another thing. Yeah, so I go to CU, and it's like my first time, you know, in a hotel. And, you know, open the, I get get my key, I go into my room, and there's a there's a big uh chocolate cake, you know, saying, Welcome to CU, home of the number one ranked buffaloes. And and then they they take you around and you know, you're the best thing.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

Yeah, you're just on a cloud nine as you're there. Yeah. Which it's gotta be tough to decipher between the schools when they're showing you the cream of the crop, you know, the top of the top. Like that's not your day-to-day. There's not always gonna be a cake on your dorm room bed. Yeah, exactly. They're schmoozing you to get you in.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

Oh, I yes, I went to Tennessee and 100, 101, 103,000 seat uh stadium. And I go in there, and um, you know, on my name on the big screen, you know, wow. Number one, Alex Molden. Number one from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

It's hard not to sign right then, you know, because they've got you all the you know, I get lost in the moment a little bit. Like, where's the pen?

SPEAKER_01 35:14

Yeah. And that's what happens. That's what happens. Like, you know, I'm going to it, you know, with my sons, and yeah, they, you know, there's a big win, or um, they have, you know, something, whatever. They some some of them watch a highlight. A highlight, and they like, man, I'm ready to sign. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

And even at Oregon now, you know, you see these guys they go and visit, and when they sign with the ducks, they've got so much gear. Like, and it's the greatest gear in the world is at Oregon. And they have done an amazing job of making the kids feel like, you know, they're special in all that gear. Yeah. You know, so it's hard to say, okay, I need to go home and talk to my mom about it.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Yeah. Right. It really is. It's it's like um, you know, I tell my, you know, my sons who have gone through this journey of recruitment and recruitment. It's like, okay, don't make decisions just based off of how you feel. Because, you know, I can feel good. I can feel great. Like today, the sun is out, you know, I feel like lifting weights. There's gonna be other days where it's gloomy and I don't feel it all that great. But I still gotta go lift weights. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 36:25

So don't hang your hat on a single moment.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Don't hang your hat on a single moment or a C or a single feeling. What are your big boulders, your rocks that you want to that, why are you gonna make a decision? Is it based off of A, B, and C? Or or is it just based off the feeling? And it's like, man, feelings are fleeting. You know, you make it off of foundations.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

So when you get, when you finally decide, I'm gonna do Oregon, and you are gonna move across the country to this place that you you don't know anyone, right? Yeah. You're just just you and your and your recruiting class coming in, and you're just gonna do it like that. Now, I don't know what the layout was then. Did the players all still live in the university inn? Yep, you are the the giant uh concrete. It looks like a prison on the outside, but it's kind of nice inside.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

The all the freshmen. Yeah, the freshman went there.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

It was uh so all of the young football players would be there. And so when I went to school there, you know, I first time I had a friend who had a room there. And so I was like, well, they even allow Riffraff like us in here. And I walked in and the I was a I'm still a pretty little guy, but I was a very little guy coming into college. And I remember I turned the corner and there were a couple of, they look like linemen, they could have been DBs, who came around the corner and they were the biggest humans. And I'm like, oh wow, this is this is football, the football in, you know, it's the university in, but this is football in right here. So they took that was your first spot staying there. Yes. Yeah. Um so how did you like it? Did you feel like you had made the right decision straight away? Were you homesick? How did you feel as you got there?

Earning Some Cash

SPEAKER_01 38:05

Man, I just I felt at home. I got there early. So I was ready to leave Colorado Springs. Yeah, you were done. I was done. So, you know, now they do the early enrollees right around now. Yep. Or late January. Well, back in my day, like early was July. So I went there after July 4th, and I ended up getting a job. One of the, you know, the coaches and alumni to get me a job where I was washing cars, um, doing um moving steel.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Right. That's such a different time now, too. Like now I you I you don't hear about these high-level players getting a job at a steel factory or whatever you're doing. I mean, it's you're having to grind for your dream. I was the only one, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

And I had to, I needed that money to pay for the rent because I was there like six weeks early before any other freshman. But the advantage that it gave me to getting acclimated to Eugene, getting acclimated to um, you know, the team, the weight room, how they do things, the expectations, the playbook. And so um, yeah, by the time the other freshman came in, I was, you know, I was six weeks ahead of them.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

And Rich Brooks is still your coach at this time? Yep. Um, and do you interact much with the head coach when you're a young player? How often do you actually talk with the big dogs, or is it all position coaches and kind of um out into your own section of players?

SPEAKER_01 39:46

Yeah. It was, I want to say 90% my position. And actually, it was the majority of my time was with the strength and conditioning coach. And then it was my DB coach and who was also the defense coordinator, and then the the head coach, but very little interaction, especially one-on-one with the head coach.

SPEAKER_00 40:08

So you during your time there, you do run into some adversity. But before we get to that, um, at what point do you start to see the field as a duck? You know, because a lot of people, they it takes a few years to even get on the field.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Yeah, I think um, well, for me, like I knew I had to redshirt because Oh, so you you did redshirt your first year. Yeah, redshirt, and it was no doubt because then that was my plan. Because when I looked at the depth chart, he was when I was gonna be a freshman, a true freshman, there were two starting seniors. And so I was like, I'm not gonna come in as a freshman spot. I played strong safety in high school. I don't know what the hell a cornerback does. And so I knew there would be a learning curve. And so the expectation, right, was for me to come in. I know, I know I'm not gonna be able to take any of these guys' jobs. Let me sit, watch, learn, ask questions. And then by the next year, I should be, I should be ready to go. And for me, it was like the biggest thing came after that first year, after the 91 season, at the beginning of 92, during the spring practices, right? A spring ball. And so now I'm like, okay, now here's where I'm gonna make my presence known. And so the first meeting, you know, it was all great. And then you look at the depth chart. I like that the depth chart, I was like, hold on, this must be wrong. What who put this together? Right here, it says that I'm fourth. Uh-oh. I'm fourth. That's way down there. Like, what the hell? So that took 24 hours.

SPEAKER_00 41:55

New people or people who they just assumed were better? Just some older guys. Okay. So the seniority was uprooting your.

SPEAKER_01 42:06

I said, okay. So I was pissed. That was a chip on your shoulder. I was in my feelings for about 24 hours. And then I came together with a plan. And my plan was this. I said, I every time I'm out there, I'm going to be different than anybody else. And what I notice is nobody, nobody plays a physical style of football at the cornerback position. Nobody gets up in a receiver's face and challenges.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

So you're going to bump them at the line, you're going to get in the grill.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Yeah. So I'm going to do that. I'm going to be ultra physical. I'm going to be different. And so I took that that mind frame, and like every day we was out there, it was like, I'm not going to allow for, I'm not going to play soft. I'm not going to be timid. Because a lot of what I saw, a lot of guys were playing timid. And so each week, during those, that four-week span, each week I moved up the depth chart. And then by the time the spring game came, I was starting in front of another senior. And the rest of the city was a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:20

It's got to be tough for him to swallow that, but you're doing the work. And, you know, the that agitator, you know, in that first five yards off the line is, I mean, you can shake up a wide receiver pretty good. And you you made a career at it.

SPEAKER_01 43:35

Yeah. And really, I was, I was bred to do it because our DD coach, um, Coach Denny Schuler, who's no longer with us, but he he taught me how to play bump and run. And it was different than anybody else. Because I remember my first time lining up in one on ones, everybody else was playing eight yards off. And I got up there and I was eight yards off, and he blew his whistle. Is it? What are you doing? What you mean? What am I doing? I'm playing doing what they do. I'm playing all. No, you get up in his face. And so it was very uncomfortable. It was scary. And I got beat like a drum.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

Running by you at first.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

Oh my gosh. Yeah. And then I just watched more film. I watched the guys in the previous, you know, who was better than me or older than me. And I would steal different things from their game. And I would trial and trial and error. And that kind of honed your craft. Yeah. I started to find out, okay, I like this what he does. Um, I don't like that what he does. Let me try it out though. Let me, yep, I don't like that. I like this. Okay. I'm gonna use my hands, I'm gonna do this. And so I kind of just I stole bits and pieces from people who had success, and I made it my own. And it became my style. It became me. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

So and so is is this the year that you go to the independence poll? Yes. And so this is uh this is a day that you remember, I'm guessing. Yeah. Uh, because it's a it's a big turning point in your early career, and it's a it's another chance to um overcome adversity and to get out of your feelings, as you would say. Uh, because what happened uh during that independence bowl? Because you're now coming into your own. You've you've uh maximized this bump and run, you're in a bowl game. What happened?

SPEAKER_01 45:36

I got an interception to the house. Is that what you're talking about?

SPEAKER_00 45:39

Yeah, I will I want to start with that, which that's gotta feel incredible, right? I felt great, man.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

Being on Nashville TV, even though it was the independence bowl.

SPEAKER_00 45:49

But people aren't putting the eyes on Oregon the way they do now. So that's a big day. That's a chance to showcase that you guys aren't just some shlubby team.

The Injury

SPEAKER_01 45:58

Exactly. And I end up getting uh uh a pick six, it was a gimme. I think I walked into the end zone, and uh, you know, the TV, the cameras was on me. I get to say, hey Ma, I love you, Ma. Right? And awesome. It was one of the best things that happened to me, but it was one also one of the worst things that happened to me. Because you know, when you have success, you want more of that. And I it's not just football, right? It's when you you find success, you want more of it. There's a hunger for more. There's a hunger for more. But if you don't follow the same patterns that you've been taught to have that success, when you start to um you start to become bloodthirsty, I was bloodthirsty. Where now I start to skip steps in what I've been taught. So on this particular play, um, you know, I got an interception, score a touchdown, did all that. And about 20 minutes later, I'm back out there on the field, and like I said, I'm bloodthirsty. I want the cameras on me. Right. And so I start to bypass what I've been taught. And what I've been taught is, you know, as a corner, you read runner pass. If it's a pass, you defend, or you turn, open up your hips, or whatever. And when it's a run, now you attack the receiver. You so your eyes have to go to him. You got to defeat the block. Yeah. And it can be a cut block or they can stock block you up high. And then you get rid of the block and then you make the play. And so when this happened, um, I read runner pass, and I want to make the play. So I skipped the part where I'm supposed to protect myself and you know, defend the block. And what you tried to go straight at it? I tried to go straight. I didn't even look at the receiver. Uh-oh. And then he cut, he chop blocked me and blew out my my knee. Pretty catastrophic, too, right? ACL, MCL, um, partially um um torn PCL. Oh. And so I'm, you know, that happens, and I'm thinking my football career is over.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Because this is an injury that um my wife sustained at a Christmas party once. A lady jumped on her ACL, MCL meniscus tear. So not the PCL. Yeah. It destroyed her knee. And to this day, it's a snap, crackle, pop every time she works out. Like, it's gross, actually. It's like, I'm like, we got to get you back in. But it was so bad that I, I mean, I had to carry her to a taxi. We had to have the surgery twice. Like what you're talking about is not like, oh, okay, I just need a little, a little fix-up here. Like, that's a pretty big injury.

SPEAKER_01 48:50

Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty big. And um, so I was scared to death in um, you know, being in the hospital and you know, for a couple of days.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

So you stayed multiple nights in the hospital. Yeah, it's not like how it is now. Yeah, and but now that I can honestly get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. But yeah, but going through that, um, in hindsight, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. You know, and I uh I get emotional about it because it was one of those things that um, you know, when something's taken away from you, something that um that you've nurtured, that you love, and the the the thought of you not doing it again or not doing it at a high level is very scary.

SPEAKER_00 49:43

And at this point in your life, this has become your identity, right? I mean, you are a star football player. That's who you are. Yeah. And, you know, it's the same thing in my career or whatever. When something's taken away, you're like, whoa, I I'm still that guy, but is everything gonna be the same? Is everyone gonna see me the same? Do I get to go back? Do I get to try this again? Like I would be truly afraid.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

Yeah. Yeah, it was, yeah, it was devastating.

The Recovery Process

SPEAKER_00 50:11

And I want to get into um how you get back from that. You're listening to the Fit for Radio podcast. And of course, it's brought to you by the Stafford Hills Club, which is everything you need in a workout facility. It's also a place to make friends and build a family here as you are stronger, smarter, and just more mobile together at Stafford Hills, a beautiful kids' club that you can trust with your kids. I do it myself while I work out, and it's peace of mind the whole time. Also, get here and get that membership lined up before the summer months hit and you're out there tanning those buns by the pool, enjoying the grill and so much more. They've got you dialed in at Stafford Hills. Check out all of the amenities for you at Staffordhills.com. Because as you're laying there in that bed or you're in the hospital for multiple days, you don't know if you're going to be able to recover from it. How does that work? Because I know that now, uh, actually, where my wife had her knee fixed is the same place they fixed the ducks. It's right down the street. Slocum, it's called. So did is that back then, is that a thing where the university takes you under their wing and puts you through a rehab process to try and bring you back?

SPEAKER_01 51:27

Yes. Yep. Yep. Everything was was um, you know, with the doctor, um, Dr. Singer. And um, yeah. Once I get in there, I I get back to the facilities and we start rehab. And it's, I mean, that's like uh it's a job. Every day I was in the rehab center, like five days, five out of seven days.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

And it's more than physical, it's mental. Oh, a huge part of it is mental. Because I mean, they when when the leg isn't working right or you know, it's not extending all the way. It's just it's so easy to be like, woe is me.

SPEAKER_01 52:03

Oh, for sure. Yeah, and I would have good days and bad days. Um, but in the beginning, it was very tough. It was very, and not just uh the pain of it, but it's the the monotony, the monotony. Yep. Doing the same thing, but then really understanding, Alex, we're doing this to bring you back so you're better. Not just at the same. We're not we're not shooting for you to be at the same. You're gonna be better, but to be better, you have to learn the mechanics. You have to learn, like we're going to teach you how to move better, how to run. Yeah. Right. And it's not just okay, you run like this. No. It's it's it's how I coach my clients now at the foundation. So, and if you're gonna start at the foundation, it's slow because you're trying to groove a movement pattern. You're trying to um reset like your nervous system to be able to do things um efficiently. And so you have to start slow. Yeah. And so before I could run, I had to walk. Before I can skip, I had to march. And so I learned how to do it, you know, with my arms, with my legs, the proper mechanics of of running, right? So it starts with walking. And I was thrilled to be able to walk, even though it was in a 10-yard frame, you know, going forward and backwards. It was great the first day. Two weeks into that, I'm like, come on, man. Can we what's the next level? I'm ready. No, you're not. You know, so baby steps. Yep. So two to three weeks, we're just working on walking. Then, okay, Alex, you get to March. Oh, hallelujah. I get to march. Okay. So in March, do that for two to three weeks. Okay, Alex. Now you get to skip. This is beautiful. Whoa, I feel so much better. And then next thing you know, I'm running. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 54:10

How long uh is the process from injury to where you're cleared for football activity? Uh, shoot. The independence bowl's gotta be right around New Year's.

SPEAKER_01 54:21

Yeah, New Year's. I have my surgery right up to, I think I January, I want to say mid-January is when I probably had surgery. And I started week one, which was September 1st.

SPEAKER_00 54:40

All the way back by week one.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

Yes. Impressive. So not even nine months. Not even nine months, but I wasn't the same Alex. I wasn't 100% because I was dealing with tendonitis because that was back when they would take a third of Europe tendon. And so I'm dealing with, you know, tendonitis. I got this big clunky brace on. So I was a battle.

SPEAKER_00 55:07

Half half Alex at this point. Yeah. But you're able to start, so you've rallied back to that. Yes.

NFL Draft Hype

SPEAKER_01 55:12

I was better than you know, than the second guy. Yes. And I didn't want to be that. I want to, you know, take my time to heal it, but you know, I was I was better than the than the guys behind me.

SPEAKER_00 55:23

So And you were well on your way to before the injury. I mean, pick six, and you're, like you said, you're you've got this bloodthirst to crush and to be in the spotlight. Like you felt like you were ready before the injury. So those frustrations of coming back on the field and not being as fast or as or as you know, jumpy as you were before, um, must have been a thing to kind of like, were you able to compartmentalize that and say this is all temporary, or were you stuck in your feelings at that point?

SPEAKER_01 55:52

No, I would just uh, you know, give myself a pass. Like, this is not me. But how do I make myself me and get faster if I can't do it physically, I have to do it mentally. So that got me into watch, being a better watcher of film. Like that year grew my football IQ tremendously. Where if I was just, if that wouldn't have happened, if I wouldn't have torn up my knee, maybe I would still be delayed. And I'm I'm out there strictly off of athleticism, where now that athleticism is taken from me, and now I have to learn to watch the game differently and grow up a little bit more, you know, from a from an IQ point of view.

SPEAKER_00 56:38

So you so you're kind of in a forced education, and then when your body recovers, now you've got football IQ and you're back to being kind of the physical specimen that you're used to being.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

That yes. And that's pre-injury. And that was my junior year and all the things that you just said, but now I have something that's um that's rooted even deeper. I've had something taken away from me. And so now, you know, it's like that, you know, your kid when they, you know, they get their Christmas toy and they play with it for so long, and then they lose it. And then it's super intense. And then they find it like eight months later, they're like, oh, this is it, yes. And they won't let go of it for anything. That was me. So now I got my toy back. I got my athleticism back. Now the value of it, I appreciated it. I appreciate like every day. Like, it's no, it wasn't, man, we have to practice.

SPEAKER_00 57:37

Man, we get to practice. That and that mindset change is huge. It's so big. It gives you a massive advantage over everyone else's kicking rocks on the way in. Because even if they love football and they might hate practice, you know, that's that's not going to build them the way it's building you at that time. Absolutely. So you end up um, you know, uh fast forwarding a little bit, you start to recover from the knee, you start to become yourself again. I know that you were a part of that 95 Rose Bowl team. Um at this point, do you think, I mean, and maybe a little bit before this, at what point do you start to think that you might be able to play all the way at the top level in the NFL? Um, or I mean, maybe you feel that you always could, but like at what point is it like becoming not so much of a pipe dream? Because at that time, the University of Oregon isn't sending all the first rounders and stuff that they are now. Now it would be more part for the course, but you're breaking the mold at Oregon.

Likely First Rounder

SPEAKER_01 58:37

Yeah. And for me, it came before that junior year. So during um during uh spring practice, you do your testing, right? And so now I'm a full year, maybe a year and a half, um, past where I tore up my knee. Okay. So I'm a hundred percent right before my junior year. And so we go out there and we get time for our 40s. Now I've been working, right? I've been working at the foundational level in terms of like speed development. So I got a chance to work with the world-class speed coach. Oh, cool. With uh Jimmy Radcliffe. And he, I mean, he was the our head strength conditioning coach, but you didn't get a chance to work one-on-one with him unless you were injured. Ah, so you got lucky there again. I got lucky again. Where now I'm spending an hour a day with him five days a week for four or five months. Nobody else had that. And so when it was time to run 40s, like, man, I already had the confidence because my, you know, the pain is gone away. Now I'm technically sound. You've had a speed tutor for the last four or five months. World renowned. But we didn't know that. He wasn't the one that hey, I'm world renowned. No. But over in Europe, people knew who Jimmy Radcliffe was because of his pliometric training and the thing. He would, he had books. He had he had DVDs, or, or I guess it would be uh VHS. We were transitioning there. He had all that type of stuff, right? And so when I ran my 40, I ran a 4-3-2. And I was like, I don't know a whole bunch, but I know a 4-3-2 is is world class. I know that there's guys in NFL that play my position, that played a long time, and they don't run that. So when I had ran a 4-3-2 and I also jumped, and but before that, like pre pre pre-injury, my fastest time was like a four, a four-four-six, which is pretty fast. Yeah. But a four-three-two is totally different.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:55

And a four-three-two with a guy who, you know, like you said, even when you were a kid, something you were naturally gifted at was you could jump high and far. Yes. You know, so you you combine those two things with speed, and now you've got a prospect. Yes. Right. Like this is this is on another level. So I'm I'm dying to know about that process of, you know, it's just such a small percentage of people who play sports and then get to play in college and especially to play in a conference like the Pac-10 at the time, which is a premier conference, and then to have the opportunity to roll to the next level. Um, when you're rounding out your career, there is the 95 Rose Pole, is that your final year? Uh no. Or you play another year after.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:42

Yeah, I thought about leaving after my junior year. And the uh, you know, the the numbers, but the information came back that I was like a a third round, third round draft pick at the time. And I was like, that's BS. I don't believe that. You felt that you were a higher. I'm bigger than uh, yeah. And said, but I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna, I'll believe you. I'll play, I'll sit back and I'll play my senior year. And, you know, I did that. Um, you know, had a had a great senior year. Battle through some injuries, yeah, some stuff, but I ended up coming back and and uh towards the back end of the because I missed one or two games and ended up playing in our bowl game against Colorado.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:28

Oh wow, what a full circle movie, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:31

Yeah, but they had the best receiver core in the in the country, and I played really well. Um so you know, that coming back and just proving myself and I wanted to be the best at my position. And turns out I was. And um, yeah, I'm just very I was uh I'm very thankful that I didn't let my ego jump ahead and say, hey, let me let me leave after my junior year before I was developed.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:03

Because you're showing the discipline there, because in this day and age, with the landscape that we see and the pay to play, legal pay to play, which is now it would be different. It would, they would just cut you a check to come back if they wanted you to come back, and that would be fine. And I would love to ask you more questions about that part, the old way versus the new way later, but you you hang in there and and tell me if these stats are incorrect, but your junior year, you're all Pac-10. And then your senior year, you're all Pac-10, and you're an all-American. And so now what you said is correct that, you know, I'm not a third rounder. I'm a higher pick than that. And so when you get all American, when when you declare what you're going to the draft anyway, do you have an idea of where you're going? Is it is there an a nervous anticipation? Is it a chance that you could get something like you would see with uh Shadur Sanders where they roll six rounds down and all of a sudden all your money's gone? Like there has to be all the feelings going on, or are you confident?

Picked By The Saints

SPEAKER_01 1:04:08

I was pretty confident, you know, based off of what I put on tape. And on top of that, my testism. Yeah, the athleticism. Um, I knew I would be the first corner. I don't know about DB, but corner. And that year it was one of the best, you know, draft draft years. I think it's in the top 10. That's what Keyshawn Johnson went first. We had um Jonathan Ogden. You had Ray Lewis. Wow. That's some names. Um Brian Dawkins went that year. So what my agent told me, hey, it can go anywhere between five and twenty in the first round. So all I heard was first round. And you're like, and sign me up. Hey, we're Gucci. You know? So um, but I'll never forget, man, going to the combine and you have these different interviews. And not once did New Orleans call me. Oh, really? Or fly me out. You know, to So they're not on your radar. They're not in my radar. You know, I'm thinking Cincinnati had 10, Tampa Bay had 12, and then the Broncos had 15. I'm from Colorado. It's destiny. I was like, oh, so during my interview with uh Shanahan, it was the first time I got like a real definite like where I'm where I could go. Because I went in there and I was like, Coach Shanahan, I just want to let you know I'm from Colorado. He said, I know. I said, I would love to be a Bronco. And he was like, that's great, Alex. But unfortunately, you're not going to be on the board by the time we pick. Oh, he knew you'd be gone. I was like, this is the first time I've heard like my age was, hey, anywhere between five and twenty.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:00

He's heating expectations. Whereas in a future Hall of Fame, I believe Shanahan's a Hall of Fame coach, or he he should be.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:07

Um, when he says it to you, that feels real. Yes. And so you do you actually go to the draft? I went to the draft, yeah. So you got the suit and the whole you got dialed in.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:19

Yes. Once he said, you know, my agent said, you know, in the first round between five and two, and then I heard that from Shanahan. I was like, it was a dream come true to be able to walk on the stage and hold that up with the Paul Tagliber. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:35

At the time. And so you got to walk across the stage, do the handshake. Where do you remember you probably do? Where was the draft then? Was it back in New York? It was in New York.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:45

Um, I can't remember the name of the hotel that was in, but it was it was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:51

I bet. Yeah. I bet. So you get drafted number 11 overall by the Saints. And how quickly from shaking all Taglibu's uh hand to where you get to the Saints? Like, do they fly you out immediately? Because I feel like it's like within minutes you're at a pressure with these guys.

A Different Kind of City

SPEAKER_01 1:07:14

Exactly right. So um, once you get drafted, you take all the pictures and whatnot, and then you do an interview, right, with the TV cameras of, you know, the uh the city that you're at. And I remember flying in a private, private jet the next morning down to New Orleans. And so it was like 24 hours, it was a buzzaw. So surreal, all of it. Yeah, yes. And I I don't know what I said. I just know I don't know. It's kind of like being floated through it. It's uh hopefully it's not on the internet somewhere, but I remember flying down there like that next morning and just, you know, just on cloud nine.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:55

I bet. I bet. Now you had grown up all over, so you you were pretty seasoned at different cultures and areas, but New Orleans is its own thing. You know, it's it's a different type of place. Did you was there any shell shock for you, or were you in a position to where it didn't bother you? How was that for you?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:15

It was, I was not prepared for New Orleans on many different levels. Number one, it's like, I thought it was a big city. It's not a big city. Um the dialect, right? So different. Dude, I remember going to um, it was our mini camp. And so we had a mini camp the week after the draft. And so I went I went to the mini camp, and I remember um going to McDonald's for breakfast, you know, with me and a couple other rookies. Yeah. And I drove up, had rental cars. I drove and I said, Yeah, let me get a number two, and can I get that with orange juice? Yeah, baby. So I drive up and they said, okay, so you want number two with some orange juice? And I was like, what? What did you say? Orange, you want some orange? I was like, I think I want orange juice. Oh, oh, orange. Yeah, they do it their own way there. I I've never heard that type of like there were so many times early on when I was there when I couldn't understand what people were saying.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:27

Yeah, and it it is tough. I mean, even to this day, when I'm trying to understand uh people deeply rooted in the city, uh, it is tough. So while you're there in New Orleans, uh, how did you feel playing for that team? Did you feel like you'd be there forever? How I mean, because it's your first NFL team, and I I've heard that with a lot of guys where you get comfortable and it's a couple of years get through. And how are you feeling? And how are you feeling about new guys and and all of that stuff? Are you feeling pretty solid that you're gonna be in New Orleans?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:02

Yeah. I mean, you know, when somebody drafts you with the first pick, you think that, you know, you're gonna be there forever. You know, and I thought there and I signed a five-year deal, and I thought that that was gonna be home. And because that's I didn't know any uh other place, you know, from Eugene, right? Right to New Orleans. To New Orleans, and I was like, okay, this is different. This is down south, is it's the dirty south. Marty grew out on his. So I became used to that. And you know, I thought I was gonna be there forever. I had three coaches, three head coaches, three different position coaches. Which is wild in that short time of frame time frame. In five years, like I had three, so three different um defensive coordinators, so it's a different language, different styles. And of course, every year it's different um teammates that come in. And so um, yeah, but I thought I would be there forever.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:58

And so while you're there with that many coaching changes, and the one thing I didn't do a ton of research on was the records of those teams. Were you experiencing a lot of losing there then because we're having so much coaching turnover?

Moving on to San Diego

SPEAKER_01 1:11:12

I took so many ills in my first four years there. And it was one of those deals where um here we go again. Even though we got new coaches, got new philosophies, you know, we have some new players, but here we go again. Just the vicious circle. And then my fifth year is when we had um Coach Hazlitt, Jim Hazlitt, who um I had on my first year. He was a defense coordinator my first year with the Saints. Okay, and had come back. Yep, and then he came back for the head coaching job my fifth year, and there was something different. There was a new type of energy. They um they got they really went after free agents, not like the big market free agents, but we got some some dudes who had experience, but it was right on the cusp of something.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:06

Ah, okay. So you were bolstering the roster in order to kind of make a run there. Correct. Yeah. So it's your final year with the Saints. Do you guys ever make a playoff when you're there?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:19

Yeah, yeah. So uh we made it to the playoffs, we won our division for the um, and then we we did the first thing that you know we never did before was win a playoff game. So we beat the Rams. We had them back-to-back games. We had them in week uh 17. Oh, yeah, yeah. So your 16th game, week 17. Yep, and then we had them the next week as well, and and we beat them to, you know, to win our first playoff game. And then we ran into a buzzsaw with Minnesota in uh 2000. And so that's Randy Moss. And that's uh like 14 and 2 or maybe 15 and one.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:56

Is this Dante Culpepper at this point, or is it still Randall? No, no, it's Dante. That was a vicious team. I'm a Vikings fan, uh, which also known as a career loser. Um, but that team is one of the teams that growing up that I was already a Vikings fan, you know, by proxy, because my best friend growing up was one, and his dad used to scream at the TV, and I thought it was awesome. But then it was Randy Moss and all that stuff, where I'm like, okay. Yeah. And Chris Carter and the whole deal. So you're up against a buzzsaw there. That's a superstar team. And if I remember correctly, that team is on the verge, and it collapsed, but it was on the verge of making a Super Bowl that year.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:37

Yeah, they lost to the Giants. I think that field goal kicker who was like had a I think he only missed one. Anderson, yeah. He missed that one.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:47

And the it's that's a theme with that. I could do a whole podcast on what happens to my dreams when it comes to sports. It's the Fit for Radio podcast, and it's brought to you by the Stafford Hills Club, ranked the number one health and wellness facility in the Portland area. And when you get here, you can tell exactly why that is. They've got this quality saltwater pool surrounded by chairs and a little grilling spot outside ready for spring and summer. And you want to get in here, get yourself a family membership, an amazing kids' club, and they actually cap those memberships so that you don't have to be searching for a chair all summer when you're out at the pool. You have room to enjoy your membership at Stafford Hills, where they have the premium indoor and outdoor tennis, the high-quality workout facility upstairs, great classes, and so much more. So where you just want to pump some iron, maybe you want to go read a book by the fire. It's all here at Stafford Hills. Check it out today, staffordhills.com. So I'd like to know when you're finishing up your time with the Saints, that contract, so that five-year contract has run its course.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:00

And do they discuss re signing with you? Or are they, is it weird? You know, like I've been in those situations where I got this big contract, but no one's like looking at me in the hall and like I'm feeling kind of like persona non grata. How did the end of your time there go?

SPEAKER_01 1:15:18

Yeah. They end up um when I hit free agency, because they had some some offers. So they offered me and the other corner who was um who was with the Saints. They offered us basically the same contract. And I was like, no, no, I don't, I'm not doing that. I'm not, I think I'm I think I'm better than him. I'm not gonna take the same thing. You know, I'm gonna take my chances in free agency. And the first day of free agency, I'll never forget, man, I was playing golf um in New Orleans and the San Diego Chargers called. And I was like, I would love, I love San Diego.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:04

Yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah. I think we all dream of going to San Diego.

Trouble In Paradise

SPEAKER_01 1:16:08

He said, hey, just we'll fly you out tomorrow. Come out, have a meeting, and see, you know, see where this goes. So yeah, I flew out there and I know, heard what they, you know, the pitch. And uh it was like, it was like it how it was back in 90 when I was getting recruited, you know, to go to the Oregon Ducks.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:32

Yeah, all the sunshine and buttercups going on.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:34

Oh, man, they give you all, they tell you all the stuff that you can do and how their system fits with my skill set and whatnot. And it sounded great. And we end up drinking the Kool-Aid. And you signed up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:48

And so when you get there, um, I'm guessing you drank the Kool-Aid, so it wasn't exactly as advertised when you get there, or or is it for a bit?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:59

Um, I didn't ask enough of the right questions in terms of how the the expectations that they had out of their corners. So they played a very different style of defense that I wasn't quite used to. I was used to aggressive defense, but basically what they did is they allowed the the safeties to play freestyle. And all the stress was on the corners. Ah, because I'm okay if you, you know, if you're gonna leave me out out there without any help.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:39

Yeah, you've guarded some of the biggest names in the history of football.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:43

Right? Yeah, I'm okay with with guarding them. But in my head, there's a, you know, there's time. So if we're blitzing, that's cool. Don't keep me out here on this island and you're not blitzing. And a lot of what they did with the first coaching staff was they did a lot of zone coverage and they let their free safeties just kind of, you know, play willy-nilly, but we did with the blitz. You know, they just more of a freestyle and they would leave us on the islands without, you know, truly time.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:16

Forces you to be attacked and work, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:18

Yeah. So I'm like, hold on now. There's a lot of stress. I'd I would much rather go to Tampa Bay and you play cover two all day.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:25

You're supposed to be relaxed in San Diego right now. Yeah, it's a lot of stress. So while you're with the Chargers in um 2002, uh, you wrote me a note here that said you hit the biggest crossroad in your playing career. What exactly does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:42

So in 2001, that was my first year there, right to sign a big deal. It's I mean, it was big back then. Now it's like peanuts. But it was um, you know, I go in there and I end up tearing up my, I didn't tear up my knee. I tore some meniscus. Same knee you've dealt with before or another knee? The other knee. Okay. So I tore the meniscus, and I pretty much, you know, I still play, um, but I'm out two weeks playing for another week, out another week, and then and I end up having another surgery on my ankle. So I more uh six the last six games of the year, I'm on IR. Right. And so the next year, you know, we're we're um it's draft day, right? I don't give a damn about no draft anymore. I that the the only draft I was more um concerned about was in 1996, my year. And then all the other ones before then, right? So after that, I don't watch draft. Yeah. But, you know, they asked the starters to come come out to Qualcomm Stadium. They're gonna do a family event. They have the the draft on the big screen. Um, they had jumpy houses, popcorn, hot dogs, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:00

Supposed to be a great day.

Playing On a New Contract

SPEAKER_01 1:20:01

Great day. You know, it's San Diego. Yeah, April, sunny, you know, we signing autographs and all that type of stuff, and then, you know, the draft is going on. And all of a sudden, you know, it's the San Diego Chargers' turn. With the fifth pick, the San Diego Chargers select Quentin Jammer. Uh Quentin Jammer, cornerback, University of Texas. Great player. Great player. I was like, oh no. They're drafting him to take my job. Because the other corner was Ryan McNeil. Well, Ryan McNeil led the NFL in interceptions. So they're not going against him. Ain't going against him. They're going for the guy that had two surgeries, and we just paid. They're going after him.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:48

And it's not a fifth rounder, it's Quentin Jammer.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:51

He's Quentin Jammer, who was a new and improved version of me back in '96. Yeah. So, but one of the things that um, you know, and I told my wife, I was like, hey, babe, call the realtor. Right after that, I called a realtor. We up, we up out of here. We're getting cut. We're getting released. But that phone call never happened. And so I remember going into training camp, and um I I've seen it over the years. You know, this is my seventh year. I've seen it when guys come to training camp, and then after the first practice, or even before the first practice of training camp, they get cut. So I'm still out. You're not comfortable. I'm not comfortable. I come in there, little bitty bag, you know what I'm saying? Got my fan, got my pillow. You're not putting a bunch of stuff on the shelf. Yeah, it ain't like it used to be. Big ass bag. No, it's a little bitty bag. And I come in there and um, you know, I sign and you know, they give my keys to my to my dorm, and then John Butler. Hey, Alex, hey, after you get checked in, come to my office. Gosh, here we go. Why do they bother having you check in if this is gonna happen? Dude, I don't know. But I go in there, put my stuff down, go to his office. Hey, John, what's up? Come on in, Alex. Have a seat, have a seat. So I'm like, okay. Buckle up. Yeah. Hey, so here's what we're gonna do. We're going to basically we're gonna redo your deal. We're gonna rip up that contract we gave you. So that$2.1 million you're supposed to get this year, you ain't getting that. We're gonna give you a signing bonus of$100,000. And then you're gonna your salary is gonna be minimum. The minimum. The minimum. So, which I think was like$625 for a veteran. Which is not in the financial plan that you've set out.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:50

That's right. Still a lot of money. But still. In a 2.1. And you're and what for people who are listening to this that don't understand, you also are having a pro athlete makes their money in a hyper-focused number of years. Whereas in someone who has a 30 or 40 year career, sure, you can make a certain amount of money every year, but all the money, not all the money, but the vast majority of your money comes from these finite number of years. So you should be concerned about the difference between 2 million and 600,000 because that's your nest egg.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:24

Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:25

And I had no leverage, right?

A New Home In Washington

SPEAKER_01 1:23:28

I had two surgeries, one on a knee, one on an ankle. So, but he said, uh, he said, Alex, but here's what I'm gonna do. You have playtime incentives. If you play 65% of the snaps, you get 150,000. You play 75, you get 300,000. You pay 85, you get you pay 95% of all the snaps, you get all your money back. I was like, shit, where do I sign? 95%. But the problem is they have to let you on the field. Exactly. But here's the thing that gave me confidence is I learned um a long time ago, my second year in the NFL, something that I've been practicing, and it was a framework that really helped give me success. Because the average NFL career is what, three and a half years? Yeah. Right? Three and a half years. So I was able to play eight, but it wasn't because I was a four-three guy. All right. I'm I'm 5'10, 5'11 on a good day, right? Yeah, yeah. Um, so it wasn't because of that, but it was because of these this framework that I learned and I've been practicing over the years. And it was assignment, alignment, and adjustment. I need to know my assignment. I need to know my job, my role. But that's not enough. You need to know other people's jobs and their roles. So now you can hold them accountable and they can hold you accountable. So the more that we know each other's jobs and our roles, if you're not doing, you're not where you're supposed to be at a given time, you can get checked. Say, hey man, you're supposed to be here. I'm expecting you to do this when you're and you're not doing that. I can't, I can't be, I can't play aggressively. I'm expecting you to be where you're supposed to be. Yeah. Right. So I start to um at an early age in my second year, I start to study more of the playbook, not just what my role and responsibility is. And then the second one was assignment or alignment. I I used to align however I wanted to, however I felt. Right. Bump and run, I was supposed to be inside. Sometimes I line up outside. I was supposed to be at eight yards off when I was really supposed to be at seven. So I started to hone in and focus and practice these things on a daily basis after my second year, or after my first year. And the third thing was adjustment. Like I need to be ready for the adjustments. Like it's not, it's not um, it's not pee-wee, and it'll just hike the ball. Yeah, you gotta have a plan. There's a motion, there's a, there's a um a shift, there's an audible. You need to be ready for the adjustments as they come. You can't be behind. Well, I've been working on these things for this many years, and I knew that was a that was a foundation that Quentin Jammer didn't have. Yes, he had the bells and whistles. He was fast, big, strong. He had all the ability, but he didn't have the knowledge that I had. Yeah. And I ended up just honing in on those things, and I had my best year. Stat-wise, I had my best year. Nice. And I played 95% of the snaps. I did not come off that damn field.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:03

You got the 95. I got all my money back. Yeah. Yes, sir. That's incredible. It teaches you quite a bit about perseverance and overcoming adversity, right? Because, you know, people could get right back into the woe is me moments, and you could have just slipped right down the list.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:20

It would be easy for me to get into my feelings and then start to, you know, cuss out my coach and you know, the GM.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:29

And then you start being the toxic guy, and nobody wants to be around the toxic guy, especially with a couple of injuries. So you kind of had to think. Yeah. Yep. And so how does it round out? Because um, when I was researching you and those early 2000s, that's where I remember seeing you on the field, you know, is in that chargers uniform. But your career itself is you don't realize it at the time, but is is past the Mid-level, you're starting to get on the back end of your career. While you're there, you've recovered from these injuries and you've proved them wrong and played those 95% of the snaps and you've had your best year. Are you convinced that this is going to go on for a while? Or you're seeing the the new guys, the fresh blood come in over and over. And your your your brain can do it for so long, right? But everybody, I mean, even Michael Jordan at some point has to go home. Yeah. You know, which is painful. So where where are you at as as it's winding down there? I never forget.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:41

I assigned a um, I was a free agent again, you know, because the Chargers, that was my first time they, they, they let me go. They released me after the season because they wanted me to uh restructure my deal again. Now they know I'm not doing that again. That's too stressful. And so they let me go. And I remember signing with the then Washington Redskins after um after they they did their thing in a draft. They didn't draft any DBs. So they um they brought me in, they signed me. And I never forget it was my eighth year. I was in my 30s now, and I'm guarding this receiver. He was uh he was in his second year. He was this dude was a specimen. He was like 6'4, 220, could run and jump out the building. I remember guarding him. I wasn't actually, I wasn't even guarding him. I was off on the sidelines and I remember seeing this ball that was thrown. I was like, ain't no way he can catch that. This dude jumped so high and he jumped up and he caught it. I was like, yeah, this might be my last year.

Cut In Detroit

SPEAKER_00 1:29:53

Because if I gotta How am I gonna get there?

SPEAKER_01 1:29:56

Yeah, yeah. But that was like a uh eye-opening moment when I was new, like, okay, I can I can get one, maybe two years after, maybe two years out.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:07

But you you knew that the the meter was running.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:11

And then it's uh switch positions and play safety, you know, and I just I haven't played safety since high school. Yeah, it didn't seem like that was the move. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:22

So when you finally decide to retire, it's in 2005. And is the family still in San Diego? Uh, because you've played for another team, but I'm guessing did you go kind of go out and take care of that yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:30:37

Yeah, I saw I got I got cut from the uh the Washington Redskins on the last cut. And so, and my family just moved out like a day before, and we thought it was safe. So, but it wasn't safe. So she said, Okay, we're going back to San Diego. Good luck wherever you go. The next day after that, I went to Detroit. And so I signed a contract with Detroit, and but they went back to San Diego.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:07

Which is kind of strange too, because you were born in Detroit. You know, you're like, well, there's that could be exciting. Yeah, it was really cool. I got a chance to spend a lot of time with my well, my Grammy and uncle. Yeah. And they probably all wanted you to be a lion at some point. Yeah. So how did that how did that end there? Not not well.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:27

Unceremonious. Yeah, it wasn't because um I was the last one in, right? Uh they brought me in after the first game. Okay. And so I was there, they had a rash of injuries. And what typically happens is um the last one in is the first one out. Yeah. You know, because they got to bring in other guys because they could put guys on IR and, you know. So yeah, I was up out of there.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:55

So at that point, you do you realize that it's over or are you still chasing? I'm still chasing. Sure. I chase for a year and a half. And are you going to training camps or are you just gotta put your feelings out, feelers out? Like, Whiz, I'm I'm I'm I'm calling your agent. I'm hoping for uh workouts.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:13

You know, at that point, yeah, just give me a chance. Come in on Tuesday, that's the typically every team has their that's their day off, and they bring in guys on a bubble, you know, vets to for a workout. And so that's what I'm looking for. In the offseason, you get some, you know, some of those.

A Long Look In The Mirror

SPEAKER_00 1:32:30

Okay, that makes sense. Uh, but that and does not end up panning out the way that you're hoping that it would. Right. And so when you actually decide that you're going to retire, your original plan is that you're gonna go wheels up, right? You're gonna play golf and you're gonna you're gonna enjoy a little of that sunshine and the fruits of your labor. Absolutely. And uh what how did that go for you? Was that everything you hoped it would be or or not?

SPEAKER_01 1:32:55

Not at all. So it was it was pretty cool because now, okay, I'm not playing football anymore. We got money, we got homes, multiple cars, multiple homes. Um, I'm gonna, you know, volunteer my kids' school. I'm gonna play lots of golf. I'm gonna work out when I want to work out, which is the first time in decades. Forever, yeah. Yeah. And that was cool for about six months. And then after that, it was something that was like, man, I this is not what I expected retirement to be as a professional athlete. And I just started like, man, what do I want to do? You know, what else out there? What am I good at?

SPEAKER_00 1:33:39

Because I'm guessing your identity, you're kind of in a transition here, right? Because, you know, like I'll use myself as an example. I was on the radio for 23 years and now I'm not, you know, and so like your kids see you a certain way, your colleagues, your friends, everybody has this title on you, and you're still the same guy, but all of a sudden there's an identity shift. And for me, it's weird, and I can only imagine for a pro athlete at the top level, that's gotta be strange.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:08

Yeah, yeah, it was very strange because that platform that in your abilities, right? Your abilities, the the platform, and especially in this country where you know football is keen. And there were so many doors that were opened to me, so many different relationships that were open that now that's no longer there. And your identity, if you're not careful, it gets tied into what you do. Yeah. So the question that I asked wasn't, you know, it was, and what am I gonna do? Or it should have been, and it didn't come until years later, is what type of person am I? Like who am I?

Arriving In Oregon

SPEAKER_00 1:34:52

Because you're really in all those years, um, you're there's not really a requirement to dig deeper, right? Because it's all coming to you. Now you're putting in the work, don't get it twisted. You're doing things that most of us can't do, and your hard work actually are what made you more than a prospect. It made you a star. But it also is nobody is challenging you to dig deeper into yourself and to find this deeper meaning because you're still kicking ass on a football field and that's really all they need from you. Yeah. But now the football's gone. Golf's great until you do it 30 days in a row and you're like, okay, getting a little bored over here.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:35

What's my purpose? Exactly. And I think what happens is if uh if something is, if something has been doing something for you for so long, it can I want to say protect. It can protect your character, but it can just be in front of your character. Right? My abilities, you know, the sport that I played, the platform that I had, that that was the first thing that people saw. My character was behind that. Now, when that's stripped away, now all they can see is who you are. And when I, you know, when I hired a coach to help me, you know, understand, like, man, what do I want to do? What do I want to achieve? The first things that he would ask me is, man, do you know who you are? And he just started asking me different questions and he started spending time with me and he started seeing things that that I needed to know that nobody else really told me. He said, uh, one of the biggest things was like, Alex, you know, you're very transactional. I was like, what do you mean? You don't do, you don't treat everybody the same. You treat people who has a greater title and they can do something for you. You treat them differently how you would people who you might not think could do anything for you. So that's very dangerous. You don't know what people can do for you. Just because they have a title, that don't mean that they have the character or whatever to help you out. Where somebody who might be at a lower level in terms of like job or whatever, they might have an uncle or a parent that can open the biggest doors for you. And I was like, man, and maybe that transaction was just me doing a sport and doing things for so long. Like, you give me something, I give you something. You give me money, you know, you have my time. Or you gotta you do this. So it was it was one of those things that when a mirror was shown in front of my face, I didn't like it. And so I do things, how I've been raised in this sport, right? Is if you want to get good at anything, you have to have intentional practice. People ask me, I what made you do some of the things that you was able to do? How can you play eight years in the NFL where only 3% of NFL players do? Why, why is that? I was intentional about how I practiced. So I can take that same framework into my life off the field. I intentionally practice creating relationships that are not just about transactions, but real relational. I can practice that.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:24

Spend a little time golfing and kind of you are starting to abandon the idea of just being retired. You you need an identity, you need something to do day to day. At what point does the family decide that they're done with the San Diego time? And because I know now that you live in Oregon, which you're a duck. And um, what what brought you guys back here?

SPEAKER_01 1:38:49

So, man, we just me and my wife, we started, you know, talking and it was like, okay, um, you know, this San Diego thing, there's there's no roots here. I'm not working, you know, there's we don't have any family here. Um, what if we move to Colorado or Oregon? I'm from Colorado. You know, my family there, she's from Oregon. She has a bigger family up here. And she was like, No, it's Oregon. I said, okay. Because we keep hearing about this housing market crash thing. Yeah. You know, if we're gonna do it, let's do it now so we can sell, you know, make some money, and then live up in in Oregon where it's cheaper. Yeah, you get way more bang for your buck, especially at that time. Yeah. So we did that. We moved up here in the summer of uh 2006. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:41

So when you get here, at some point you ended up uh working with Nike as a really a world uh class trainer and consultant. How did you end up there? Was that through connections from football?

Training and Public Speaking

SPEAKER_01 1:39:55

Um, I wish I could say that. It kind of was, but I came up and I went to play golf um with my good buddy Chad Coda. Okay. He had a celebrity um golf tournament, and I played with him and uh two other guys. And, you know, you know, golf, celebrity golf tournament. We we out there, we're having a good old time. Having a good old time, man, for five or six hours. And uh, you know, I ended up exchanging numbers with a couple of the guys, and you know, I was cool. And then six months later, I'm starting to ask myself, okay, what do I want to do? I think I want to, I think I want to be a trainer. Yeah, because I was inspired by a trainer when I was growing up. I'm gonna, I'm gonna train, you know, 13, 14, 15-year-old kids. That's what I want to do. And I end up talking to another trainer. He said, Man, you don't want to be a trainer here, you know, at the bay club. It wasn't the bay club, but yeah um I remember. Yeah, you need to go to Nike. I was like, Nike, what do you mean? He said, Yeah, Nike has they have some gyms there and they have memberships and they have trainers. You should, you should try out there. I said, Okay. So I ended up, you know, getting on the internet, finding out of getting a phone, a phone number of the person, the hiring manager or whatever, and called them and told them I would love to, you know, be a trainer. And so she had me come in, do like a basically an interview, and she hired me. And she said, uh, Alex, do you know you had the job as soon as you came in? I was like, what do you mean? I said, yeah, you played golf with my husband.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:32

Ah, so you had already, you had already built the relationship.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:36

And he had he went on and on about how you know how good of a guy that you were, where, you know, typically celebrities or guys, you know, who play ball, they, you know, they they're a little cold. Yeah, a little cold, a little transactional. And I was like, man, I that's great. And so, yeah, they got me into into the door at Nike and um, you know, was a trainer, taught a couple classes, and then more and more people started to find out about my background, and they started to have me um do work with some of their their um not just their employees, but started to have me travel all over the world with their elite level athletes. That's cool. To for photo shoots, video shoots, because I live that life. I don't put them on a pedestal. And it's refreshing. You can keep them at a ground level. Yes, and I don't, I don't change who I am to fit, you know, you're working with Ray Ray Allen or you're working with, you know, uh some of their other athletes.

SPEAKER_00 1:42:39

You're desensitized to it. It's the same thing. Yeah. Like I've interviewed all these rock stars and all this stuff, and it's the luster is there when it's from a million miles away, but when you're right there, they're just a human, just like you are. And so, like, oh, what was it like? Did you freak out? Not really. Because you're used to it and you know that they're just another dude. They just might have a little bit different bank account. Exactly. Than than you do. So you're doing that with uh with Nike and and how long do you you stick with that for?

SPEAKER_01 1:43:11

So I so I was doing that, and then I start to do more work with other brands within the Nike, you know, women's training, men's training, uh, Nike football, start doing stuff with with Jordan Brand, and they was getting into the training space and but they didn't know anything about training. So they would hire me and I come in there and kind of teach, teach them about what a badass 18-year-old, 17-year-old, what you know, what their journey looks like. That's awesome. So yeah, did that. Um, end up doing um, they Nike um did a collab with Microsoft, Xbox, where they came up with this, with this Nike Connect training. And so back when, you know, they could with the Connect with Microsoft with the act, the active gaming. Yes, yes. So I was they used my avatar as one of the trainers. Oh, there was only two trainers, and I was one of them. And so I did that and traveled all over the world to promote it and whatnot. Um, but then I started getting to like speaking. And, you know, being on Nike, they start to I, you know, they start to hear about my background. Play professional, you play the NFL. Why don't you come talk to my team about leadership? What leadership? I don't know. Tell some cool stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:28

Yeah, I'll figure it out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:30

But I started to do that, you know, for years. And then that's when I hired a coach because I know how important coach coaching is. Like I know how to practice, right? And I have the discipline, but I know to get like a jump start or get ahead, I hire a coach for anything that I want to do, and I want to, I want to fast past it. I hire a coach, somebody who's been there and who can really teach that. And so I did that when it came to to uh speaking. I did it when it came to podcasting. I did it when it came to writing a book.

Using Your Influence

SPEAKER_00 1:45:05

It's smart of you. I mean, it's in many different jobs, it's just considered continued education. And having a coach is like going back to school. You know, it's the same thing with a dentist or a doctor. They don't go to dental school and then they don't go to learn anything after that. You have to continue to kind of hone your craft and to sharpen that blade. And having the coaching experience is a way to do that. Absolutely. So you you, you know, as you've moved forward in 2016, you started the speaking, which, you know, it's it's kind of it's pretty impressive to have both of these things like you do, that you were a world-class athlete and then you are a good public speaker, because that doesn't always transfer over, right? And because I'm a good speaker, but I can't play cornerback. Um, that that's that's for sure. So that part of it is kind of one of the things that makes you special because it you can speak to these people and you're not blowing smoke. You know, like you can you can teach them how to achieve their goals through hard work and dedication and a plan. And the fact that you're not afraid to say, I don't do it alone myself, because I if I don't know how to podcast, I get somebody to teach me. If I don't know how to write a book, I go about it that way. And I think it's brilliant because so many people are they're too full of themselves to ask for outside advice from a the expert, the person who's going to make you smarter. We're out we're a learning computer. We're always getting smarter if we allow it.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:40

Exactly. And, you know, I have I have plenty of friends who are entrepreneurs who are uh CEOs of companies. And when I talk with them, they have coaches. Yeah. So, you know, the ego part, and I know what ego can do. It can keep you kind of stuck. Yeah. Right. And so I just, you know, why not operate like a high-level CEO where they get they get coaches, you know?

SPEAKER_00 1:47:07

It's pretty impressive. And, you know, we haven't even addressed the fact that your your coaching style also, you have you've had mentors and you've had coaches, but I think another aspect that's important that makes you special in this lane is you're a father and you're a father to you have six kids. Eight. Eight kids. Yeah. See, I knew it was big, and I'm like, tell me eight or six or eight. And that's what's wild. It's like six is daunting. I'm from four. I have three. You have eight. So you're a coach yourself to them, you're a mentor, you're all the other things that you seek out in other people. But I think there is a there's a very big part of being able to communicate with others when you know how to communicate with children and your children in particular, because every day is, at least for me, is a different game. You know, it's your emotions are hitting different, and you've got boys and girls. I've got three girls, so it's mostly emotions. But it's one of those things where I'm a better communicator because I know how to listen to them, read between the lines, take little pieces of knowledge, and also realize that I don't know everything, you know, and that I sometimes I got to go and get coached on how to address them or any scenario. So I think that that's an understated part of it is you're raising a full house full of good people, which is not easy to do. Um, and do you feel like that ties into your ability to communicate with others?

Family First

SPEAKER_01 1:48:42

Yeah, I think so. Like having, you know, eight kids, five boys, three girls, you know, they're all different people. They all have different drivers in terms of what makes them tick. Um and it's just like I I use the same things that that I coach on, right? And so one of the biggest things is influence, right? Which is that that's what leadership is. Leadership is influence. When you break it down, there's influence. And so like how do you how do how do you influence people? Well, there's 10 different influencers that that you know that I've uh I coach on, that I operate on, and that I'm intentional about. And one of them, you already said it, was was um how you communicate, right? How you communicate, um, intuition, how you feel, or how you make others feel. Uh I'm so I'm very in tune to those things. But one of the biggest things is character, which is who you are when you boil it down. And so with me and my wife, we are very um, I don't care how many touchdowns my son scores, how many interceptions, I don't care how many goals my daughter gets in whatever sport this year. Plays at the end of the day, it's always about what type of person are we are we raising? Are we raising somebody that takes accountability for any and everything? To be kind, to uh respect authority. That's that's number one for us is character. And yes, that's I'm a cheer for you. I'm a cheer for you in whatever sports you play. Um, but at the end of the day, it comes down to character first.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:29

And you are so, and I have to point this out because this is so amazing. And this is where the the dad thing, uh, it there's an intersection when you're you're the parent, but you're also teaching lessons to people who have bright futures. You know, you have a son who's in the NFL, you've got another son who's a very good football player. And when you were coming to meet me, he had parked in front of your garbage can. And so, like, what's funny to me is that you're always teaching the lessons along the way. And I ask you, like, how do you keep people from getting a big head or for getting out in front of themselves? And you said it's teaching them the little things now so that when they do, they are on a bigger platform where people are afraid to tell them no, they have those fundamentals. And, you know, you're taking a picture of the garbage can too close to the car and you're like sending it to them, as you should. Like this is your actions are representative of the family, and you know, it it there's a chain reaction. Garbage doesn't get picked up, it's loaded up for next week. And I just think it's brilliant that you know you stay in the lane of we're I'm still teaching you lessons until we're done. You know, and I don't think you're ever truly done. They may stop listening, but they're still in the listening lane. And I thought that that was uh a very awesome thing that um you're still willing to to teach those lessons because while they're under your roof, they're still learning from you. And and they're and they are an they're a representation of you. Absolutely. An extension of of you as a person.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:06

Yes, sir. And it's like we had a conversation last night. Like he comes home from you know, he comes home from from school and he's in a hurry because he doesn't want to pack his lunch. So he comes home, makes a lunch, and then he dips. Okay. So I come home, I'm like, what the hell? What happened to here? You know, and so I'm like, okay, so this is what I'm going to do is um I'm gonna have a talk with him. I took a picture of him. I said, I don't want to see this again. We're gonna have a talk later. So then when I get home, I talked to him, I said, Hey man, you left crumbs and stuff everywhere. Oh, it was three crumbs, right? So now I gotta paint a picture. I said, it was three crumbs. I said, have you ever had mice in your house? No, I haven't. I said, I have. I grew up with mice. It's no good. You don't want mice. Trust me, especially you, which you ain't the toughest cat. Okay, you don't want mice. You don't want to be hearing mice scratch up against wood and and cardboard. You don't want that. Don't let this happen. And I said, uh, if you let this happen again, if this happens again, you're not gonna be playing video games. And this dude plays some video games. Yeah. So you go, I'm gonna take your video games for two days. And then if you do it again after that, you have it for, you won't have it for a whole week. And we can go deep, because I know I can take your phone.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:39

Yeah, you know what hurts. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:41

I don't do, I don't know, whoopings, I don't do speakings, I don't do none of that type of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:45

This day and age, it's the warfare that works a lot better is electronics.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:49

Yeah. I was like, whatever, whatever that you you value, I'm gonna take it away. But it's he said, What why would you do that? Man, that's too. I said, Well, you have a choice.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:59

And it's a simple fix. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:01

Clean up the crumbs. Yeah. Be intentional. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 1:54:04

And I love that. I mean, I think you're well, I think you're a great dad and uh and a great leader. Um, I would like to point to where people, because you have written, you've written multiple books.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:14

I've written two books. One of them came during the pandemic. Um what are they both called? So the ultimate playbook for athletes. And it's all about like using how to use their influence, right? Especially for athletes. And this is like high school, college, you know, pro athletes, whatever, but it helps them understand like their influence that they have. Because a lot of us, we go through, you know, certain stages where we don't understand why things are why doors open or why they're closed to us. And so this really dives into that. Um, so it's a leadership book. And then my second book is um breaking on the ball of life. So it's just like, how do we make decisions? And so a lot of it, you know, happens where because we do enough study, we we spend enough time around people or in different rooms, you can see opportunities happen. Or you can see them and be like, I think I'm gonna take this, you know, I'm gonna jump on this. Or there's other things that happen, I I want to, I don't want to be anywhere close to this because they don't align with who I am or the values or the faith that I have.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:29

That's awesome. I'm actually going to get both of those books. Is there uh a website that people can go to? Amazon. Where's it where's it at?

SPEAKER_01 1:55:37

Through I keep it easy, alexmolden.com. That's it. That's it. Yep. And you can go there and you can get the book there. You can find out some more um information about what I do in terms of uh coaching, speaking, whether it's doing a workshop or my leadership uh program that I have.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:56

That's amazing. And uh I'm it's been a real privilege to sit down and chat with you. And I'd love to have you back on sometime to talk about some more of your your ideas about leadership and the things that you tell people uh when you want them to succeed. And I'm really excited to read your book uh or both of your books. Um one of uh one of them had actually the title had been sent to me by one of those friends who said that I needed to meet you. So yeah. Um it's they were right. You're a good guy, you're a duck, and um I think people could be a good guy. Well, that in itself, all by itself, you were good to go when you got here. And I don't know if you noticed, I put green lights behind you and everything. I do was all designed for you. So go ducks. Uh, and also your um biggest accomplishment to me is uh you're a great father and and you're raising good people, and that's our legacy in the end. So thank you so much for coming on alexmolden.com. Get those books, learn something, and uh maybe you'll change your life too. Love it. Thank you for having me. Have a great day.