Riley Leonard joins the show and doesn't hold anything back about loving the Lord! Although he doesn't know much about 90's pop culture, he is mature beyond his years and you won't want to miss this one.
Riley is currently at the University of Notre Dame where he is playing quarterback for the Fighting Irish. He previously started quarterback at Duke University from 2021-2023, and is from Fairhope, AL: Eastern Shore USA.
Riley Leonard joins the show and doesn't hold anything back about loving the Lord! Although he doesn't know much about 90's pop culture, he is mature beyond his years and you won't want to miss this one.
Riley is currently at the University of Notre Dame where he is playing quarterback for the Fighting Irish. He previously started quarterback at Duke University from 2021-2023, and is from Fairhope, AL: Eastern Shore USA.
Welcome back everybody to another episode of Jake and friends as always. I'm Jake and I've been joined by my best friend Parker standards for about the last episode or so. Um, and special guest today is Riley Leonard, who's the former starting quarterback for Duke University Blue Devils from 2021 to 2023 and most recently transferred to the University of Notre Dame to finish out a senior season for the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana. Riley is also from Fairhope, Alabama, where he graduated from Fairhope High School. Which is AKA Eastern Shore, USA, and most likely, most likely we're AFCOs in a sunset point every day for an entire year. So, thanks for joining us today, Riley. Absolutely. Thank you guys for having me. It's a pleasure. Oh, yeah. Did you ever eat at sunset point? Dude, it was too pricey for me. Not, not, not big enough portions either, but my girlfriend made me go a couple times, so I had to, you know, bring big Oh yeah. Nights bucks, man. The date nights, you gotta get that point. I was more of a Sino guy. The, the, the people in Barnwell affair up on the countryside, like to go, go to Sino. So that was my, that was my country buffet that I went to. Oh, yeah. Um, so Jake, all of the locals know about that. By the way, you wouldn't understand. I was just nodding my head. I was like, yeah, man. Sure. Sounds like sounds legit. I thought I was, I thought locals would only know about sunset point, which if you haven't been to fair hope, it is a, you know, seafood restaurant on the bay, or I guess in the bottom arena. And it's a really cool spot. So if you're ever in fair hope and want to spend a hundred dollars on a meal. Then go there. This is pretty good. Um, we've been there. We've been there a couple of times, but, um, so how long have you been at the University of Notre Dame now, Riley? I've been there for like 3 weeks. A lot has happened in these 3 weeks. Um, it's obviously been very cold and cloudy. That's why I'm so pale. Uh, the first day I got here, man, it was. Um, negative nine with wind chills of negative 34. Um, it was a Sunday and I was the only one on campus walking to the facility from my apartment. And I had 9 1 1 on speed dial. I was always inching across campus. I had a hoodie on. I mean, I was so cold, ready to call 9 1 1. Anyways, we're at like, we're at like 30 degrees now and it's Like t shirt weather here. So we're doing, that's that t shirt weather down here. You know how it is down here, man. It's not like that at all. Yeah. Have you met man? Tata's girlfriend yet? I am not, when we played Notre Dame, my family was the family on college game day with all the man Teo signs. Oh my. Be, I'm just kidding. Someone from Notre Dame's gonna watch this and think, this guy's a piece of garbage. I'm just kidding. Um, so how old were you when that happened, by the way? Because just to, I mean, you're 21 now. Do you, do you even remember that? Or were you like three or four when that Well, yeah, I, I, I don't even know when it was, but I don't remember much of it. I mean, how are we smitty? I don't remember. I don't know. That was like 20. That was like 2012. Probably. I think that I'm not real sure, but we were probably 22. We were in college when that was the thing because I remember I think Alabama or did Alabama play Notre Dame that year? And that was the biggest, like, you know, because in Alabama, everyone was like, you know, ready to kill Notre Dame. And unfortunately for Notre Dame, it was, there was one sided, but. That was, like, the talk of the, the whole year. Um, I do want to play a little game, though, since you don't, since you weren't old enough to remember that. Um, this is really just a quick game to sort of, like, you know, because in my mind, Parker and I are, we're in our early 30s. And so a lot of these things that we still think are like. Cool to us are like common knowledge, but definitely probably not common knowledge to someone who's in college. Um, so I guess we're prepared for this where you rally this. Wasn't in the, this wasn't in the playbook for sure. So, uh, where did Justin Timberlake get his start? Justin Timberlake? I have no idea. Like, literally no clue. So, there are 2 acceptable answers. So, he technically started in the Mickey Mouse Club, which was a Disney thing. That wasn't, I mean, it was sort of before our time, but he was also that 1. He was also in NSYNC. Have you ever heard of NSYNC? NSYNC, yeah, I have heard of them, but I have no idea, like, any of their songs. But I've heard, like, the name before. It's okay. No, NSYNC was like, uh I don't know. Who's the, who's the boy band now? Is, is it the BTS guys? Are they the, are they popular now? I just saw it. It doesn't matter. I don't know. Second question. Who is Topanga Lawrence? Even from like the 50 years ago, there's no way you guys know who these people are. Topanga Lawrence? Topanga! Okay, Topanga. No idea. Okay. Do you know this? Do you know the show? Uh, boy meets world. No, he doesn't. If he knew who Topanga was, he'd know. Okay. Topanga was like, like at our age, like she was like the girl, like on, on Disney channel, it was a show on Disney channel. And like every guy thought she was like the hottest girl ever. If she wasn't your first crush, then like, I don't know who was because she, she was like, cause that was like, uh. You know, middle school for us, it was, it was like boy meets world was like on for like two or three hours a day after school. And you just watch them all. Um, but anyway, I would ask you a third question, but I don't know that you would know that you're over there. There's no way anybody might notice this stuff. Yeah, I'm going to quiz my girlfriend after this. Okay. All right. I'll go ahead and ask the third one. Where did Beyonce get her start? Yeah, Destiny's child. Um, that is. Yeah, that's okay. It was a girl band with Beyonce. Well, I started playing. I used to show our age. Jake, you're showing her. It does. I know. Well, I used to travel for work and like, uh, when I was probably four or five years into my career, I was, I guess I'd have been like 28 or 29 then. And like. The 24 year olds would come in straight out of college and I would just quiz them on these, like, kind of questions just to see, like, what they'd say. And I had a guy who we grew up with, who was like, hasn't Justin Timberlake always been Justin Timberlake. And I was like, I was like, dude, you're not even that much younger than me. I'm blaming, I guess, I guess there's a cut off. But anyway, um, so, uh, were you born. In Fairhope, or did you move there as a kid, or? Yeah, so I was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Uh, my dad went to the Citadel, and my mom went to the College of Charleston. So, you know, they settled in at a, my dad ended up working at a golf course in Charleston. And he had me and my two brothers, Cole and Devin. Cole is two years older than I am. Devin's two years younger than I am, so I'm the middle child. Whenever I was three years old, we moved down to Fairhope. Most of my family's from Washington, D. C. So we were, you know, the only ones down in the south and I've been living there ever since. And it's been like the biggest blessing in the world to me. Like every, like I'm a product of my environment, like 100%. Like everybody that I came into contact with affected me in a positive way. Um, in Fairhope, like there's really no place like it and I really didn't take it for granted whenever I was there at all, I thought it was the coolest place in the world. But now that you leave, people ask me what I want to do, like, after I'm done playing football or after I get out of college and it's like, like, where do I want to go? Like, I want to sleep probably back to Fairhope and like, it's not like, it's not because like I'm a homebody or anything. It's just like the best, the best place I've been in the U. S. since I've. You know, traveled, you know, all these various places over my college days. But, um, man, I love every, every part of it. It's been unreal. Yeah, I agree, man. Did, so how did, how did you guys get down here? Did your parents just like get a job here? Did you have family around here? Yeah. My dad, uh, in the golf course business moved down here to work. Uh, he was GM at rock Creek and now he's at a peninsula and craft farm. So free golf. I can't ask much more as a college kid with a bunch of buddies back home. I've played at craft farms before. I got a hat from there. Didn't we go there for your brother's 33rd? Is that where we went for your brother's 33rd? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you guys probably. It's expensive. I didn't realize how much it was for my dad. Yeah, he's down. Oh, man, they put a lot of money into this. It's a nice nice. Yeah, they both are. Parker's brother is like, for whatever reason, obsessed with the number 33. he wore that number in baseball and I don't know why, but then when they're not really. Not really. He just liked it over 33. I don't know. So when he turned 33, it was like when he turned 30, it wasn't a big deal. But when he turned 33, it was like huge. So like we went to craft farms for his 33rd birthday and had a lot of fun with our, our friends. But, but, uh, so did you like grow up in church or, um, like how did you become like Christian later on in your life? Like what kind of, what'd that look like? Yeah, so growing up, um, didn't go to church, um, didn't know Christ, didn't know anything about it, really. And a big part of my parents thing was, um, they both grew up in really strict Catholic homes. And, uh, it kind of forced them away from Christ, honestly, a little bit. Um, and they, you know, we, we weren't, we weren't a church family growing up. Um, and didn't really necessarily care for it too much. I mean, on Easter, we knew what Easter is for. We knew what Christmas is for. And, you know, we were. You know, there's a lot of definitions of a Christian these days, but I don't think that we're, we certainly weren't a Christian the way that I would define it. Um, and then middle school rolls around for me and, you know, this is where, you know, I talked about, I talked to you guys before about just getting real and, and not giving you any political answers like in middle school, seventh grade, I was on the eighth grade basketball team, um, was going to be like the middle school quarterback. All this cool stuff that you would think would be so cool. And I remember like the first couple of days, it was like the coolest thing in the world. You walk into middle school and, you know, you think you're really cool and all that. And then I remember getting out of my car every single day, mom would drop me off and I'd be walking inside and every single day I'd be like. Is this it? Like, I literally have everything I could ever wanted, like, sitting in my bed and like, oh, how cool is it going to be to have all this stuff in middle school, like, the coolest guy in school. And you, you go just, you're so empty inside and you're like, dude, something's missing. So fortunately enough, um, I had great coaches that were Christian, invited me to FCA, invited me to First, uh, it was like first Wednesday or something at the time is what we would call it. And, uh, you know, I got into these Christian groups and Christian groups, like, like fair hope are huge. Like they're really what changed people, like changed my brother, all that stuff. But I ended up going to these groups and finding Christ. And then, you know, two years roll around and the same thing happens in, in high school for me, um, you know, starting on varsity basketball and varsity football and still just so empty, um, and then once again, have coaches and things like that, that point me to Christ and end up, you know, giving my life to Christ, uh, and finding a girl who, girlfriend who would take me to church, found Christ, and ever since then, you know, I was introduced to it in middle school and then in high school, it just took off. Because I knew I couldn't, I couldn't do the high school, high school days without him. And luckily I learned that at a young age. Um, cause if I had learned that any later, maybe I made a, would have made a lot more mistakes along the way. Um, and then for my brothers, uh, my little brother is the same way. Like he's like one of the biggest Christians I know now, like absolutely like hands up in church celebrating the Lord. And like the day he got baptized, I always say it was like. The coolest day in the world for me, um, to see him because like, like I said, we didn't really grow up in church, so we kind of developed that on our own. And then my, my pops as well within the last year, um, has given his life to Christ and like, I get emotional kind of thinking about it. Um, because like, that's like the coolest thing in the world to me. Like, I've been on like the biggest stages, like beating Clemson on national TV, being on ESPN, doing all these ESPN interviews, like. And like the fulfillment that you get after a win like that doesn't even come close to like seeing your loved ones like commit to Christ. Like it's like the coolest, like going to church with my girlfriend. Like,'cause we're long distance, like whenever I can go to Auburn and she can come up here, like that's like everything to me. Like yeah. It doesn't even come close to being collegiate quarterback and win these big time games on ES, espn. So. I know I'm long-winded here, but No, no. Bring it. Yeah, bring it dude. Preach. Preach. I love it. Yeah. And that's what, uh, you're talking about that talking about how nothing comes close to that. I was thinking about the verse. I can't remember where it is. I'm not going to try to quote it verbatim, but it's where Paul's talking about, like, the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus is like, better than anything and everything else. He counts. It is like, rubbish. Um, so I thought that's really, that's really cool of you to say, man. Um, yeah. You said you're, you said you met your girl, you met your girlfriend, right? When you became a Christian or was that just sort of like, you're not real sure or in, in your, your faith or sort of, we met like seventh grader and whatnot, but we started dating freshman year of high school. So, I mean, we started dating and then within that year, freshman year of high school, I gave my life to Christ and I don't know if there was a defining moment. But it was all of the, it was all of the people that poured into me and like all the good examples I had right in front of my face of what a good Christian looks like, like, that's what I want to be to all these kids nowadays. Cause I had so many mentors, like Chris Sanders, you were even one of them. Like the first, like. Every, every interaction I had with you, like, I just saw a good godly man who I wanted to be like, like, I don't even know if you realize that, but like, everybody that comes into contact with you, like, the first time I met you, like, here's another good Christian man, like, how cool is that to have by my side supporting me? Yeah, like, Coach Carter is another one, Adam Willison, Brandon Willison, all these people I know off season, you got Ryan Smith, you got Pastor Johnny, all these people at Celebration, all these people at Three Circle, like, everybody just pours into me. And, uh, just really found me that freshman year and I was like, holy cow, I want to be like these people. Like, I want to give my life to Christ. And sure enough, like, ever since then, we just took off, man. That's awesome. Yeah. I appreciate that. Right? It's, uh, it's very, it's very, um, challenging at times because you don't really know if like, you know, the Bible talks about like planting seeds and being faithful in the moment. Like, even you might not ever see this side of eternity. Absolutely. Any fruit that you produce, um, that you see that you plant produces. So it's always very encouraging to hear that. And it's also encouraging to hear, like, a, you know, a division 1 quarterback as, like, you said, like, the biggest stages to say, like, that's not even close. Like, it doesn't even come close because, I mean, me and Jake never have been on the stage you've been on before. Um, and, but we've been on, like, you know, different stages of life. That we would both say the same thing. Like there's nothing close that comes to our relationship with Christ. Yeah. So it's really cool for you. I'm glad it gave me the perspective because it's unreal. Like, I can't even explain it. Like all these Instagram followers and all this popularity, bro. It does not mean anything. It does not even come close to like, something that's free. Like, having a relationship with Christ is free. Like, all these tangible things that I get. You know, I'm gifted so many things by so many people that just like, give me tangible items. But like, when I go to church on Sundays. And like, I'm freely lit to my hands and worshiping God, like the, I mean, we're talking like mountains apart. So, yeah, it's pretty crazy. Like, like, cause the, you can't explain it. Like, it's just like a piece that surpasses all understanding. Like, I remember I was playing kind of get off topic here, but I was playing baseball in junior college and things weren't really going my way. I got hurt and I was trying to play through an injury and. Um, I was playing pretty well, but then like I stopped playing, uh, the coach type put me in lineups anyways, long story short, I, I felt like I was playing pretty good, but, um, I remember sitting on the bench and it was a double header, like two, not any ball games. I didn't play any. And I was like, and I had just became a Christian. And I specifically remember God telling me in that moment, like. You got to give up baseball. Like you're still holding on to that. Like that's, this is your God and you're holding on to it. And I need you to let it go. And ever since that moment, it was like, I don't even care what happens to baseball anymore. Like, I love it and I'm going to give it my all, but like, this does not fulfill me. This will not satisfy me. Like only Jesus satisfied me. And you know, we still battle with those moments and I'm sure with you too, Riley, like you battle with those moments, like, you know, Oh, look at me. Like I've done this, I've done that. Um, but when he reminds you of like the truth of what life is outside of this world, like it changes everything and it's unexplainable. So, um, you're talking about it being free to sorry, Parker, you're talking about like, Roman 6, 23, you're talking about for the wages of sin is death. But, uh, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ. Jesus. And I just thought when you talk about how it doesn't cost you anything. I just thought that verse, that's one of those like versus if you, uh, we may talk more about scripture memory later tonight, but like, that's one that you should commit to memory if you haven't already. So what's that? I'm making a list of, of Bible verses to, uh, creating a, been fortunate enough to partner with a, um, suit company. I'm putting custom verses on the back. So what was that verse? I'd like to, I'd like to put it in the suit. Roman 6 23. That's for the free gifts of God is eternal life in Christ. Jesus. Our Lord. Yeah, I always get that 1 in Romans 3 23 confused. So, I had to look that 1 up just to make sure I didn't speak this rally. Have you seen all the stuff with, uh. What's the San Francisco quarterback's name? Brock Purdy. Yeah. Have you seen how outspoken he's been about his faith? Like, how is that, like, encouraging to you as, like, a Division I quarterback? And then seeing, like, a guy who is going to be on the biggest stage ever, the whole world, and he's, like, pronouncing Christ. Like, how does that encourage you and your faith? Yeah, it's been incredible, especially with, like, the media now, these days, like, everybody tries to blur out. I don't know if you saw, like, the, uh, C. J. Strauss stuff with, with a couple, yeah, him too, yep, yeah, yeah, yeah, they, you know, uh, it's, it's hard to explain, like, the censorship around, like, Christianity. Nowadays, I mean, you guys all see it and to see somebody on that platform, Jalen Hurst last year on that platform, speaking out to Christ, like it's the coolest thing in the world because there's just this wave of Christianity that, that follows that, that kind of stuff. And he's, he's speaking the same language I'm speaking. And then, you know, that's another person I want to look up to. Cause you know, I send every single day, like just as much as anybody, like I have, you know, all these things that go through my head and, you know, I'm constantly sending in and see somebody like that. And somebody I can look up to, somebody I can replicate and follow, it's been really cool for me. Um, sort of along the same vein, like, have you had any struggles or temptation to not want to share your faith? Like, you know, cause I'll be on there's times and even just relating to like my, my work. Like I had a situation come up last week at work and I had to call an employee. Um, who wasn't at work that day. And I was like, had this opportunity and it was very clear. It was like, you can need to share the gospel with this person right now. Or you may never get another chance and so I'm thankful I did, but part of me was like, you don't have to do it. You know, like that, that doubt. My mom was like, no, you don't have to do it now. You can do it later. Yeah, so have you kind of there's 2 things there. 1, when I got to Duke, Duke is not a Christian place to be. It's very anti Christianity in a lot of ways, especially, you know, on the collegiate campus. That's kind of everywhere these days, but I'm a person that like embraces being different so much that I love seeing the anti Christianity in a way because I can combat that like so I have so much more passion To prove them wrong and to not only prove them wrong, but to like bring them with me to follow Christ as well So like at Duke I had like a drive and a power like Like a drive underneath me that was like, dude, every chance you get, share the gospel, like, be a good representation of what the gospel looks like, because you have so many people that you can bring with you, like, Jesus didn't go to the, the ones who are already, you know, following him, he went to the, the sinners, he went to the tax collectors, like being in a place like Duke, and, and certainly there were plenty of good people, but I felt like, you know, maybe it needed some Christianity, it needed Jesus, and, you know, I feel like I was maybe able to bring that to them a little bit. Um, the other thing is, I'm really big on like, where I stand in my Christ and not being a hypocrite. Um, so there are times when we all feel it whenever we get distant from God, there are times in season where you wake up on a Sunday after a loss, you get back at like 1, a. m. and you don't want to get up and go to church. And then, you know, I miss a church day and I wake up the next day and somebody asked me about, or like, I had the opportunity to speak about Christ and it's like, I, I don't want to feel hypocritical. I don't want to say and act like I'm this super religious guy whenever I'm. I'm not following Christ as I should be. Um, so I'm very cautious of that. Um, cause I think that there are a lot of people that just use him for likes and viewership. And, you know, you meet a lot of people in the athletic world who have influence and aren't living the life of Jesus Christ that they should be, but on their Instagram. And on a lot of different places, you see these scripture verses and it's, uh, kind of a jab in the face, uh, to Christ and yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel that too, man. Like, like, you know, you said that, you know, us and some like coach Carter and all of us, like. You know, we have, we're influenced in your life, like, you know, but you've also seen, like, how coaches like us have, have failed and have, you know, but the good thing is, like, you know, the, the, the gospel is very clear about how Jesus provides grace and there's new mercies every morning. And, yes, we're called to live up to the standard, but we'll never meet it. And, but we don't have to, because Jesus fulfilled that. Um, so it's, it's very confident. It is challenging, though. I'm with you on that. So going into that kind of thought, like, how is it like, how's it been for you to make sure that you're like, stay grounded in your faith? Like, has it been a struggle to not put yourself like, on a pedestal like everybody else does around you? Um, and then obviously, you know, people in Fairhope, we love you and like, we're like, so supportive of you. And, um, so how, how has that been for you? Like, to, to make sure, like, you're not putting yourself up on a pedestal like everybody else is around you. Yeah, that's, that's honestly, like, number one hardest thing in my life right now. Um, transferring to a school like Notre Dame and hitting the transfer portal and all this attention. Um, uh, I get so disgusted with myself sometimes, man, like, you'll walk on campus. And you're walking to the grocery store and like, you see some people staring and, you know, talking about you and whatnot. And like, for a second, you think that you're somebody and like, like, it's a cool feeling for like a second. And then you leave and like, you know, they're talking about you and you try to act all cool. Like, like you're somebody like, Oh, this, you know, I am like, I'm the man I get so, I get so mad at myself when I do that. Like it, it, I, it actually like just irritates me so badly because like, and, and, and my thing is like, I'll leave there being like, Oh, well, I'm way more humble than these other guys who are in this position. The way that I was raised, like my father, like he said, never compare yourself to the worst. Like always compare yourself to the best and the best is Jesus. So what would Jesus do in that situation? Would he walk around with his chest sticking out? Like he's somebody walking around campus. I'm only here because of him. Like I was just not like naturally, I was just blessed with the six, four body and a good arm. I didn't really, you know, I've worked to get here and I've done my due diligence and made some right decisions along the way. But like, who, who am I to think that I'm better than anybody else? And being in a situation like Notre Dame, and it's only gonna get worse in the season. Like, I just have to keep punching myself and reminding myself, like, Dude, you're nobody. Like, this is all cool, but, Man, don't you think that, for a second, that you're better than anybody else. And that's something I'm Still struggling with that. Yep. I saw a, uh, my pastor said a quote or la a quote. I, I wanna say a CS Lewis. Uh, someone can fact check me. I don't know if it's cs. No, I think it's Timothy Keller. Timothy Keller said, uh, RIP, uh, said, Mm-Hmm. Actually, no. RIP not, I don't know. I feel like RP is the secular thing. like he's in heaven. My dude. Yeah. But, uh, Timothy Keller said that, uh, like. I guess like lowering your ego isn't like thinking less of yourself. It's like thinking of yourself less, you know what I mean? So I'm not thinking like I am the worst human ever, but like, Hey, I'm not. I'm not at all what I think I am. I like that. Um, but, uh, Psalm 119, this is also, uh, I had this open, so it's kind of funny that you, uh, mentioned what you're about to, or what you just did, but Psalm 119, verse 9 through 11, uh, says, How can a young man keep his way pure by guarding it according to your word? With my whole heart I seek you. Let me not wonder from your commandments. I've stored up your word in my heart that I may not sin against you. Um, And I always think of that, like, you know, when you read that, the 1st thing I think of is like sexual sin, like, oh, yeah, if I want to combat sexual sin, that's the verse I'm going to, but it's like, just like, you were talking about, like, pride that you go, like, it can be all of it because in my job, like, I'm. Fortunate to manage a handful of people. And so part of me thinks, like, well, I'm smarter than the rest of the people, you know, like, this is why I'm in this position is because I'm smart enough. Um, that's just just just as dangerous. I did. I was blessed with the 6, 5 body, but I didn't have that good of arm. So, every time, every time someone walks by me, they're like, hey, did you play basketball in high school? And I'm like, no, no, I got to play baseball. And was mid That's awesome. Um, so will you tell me, um, you, you're still dating your girlfriend now, right? Yes. The same girl you've been dating since your freshman year? Oh yeah. Um, six and a half years ago. So, nice. Um, my wife and I dated for seven years before we got married. Um, and we, since she went to Auburn and I went to Troy, and if you're not familiar, if you listen to this, you don't know where Troy University is. It's. About 45 minutes south of Montgomery, Alabama, which is where Parker and I grew up. But, um, so we dated a long distance for, like, 4 or 5 years. And I'm just curious, like. How's that been for you? She goes to Auburn. Is that right? Yeah, I remember when you entered the portal, people, all my Auburn friends were like, Riley Leonard's going to go to Auburn because his girlfriend is Auburn. It's like, let the man make his own decision, but let him make his own decision. My favorite 1 is every time, every time, like, there's a coaching change. I'll get back to the question. I promise. But every time there's a coaching change, someone, someone in my Auburn group text is always like. A buddy who lives in Auburn who said they just saw where Nick Saban's plane landed and that means he's going to interview for Auburn and like he's going to be their next head coach or something like that. I'm like that's a lot of old. Like what are y'all doing all day? But uh, I guess back to the question is how has how has dating your girlfriend been long distance and like how I mean just in the same vein of like keeping your way pure. Um, How's that been for y'all? Yeah, it's been so good. Like, I speak so highly of it. And it's not like a, Oh, Riley doesn't want to be with his girlfriend. He likes the long distance. No, it's uh, Like, and we were talking about this the other day on FaceTime. Like I told her, like, she's grown so much as a person. And if I was in Auburn, and like we were together every day, No way does no way does she grow late in the way that she's grown like she's on campus doing her. Her schedule is twice as busy as mine, like, legit, like, sun up to sundown and then some. So she's in, like. Yeah, young life groups there. She's the coyote sorority. Um, recruitment chair. Uh, yeah, I don't know much about this stuff, but I don't either. I support her. I support her, you know, uh, and then she's she's given tours on campus and she's like three other Christian groups and he's just grown so much. And I'm so happy. I haven't been able to take that time away from her and distract her from that. And then for me. Like not being on the look to like, look for any, you know, females or find a relationship. Like my focus has been football and school and like, that's kind of what it takes at this level to be great. You really have to focus in on those two things and we handle, you know, we'll FaceTime, you know, every night and it's been, it's been great. Like she's been so easy to work with. She knows like my practice schedule, you know, I get tired, you gotta take, you gotta take your athlete naps here and there. It's all good. Like I wake up, I'll have to wake up at like 445. 5, you know, a lot of days and, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's hard, but we've made it, we made it really easy. So, um, I encourage anybody that's doing long distance and I'm sure you could speak to it like. The development of yourself is really good. That's like, that's pretty biblical to you because like, you know, Paul says often in Romans, like, it's better. It's better for you. Or maybe it's Romans. I don't know, but it's better for you to be single. That it is for you to, so you can focus on your relationship with the Lord. And I'm completely paraphrasing this, but, um, not that he speaks, it speaks against like getting married or having a relationship, whatever, but it's like, you know, because she's in Auburn, like she can focus on her relationship with the Lord. And do what God wants her to do at Auburn. And then you were at Duke and now Notre Dame, like, you know, you guys can focus. And it's not that you don't, you don't want to spend time with each other. It's not, you don't want to see each other. Um, it's not that you don't talk to each other. It's just, Hey, we're, we love each other. Um, but we're gonna love each other from afar and focus on what God has right in front of us. And then when the time comes, we'll come back together and do this life together. So yeah, that's all. That's awesome. Yeah. And these are like the four, go ahead. I was going to say that, like, I mean, my wife and I dated long distance, but for the 1st, 2 and a half, 3 years of college, we weren't Christian. So, like, it was, and we didn't, we still thought we were good people and, like, went to church or whatever. But, um. Like, we, we didn't have, like, a faith based mindset, like, our relationship was not centered around Christ when we first started dating. So just to clarify that we, we both found Jesus in college. And then after that, we had to, like, backtrack and change, like, our entire relationship as far as how we viewed each other. Um, so I think that's cool that you're that you're thinking about that now. Um, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm so fortunate to have her because, like. Yeah. I'm just, I'm just like every other college guy who's 21 years old. Like I would be running around doing the stupidest things if I didn't have her. And like, another thing I'm putting in my suit, like, and like, I thought about this, but like, it's a triangle with God on top and it's me, you guys have seen this and like the closer we are to God, the closer we are to each other. And like, that's so facts, like the closer I am to God and the closer she is to God, like when we're both at our, you know. You know, doing our thing, um, it just works out and, uh, I'm super grateful for her. Because like I said, if I didn't have her, I would be running around doing some stupid things. Oh, yeah. They actually use that same analogy in an episode of Boy Meets World, but you've never seen the show. I'm not, and I'm never going to. I can't tell you the last time. Is there a girl in Meets World? Yeah, there is actually, no, there is, because that was like, yeah, that was the spinoff, but it wasn't that it wasn't as good. I've never watched it, but I watched it actually, like, pretty recently because I got sick, uh, a week or two ago. Well, I, I was like, man, this, like, cause it's low, it's low stress, low impact. Like, you know, like, like, you know, what's going to, it's, it's like, it was, it was just, it's a feel good show. So anyway, I can't tell you the last time I watched the episode from Boy Meets World, if that tells you anything, Riley. So, um, so what, um, let's see what, so, yeah. Yeah, so looking back your time at Duke, I know that you, um, are super grateful for that time and for your coaches and the players and and all of that, your teammates. What is, uh, what would you say something that you learned spiritually from your time to do? Because I know a lot of people know, like. You know, followed you this past year. Um, and, and those, you know, very little about kind of what you guys did at Duke and, and all that. But what is something that nobody really knows about that you learn spiritually, um, for your time at Duke? Yeah, um, 2 things. 1 is. Uh, people can change. Uh, you know, I saw it in my locker room, like, right in front of me. Good, good people that found Christ and became great people. Like, roommates who've given their life to Christ. Um, you know, people in my position group have given their life to Christ. And like, these are people who were, were sinning, like, pretty heavily. And just completely hit a 180 and like Jesus can move mountains, man. Like with some of these people, I probably would have walked in and be like, man, you can never become a Christian. At least you're doing all these stupid things. Like I'm not doing that kind of stuff. Like, and now they have bigger face than me and that's not something I really saw in Faro. And then another thing is just like, there are a lot of people don't like Christianity. I kind of talked about that earlier, but like me being in class and like announcing my faith and like getting stares. Is not something I would see coach we've ever seen. That's not a thing in Fairhope. So I think it's pretty cool to stand up and talk about Christ. Like I said, I feel more pride and more eager to talk about Him whenever everybody else isn't. I think in a room full of Christians, it's, you know, sometimes you don't even, it kind of goes without saying, you predetermine that everybody likes Christ. But you know, when you walk into a classroom with a bunch of atheists, I like to share I think in a room full of Christians, it's, you know, sometimes you don't even, you predetermine that everybody likes Christ. that everybody likes Christ. But you know, when you walk into a classroom with a bunch of atheists, I like to share that That's good stuff. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, at Fairhope and even Birmingham, I mean, where Jake is, like, you know, we don't, we don't see that opposition of Christ very much. Um, so it's, I mean, it's a, it's a privilege, but and, and even here, like, you know, rally, like, it's like, if you go to church, or if you go to FCA, if you do, like, you know, all these, you know, Christian based things, it's like, uh, it's part of the culture, like. It's just what you do. Um, so, like, it's, it's highly encouraged, like, people, like, pat you in the back for doing that. But I'm guessing at Duke. So, at Duke, um, I think you told me before that, uh, you had, like, team Bible studies and stuff like that. Um, can you tell us a little bit more about that? Yeah, yeah, it was great. They're like, I say that. You know, there were a lot of atheists at Duke, but there were a lot of strong Christians at Duke, and especially within athletics. Like, athletics had a, we created our own Bible study, um, freshman year. I mean, you got three or four of them are in the NBA right now. Adrian Griffin, Paula Bancaro, like, these type people. But the credit really, like, we're just the dudes that showed up. The credit really belongs to, like, a couple, there was a couple swimmers. Couple of rowers that created this Bible study and now there's like 30 people that go to it every Sunday And it was just great to be a part of it Because you know when you get when you get people from Duke They're really like the best people in the country Like they're really talented really smart and when they're Christian like they're really good people to be around so they helped me in my faith A lot and like the community around you, like you are who you hang around with. So I'm happy I was able to hang with them and worship with them every Sunday. So how has that been since, uh, transferring to Notre Dame so far since you've been there? Yeah. Yeah. It's been, it's been really weird. Cause like every classroom I walk into now, there's. Uh, there's like a cross above every door and the, the teachers will like give, be giving a lecture and then they'll say, and this relates to Jesus Christ, uh, and first Corinthians or whatever. And it's just so 180, but I, I really appreciate, appreciate it. Another thing that I've realized though, like, and this has like always been my complaint with. Like the different denominations, you know, this is a Catholic, but like, I think it's super important to understand that. Like, and it goes without saying, but like, we're all worshiping the same, same God, like this is a super Catholic school and I'm not Catholic. But like, we're all worshiping the same God, and I think sometimes there's a little bit of division there, but, um, as far as Notre Dame goes, though, uh, it's been great. They've been awesome in developing my faith, um, everybody on the team, there's a, there's a fellowship here, um, it's a big fellowship within the football team here every Thursday. Um, so, yeah, this place, spiritually, like, spiritual growth is the number one thing that Notre Dame embraces. That's awesome. Yeah, there's prayer spots like all over campus. There's this huge grotto that on my visit, me and my family prayed at, and I took Molly whenever she came up and visiting, we, we prayed at, so it was really cool. That's awesome. That's really cool. Um, so what's something, I think Parker kind of answered or kind of asked this question a couple of questions ago, but like, what's something, uh, That's specific to rally winner that you just want people to know about you. If you haven't already talked about it, like, what's them that you always wanted to share? Uh, well, I'm a, I'm definitely like a goofy guy who, like, never gets mad like, on the football field and stuff. Like, whenever we're playing bad, like, I'm. I'm like, uh, all right. Like we, we got shut out and we get shut out against the leader. Like I break my ankle or have to get surgery on my toe. And it's just like, I'm like super optimistic. I'm super goofy. Uh, I love to just joke around and never get too serious. Cause life's not that serious to me. I'm also like pretty nerdy in a lot of ways. And a lot of people would don't see that side of me. Like, I don't know if you like I got my, uh. Like Star Wars action figures, uh, I like love Star Wars, bro. And there's just so many little things that I like, like the music that I listen to is like super quirky. And I like to like play instruments whenever I come across and I suck at them all, but like the saxophone harmonica, uh, I just like to do all these like weird, weird things. And like, a lot of people don't see that side of me, but like. I like embrace like the nerdy side of me, but it doesn't really get to come out that much just because I'm always around like the jock football guys. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Like we all got our stuff. Yeah. We all got our stuff that like brings out the weird side of us. So I. I just find myself all the time, like, just nerding out about these silly little things. Well, I'm about to share my nerdness too. Like, I'm a big Star Wars fan and like, love Star Wars. Uh, me and my wife love Harry Potter. Um, and actually a week from today, we're going down to Witchcraft. Yeah. Witchcraft Some people have their thoughts, some have their thoughts about that. We're that good? We're going to, um, Orlando Univer or Mardi Gras break. Yeah, yeah. Universal and going to Hollywood studios. You go to Star Wars land and all that, man, I'm, I'm a big nerd when it comes out too, man, so that's awesome. Oh, I do, I love it. I love it. Um, good suck. Um, you got you ahead, mark. You got it, Jake. Okay. Alright. Okay, so, um. What so I got it. Um, all right. So he kind of talked about that with, you know, something that's interesting about yourself. Um, how, like, going back to when you talked about, like, the transfer portal and, like, entering that, like, how hard was that for you to make that decision? Especially with, like, you talked about, like, how many good, godly people you had around you and all the relationships you built. Um, like how difficult that was that for you, uh, to enter the portal? Yeah, I always say that that was one of the more difficult things that I went through in my life just because I'm such a loyal person. And whenever you hit the transfer portal, there's automatically a bad stigma behind it. Like, just naturally, whenever I see a kid hit the portal, I'm like, yeah, you don't want to compete. Or like, he's just in it for the wrong reasons. And a lot of people thought that about me. And like that was, that was really tough because I'm a person who like really, I'm a people pleaser and I really care what people think. And that's unfortunate because that's something I've been dealing with my whole life. I care too much what people think. And uh, whenever I read these things about me and you know, the negative Duke fans were really supportive, but of course there's going to be the people that, you know, say negative things about you. Um, it's not easy. It's not easy being in this position whenever. People really don't know who you are, the type of person you are, and just say these, you know, bad things about you, and whenever you have to have conversations with people from Duke, and they think that you're in it for the wrong reasons, um, wasn't easy, um, but on the same, on the, on the same side, like, you gotta do what's best for you and your family, and And the Notre Dame fans were super supportive and like, just like to be real, there's like 10 times the amount of fans as there was a new, like, just like, yeah, it's just like being real. Um, and they've been super welcoming, you know, open arms. Um, there's been, there's been like a lot of. A lot of talk recently about the ankle and my ankle surgery and whatnot. And, um, the, the fans are just like, dude, he's going to come back like 10 times stronger. So it's really cool to see. So how, how has all that being said, how is that like a challenge to your fate and you spiritually? Yeah. Like. Going through all that stuff, and like, while I was doing that, like, for anybody who doesn't know, I had, got surgery on my toe, which, I don't know, you got surgery on your toe, like, it was a big surgery, like, I was, I was out for like three or four months, and, uh, and then I got surgery on my ankle, and I was just going through a lot, and I realized, like, And, and I say I was going through a lot, like, oh, I got surgery on my toe and I'm a D1 quarterback, like, nobody in my family has really, I'm help, like, everybody's totally like, you guys, there's perspective here, but, um, the closer I got to God, like, the easier it was to get through all that stuff. Um, and like I said, like it gave me perspective, like I hit kind of like the lowest of lows in my life this far. I've been pretty blessed, um, and God got me out of that and smiling now and I'm here for a reason. So, um, yeah, I think going through all that stuff really strengthened my relationship with Christ because within the past year, like I keep saying, like. I've, I've been, I've literally felt this and I felt rock bottom. You got, Oh, Riley, Riley's going to win the Heisman, Riley's going to go to the NFL. You start believing that stuff and it's the wrong thing to believe. And then boom, you hit rock bottom and then, and then boom, boom, boom, you get into the transfer quota. Everybody loves you. Everybody loves you. Boom, you get to Notre Dame, you got to get surgery back down. You know, I felt a lot of emotion, uh, within the past year, but I'm very grateful for it and like, I'm still going through that, like, I'm not, I'm not at the top again, like I'm still on my way back up going through a lot, like every single day waking up. And there are challenges to, to live in this life that I live, but, you know, the closer I am with God, the better off I'm, I'm feeling. That's true. Um, we'll kind of maybe ask a couple more questions cause I don't, I want to be respectful of your time, but, uh, this is way, this is way better. My brother on Fortnite can wait. They, they, me and Parker used to just hammer when Fortnite first came out, we used to hammer it. And then I'm stuck. I suck. My, my head and just gave me his PS five. He let me, he let me have it for like a couple months, but I play just a little bit still, but I'm not that much cause you got kids and a wife and all that's not going to happen. But yeah, dude, Xbox came out when we were, I'm gonna say like 10 years old. Probably somewhere around that. Yeah. And like, dude, you wanna talk about for like a 12, 13, 14 year period. Like that's all, uh, like, and then, then once our second daughter was born, I was like, I should probably put this up I was like, I was like, I, I probably don't need to play, but end stay is coming back this year. That's right. They were saying they were gonna pay the players. Like, dude, I would pay them. I'll pay them so much money to put me in the game, bro. Like that's like the coolest thing ever. Heck yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So Jake, you got to hop back on it when it comes back, man. See, I've been so tempted because. That incidentally, 2014, like, Jake Smith, the 4th, they have every, every single record you could break. I mean, 1000, 1000 yards rushing a game against FCS or FCS, which was like, it was like, they had the trashiest schools. You could make believe schools, you could schedule and just like, go for 1000 yards and rest in a game. Good stuff. And I'm winning the husband anyway. Um, so if, and I don't want to, like, make you give a canned answer or anything to this question, but, like, you know, 5 years from now, or 10 years from now, or maybe, like, next year, you know, like, where do you feel do you feel like God's leading you somewhere or are you just sort of waiting and just being patient and being present in the moment where God's place you. Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that out right now. Like, obviously, everybody sees me and they think I gotta figure it out. Like, I don't gotta figure it out. I don't got a clue what I'm doing. Like, I wake, I'll wake up tomorrow and be like, dude, what's the plan for my life? I have no idea. Like, hopefully, hopefully you guys are at a place where you're starting to figure it out. But for me, it's like, Dude, what's my purpose? I don't know yet. Like straight up. I have no idea Um, but I did see something from Matthew McConaughey. He gave a speech one time He said the man that his hero is himself like 10 years from now and like i'm sure you guys have seen that but if you haven't I recommend going to listening to it because like I think that speaks for me like I I look forward to the man that I can become 10 years from now and like just the I have so many ways to grow in my maturity, like, like not thinking about myself all the time, not being so selfish, um, forgiving people more, and reaching out to people whenever I'm tired more, and doing all these little things, like I'm so excited to see who God turns me into 10 years from now, and then whenever I reach 10 years, I'm going to be chasing that guy 10 years. Um, so that speech really stuck out to me and, and I don't got, I don't got a clue what I'm doing, but hopefully tomorrow I'll wake up. If not the next day, I'll wake up and know my purpose. But. Right now, I got no clue. Yeah, that says a lot. Just being content where you are, man. Uh, so, like, I know that, um, you know, you mean a lot to people around fair hope, um, and obviously outside of fair hope. I mean, you mean so much to us and, um. You know, everybody from, like, you know, any middle schooler that I come in contact with, like, you know, I'm helping to coach Stanton coach middle school football. And so, like, you know, we talk about you a lot and, like, talk about, you know, your time in middle school and how you grew up and, um, and how much work you put in to get where you are. And, uh, but we also tell them the reality is, like, you know, most of you guys are not going to make it to where rally is. Um, so, um, how much does it mean to you? Like, um, just that, you know, the fair hope community is, is a support of you and like, no matter what you do, like, we're going to be all for you. Like, uh, like, I, I was talking to coach Carter and coach Messina on Friday. And we had a sophomore come up and he was like, Hey, coach, I, I listened to your, um, listen to some of your podcasts. And I was like, sweet, dude, that's awesome. I said, well, we got a special guest coming up next time and told him he was Raleigh. I told him it was gonna be you. And he was like, oh, my gosh, I'm so excited. I'm gonna put like a notification on. So, like, obviously, like, you know, kids. Yeah, kids in Fairhope, like, love you, dude. So, like, how does that, like, does that, like, put a lot of pressure on you? Or does that, like, encourage you? Like, how, how does that help you or, or whatever spiritually? Yeah, pressure to me is, is whenever you got a gun to your head. Pressure, pressure in this realm, like, this is just a, this is just a privilege to me to be able to sit up here and, and speak out about Christ and being, being an influence to all these kids. And I'm not able to experience it. Like, thank you for telling me that because up here in South Bend, you kind of like lose track of everything. And people are sometimes scared to reach out and think they're bothering me. But like that stuff, like is what wakes me up in the morning and like motivates me, like to run faster on every single rep. Like that's the stuff that's in the back of my mind. Just like, there's so many people that look up to me and depend on me to like do great things. And I just don't want to let them down. So like all these kids that look up to me, like, and I also hope that I can show them, like, It's not all sunshine and rainbows like every you guys see like 0. 001 percent of my life and like I say, it's all highlights like the day to day of my life kind of sucks like waking up early like lifting these weights and going to these hard classes and going to watch film and then going to rehab, you know, your injuries like It's not necessarily fun, but it's, it's, it's something that I just want to give people perspective and I want to show them the realities of this and like, there's so much more to life than just playing football. So anybody that's listening to this, that's a kid in fair hope, like enjoy it because high school football is way more fun than college football. Like I'm telling you, high school is the most fun time of my life. Like, I wish I could go back and we did the stupidest things in the locker room, just goofing off, having fun with your boys. Winning games on a Friday night in a place like Fair Hill. Everybody just is so supportive. Like I, I miss the high school days a lot. Um, and, and, you know, college is great and it's fun and there's a lot of stuff that comes with it, but. You know, I, uh, I miss those high school days and, and hopefully, hopefully all those kids back back home can find, find Christ the way I did. Um, because there's like a wave in Fairhope and like within the, in the pen, within the past couple years, like the, the Christians that are growing up in Fairhope has athletes and stuff like, it's unreal. I feel like every class, like kind of below me and maybe my class alone in the class, class above. Just really good good Christian kids and churches are just blowing up the youth groups. They're blowing up and That's it. The I like seeing that more than anything. It's just all the kids that are going to church so if you could go back and tell yourself like As maybe like a sophomore or a freshman or even just a junior, like, what is one thing that you would tell yourself? Um, that, you know, now that you didn't know then, yeah, it's not all not all sunshine and rainbows. Like, everybody says, like, talks about the good old days. Like, you're living the good old days. Like, even even right now, I'm living in the good old days. But like, don't forget that. Like, The moments in high school are the moments that last a lifetime and the relationships in high school are the relationships that last a lifetime. So, um, if you're ever feeling like overwhelmed, just, yeah, you got a lot more coming your way here. Like when you get to college and, and me, you guys have kids, like that's even worse then. So, um, I wish I would just tell myself to relax. God will take care of everything. Cause I did stress out a lot in high school, but high school, man, that's, that's the time to relax and, you know, have fun with your friends. Yeah, Parker and I are probably testaments to that because, like, you know, we, we told you before, like, we, we've been best friends for, I mean, for our entire life. Like, I mean, I think I remember swimming at Parker's house. The 1st time we really ever hung out. We're like, 8 years old, we got to swim at night and I was like, bro. I was like, dad, I can go swim at Parker's house at night. He's like, sure. Uh, but we've been best friends ever since, man, I can think about all the times. We've done stupid stuff and not so stupid stuff together. So yeah, high school is cool. And one more thing, like it is not cool to drink and do drugs. Like the best decision of my life was saying no to all that stuff because people respect it after a long time. It's one thing I've learned. Once you say yes to something, it becomes so much easier to say yes. A third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth time, but when you say no to something, And people understand the purpose of why you're saying no, like, it becomes so much easier people like, I'll go to parties I would hang out I'll do all that stuff, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't engage in the things that they were engaging in. And like, towards the end of my high school days nobody would even ask me to do the things because they. they began to respect why I didn't drink or, you know, do the things that everybody else did. Like, it's not cool. Like, that was the best decision of my life. And I'm so proud of myself at a young age to be able to say no and stand up for myself. Um, it's like anybody that's listening and like anybody that Thanks. It's cool to drink and do all this stuff. It is not cool at all. Like, and find a good group of friends that Trust me. Trust me. Trust me. It is not cool to do that stuff And you guys know that but like being a being a younger guy that just went through it in fair Hope I promise you it'll be the best decision of your life to not engage in that stuff and To understand your purpose and, you know, just, just say no, because once I, like I said, once you say yes to something, it's going to be so much easier to say yes. You know, 2nd, 3rd, 4th time. Yeah. And, you know, Jake and I did not say. No, we said, yes, and now we wish we look back and say. We said, no, um, so, yeah, I totally agree with that, man. And, you know, that's, that's 1 of the reasons why I chose to be a coach and teach is that I wanted to go back and say, look, man, don't make the same mistakes. I did because it's not worth it. It's not worth it. It only leads you to wanting more because you're trying to fill that hole in your heart. That's not meant to be filled with drugs and alcohol. And all that stuff has been to be filled with Christ and don't, don't try to fill it with that. Um, so, yeah, that's, that's a word right there. Rally. That's a word. Yeah, well, yeah, that's awesome. Um, so I kind of want to close with this, you know, I think you've hit around this kind of stuff kind of throughout the whole night, but like, uh, especially you were talking about your time at Duke and it made me think of Romans 10, um, verse 13 through 15. Or 15 and a half, whatever, not the full verse. Um, was it for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Then it goes into saying how, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed. And how are they to believe in him of whom they've never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching, and how are they to preach unless they are sent? So, it's like, it is in this reverse order. Like, I think it's cool how Paul writes it. It's like, how are they going to be saved unless. They've heard the gospel. How are they going to hear the gospel unless someone preaches it? And how are they going to preach unless you go? And so, like, I think it's such a, a great reminder of, like, our purpose on our, you're talking about, like, you don't know your purpose. And I know what you meant. You meant, like, I don't know what my purpose is, what is it relates to football or what I'm going to do after football or anything like that. But, like, No matter what we do, our purpose is to love God and love others and just share the gospel. Um, because 10, 000 years from now, like no one's going to care how many touchdowns you three, four in 2024 or 2025, you know what I mean? Like. They're going to be like, I think like that guy's in heaven with me. Like, that's what I know about him. Um, so just want to encourage you and anyone else who's listening. Yeah. And you know, rally the, the going off what Jacob said, Debbie Sweeney said, one of the best things I've ever heard. He said, when I face God, he's not going to ask me how many athletes I got to the NFL. He's not going to ask me how many skills I taught this or did this or that. He's going to ask me, what did I do with what I gave you and how many people did you tell about me? And how many people did you bring to me? And like, when I heard that the 1st time, I was like, dang, like, that's my purpose right there. My purpose is to make Christ known. And, you know, for those that have not listened, like, basically have not heard the gospel before, like the gospel is like. You were, you were dead without Christ and you're dead in sin. And without Christ, that's where you remain. And until you call, just like it says right here, how for everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved. All you have to do is say yes to Jesus. I believe in you and you're saved. That's it. And then you start following him. Um, and there's a lot more that goes into that, but. But that's, that's basically the gospel right there. Um, and so like when I heard, when I heard Debo Swinney said that, I was like, dang, like shout out to Debo. That's like a cut to the heart right there. That's awesome. Good for him. And, and thank you for sharing with that with me, because like, that kind of speaks to me. I was wondering like what my purpose is. Well, maybe that can give me a greater perspective and, and yes, keep it simple soup. It kind of simplifies it. Just have a relationship with Christ and do everything that God gave you to glorify him. Yeah, that's going to be my mentality for a while. So appreciate that. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, probably man. We're proud of you, dude. I know. I know that, you know, us and we're super proud, but, um, not just not just of what you've done athletically, but also who you are and who you're becoming. Like, you know, I've seen it grow since me and you played pickup basketball, the gym is like a 7th grader and you balling on me in there that during that time, but, you know, it's, it's, it's been a lot of fun to watch, uh, just, you remain steadfast and, you know, I watch from afar a lot because I didn't get an opportunity to coach you, but it's just been a lot of fun, like, just, just watching, uh, cause it's been encouraging to me. So I'm proud of you. And thanks for joining us. It's been, it's been so much fun. Yeah, thank you guys for having me. And I will, I will cheer for Notre Dame as long as you are there. So I want you to know that I used to not care anything about Notre Dame. No, I didn't really dislike Notre Dame. But it's like, whatever, you know. But hey, we've already looked at the schedule, my dude. Y'all playing Atlanta. So we're already trying to make a plan to come over and watch you. Mercedes Benz, yeah, that's right. Come on. Oh yeah. You already know, just like Florida state this past year. We're going to come up and make a scene. Yeah, that'd be fun, man. I appreciate you guys. Thank you. Thank you for everything. This was, this was really good for me to be able to refresh because obviously I've been overwhelmed these past couple of weeks and to be able to sit down and talk about Christ with good people. It means a lot to me. So thank you. Awesome. All right. Well, we appreciate it and we'll see you guys next time.