After The Gridiron

Marcus played 11 seasons of professional football which included stops in the CFL, NFL Europe, and XFL. He started out playing baseball, and didn't start playing football until Jr highschool. His favourite sport was actually basketball but football was his best sport. He chose East Carolina to play at the University level mainly because they were the only school that let him play quarterback. He was 1st-Team all conference as a junior so played well while there. Injuries hurt his chances at the next level and almost cost him his career. However he got a shot to go to the combine and then was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos shortly after the draft. He won a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders and was also named the game MVP. He won another Grey Cup with the Saskatchewan Roughriders a few years later. After his playing career ended, he transitioned into coaching where he coached in the CFL as well as at the Canadian College level. He is now in the insurance business as well as doing some personal training for quarterbacks. For more information on Marcus and what he's doing use the links below.LINKStwitter: https://twitter.com/marcuscrandell?lang=en (@MarcusCrandell)contact: 252.661.9384RESOURCESwww.atgridiron.comwww.symfonies.ca

John played 3 seasons in the NFL, all with the Arizona Cardinals. He went to Penn State and started as a defensive end, but switched to tight-end his senior year. He chose Penn State over other schools after going to a camp there. Also, they were one of the top teams in the country that year as well. He played there with one of my old teammates, Cam Wake who became a dominant player with the Miami Dolphins. He was a priority free-agent with the Cardinals after putting up great combine numbers prior to the draft. He knew football wouldn't be there for him forever, so he started looking at options for life after football. He started a business while he was playing, and was always involved in sports related things until his current business. He started Finger Licking Dutch with his girlfriend which is a waffle cookie call a stroopwaffle. They are big in the Netherlands and he is making them available in the US. For more information on the company and to follow him on social media, use the links below. LINKSwebsite: https://fingerlickingdutch.com/ (https://fingerlickingdutch.com/)twitter: https://twitter.com/johnbronson87?lang=en (@johnbronson87)instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbronson87/?hl=en (@johnbronson87)RESOURCES https://atgridiron.com/wp-admin/www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com) https://atgridiron.com/wp-admin/www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)

Charlie had an outstanding college career and is one of the greatest athletes of our generation. He didn't start playing sports until 5th grade because his parents didn't let him play organized sports until then. He didn't have a favourite sport, he just enjoyed playing them all. He was a natural athlete and played many sports. He and his friends even created sports to play to stay active. He was introduced to football by his dad who coached. He got to play quarterback after an injury, without the knowledge of his mother who was against it. He chose Florida State due to its closeness to home, as well as the fact that Coach Bobby Bowden was going to let him play basketball as well. He rewarded the coach with a National Title, the first in school history, and a Heisman Trophy. After college, he didn't commit to football which hurt his draft status. He wanted to play his Senior year in basketball as well as prepare for the NBA draft, so he went undrafted in the NFL. He was selected by the Knicks and enjoyed a great career, playing in an NBA Final. He is now coaching basketball in Florida and helping to shape the next generation of young athletes. He also has a foundation that is doing great things in the community as well. For more on Charlie and all that he's doing now, follow the links below.LINKStwiter: https://twitter.com/realcharlieward?lang=en (@RealCharlieWard)facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlieWardOfficial/ (@CharlieWardOfficial)instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charliewardofficial/?hl=en (@CharlieWardOfficial)foundation: https://charlieward.org/ (www.charlieward.org/)RESOURCESwww.atgridiron.comwww.symfonies.ca

Walter had an illustrious career, playing 13 seasons in the NFL all with the Seattle Seahawks. He was a late bloomer, not starting to play football until his freshman year in highschool. He developed into a great player, but his grades held him back from the top schools. Florida State is where he wanted to go and they had mutual interest in him. They helped him to find a Junior College to attend to improve his grades. He spent 2 years at Holmes Community College and then transferred to FSU after that. His year at FSU was one where he rotated with 2 other linemen for playing time. He had no intention of leaving early. However, the draft reports had him as one of the best linemen available for the draft, along with Orlando Pace. With such a high rating, he came out in the '97 draft and was selected 6th overall. Seattle was not where he thought he would end up. On his visit there, he only met with the offensive-line coach and didn't meet anyone else in the organization. He had a stellar career and made it to the Super Bowl, which was a first for the organization. After his career ended, he went into the media, doing some radio as well as a Post-Game show, "The 5th Quarter," which he does on King 5 in Seattle. When he found out about his Hall of Fame Induction, he was with his son, and it was an incredible moment for him. He has "Walter Jones Day" in the State of Washington, but there aren't any major privileges that he gets for it. He also has a clothing line Called, "The Best To Ever Do It," or B2EDI. They sell hoodies, t-shirts and hats, with more becoming available in the near future. To follow Walter and get more information on him and his business, use the links below.LINKSWebsite: https://www.b2edi.com/ (https://www.b2edi.com/)Twitter:https://twitter.com/BigWalt71?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor ( https://twitter.com/BigWalt71)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigwalt71/?hl=en (https://www.instagram.com/bigwalt71)RESOURCESwww.atgridiron.comwww.symfonies.ca

https://atgridiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ATG-Geroy.png ()Geroy had a long and successful Hall of Fame career playing 17 years of professional football. He spent a couple years in the NFL with the Bengals, Eagles, Steelers and Bucs, with the majority of time spent with the Buccaneers. The majority of his playing career was in the CFL and the BC Lions, but he also spent time with the Blue Bombers and Roughriders. He has developed a love for cooking since retiring and loves to spend time grilling up food on the BBQ. Growing up in the Pittsburgh area, football was always big for him and his family. His love for the game developed at a young age, however he didn’t start playing organized football until 7th grade. He grew up loving basketball as well and played that along with track and field as a kid. He just loved to play all kinds of sports and compete. Basketball was his first love, however football was where he excelled the most and would be his best sports option. He chose to attend the University of Maryland after high school due to their run-and-shoot offense that they had which was similar to what he had at his high school. It would give him a chance to showcase his skills as a receiver and have a prominent role on the team. He played as a true freshman and had an immediate impact on the team. After college, he was not drafted, but was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals. He was released by the team and bounced around a few teams, including his hometown Steelers, until he landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The next year he was on their practice roster for the whole season before being released. As a guy who tends to play best when “the lights are on,” he didn’t get a true chance to show what he could do in the NFL. He did get his chance in the CFL where he excelled when he landed with the BC Lions. He won 3 Grey Cups while in the CFL with each carrying special meaning to him. The 1st one he won in 2006, which was his 1st championship at any level.  His last one was with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and in that game he recorded his first 2 touchdowns in the Grey Cup game. After retiring, he knew he wouldn’t come back even if approached by a team. He was offered a position with the Roughriders by Brendan Taman, who brought him to the league originally while with the Blue Bombers years prior. He then was offered a position with the Lions, where his family was which he happily accepted. He is now the Director of Canadian Scouting with the team and has seen an improvement in the level of Canadian talent in the game. For more info on Geroy, follow the links below to his social media outlets.LINKStwitter: https://twitter.com/geroysimon?lang=en (www.twitter.com/geroysimon)instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geroysimon/?hl=en (www.instagram.com/geroysimon)RESOURCEShttp://www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com)http://www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)

https://atgridiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ATG-Kevin.png ()Kevin had an outstanding football career playing 12 years professionally in the NFL.  He was drafted by the Rams, and also played for the Titans, Dolphins and Buccaneers.  He was a late starter, having not played football until high school.  His parents wanted to protect his young body from the physical demands of football so he played other sports growing up.  He developed into a star player and was wanted by pretty much every school in the nation.  Academics was important to him in his selection of a school so his choice came down to Notre Dame and Florida.  He was ready to commit to Notre Dame, however Coach Spurrier convinced him to join him and attend the University of Florida.  He had an outstanding career at Florida and was a top prospect in the 1995 draft.  He ended up going 6th overall to the Rams and experienced a whirl-wind of travel right after the draft.  He was drafted the year the Rams moved from LA to St. Louis, so there was a lot of transition for him.  Luckily for him, his mom was there to help him and she took care of many of the details involved in his transition to pro football.  His first sack in the NFL was a memorable one, as he earned it against the legendary Brett Favre.  He earned the game ball that day and still has the ball in his memorabilia collection.  Coach Dick Vermeil addressed the team when he took over and told them that they would win a Championship in 3 years.  They achieved that goal, winning Super Bowl XXIV in one of the most memorable finishes in Super Bowl history!  After football he transitioned into broadcasting, however he wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted to do.  He initially started in the speaker circuit, doing talks around the Country.  He did a few other things as well but didn’t find fulfilment from it.  His agent suggested that he try broadcasting, and after finally deciding to give it a try, he loved it.  He started with ESPN but is now working with CBS Sports.  He also does work with his foundation, The Kevin Carter Foundation, which he started back in 2001.  For more information on Kevin and his foundation, use the links provided below.LINKSwebsite: https://kevin-carter.com/ (www.kevin-carter.com)twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinCarter_93?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (@kevincarter_93)facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waitingforwishes/ (www.facebook.com/waitingforwishes/)RESOURCEShttps://www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com)http://www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)

https://atgridiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ATG-Drummond.png ()Robert had a 12 year career in pro football, which included time in the NFL and CFL.  He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and played for them before joining the CFL where he played for the Baltimore Stallions, Toronto Argonauts and BC Lions.  He started playing football as a little kid in his home town of Syracuse, NY.  He loved football because of its physicality, and it allowed him to hit other guys and not get in trouble for it.  He was fast so track was his other main sport.  When it came time to choose a college, Penn State was the front runner.  He was always a fan of them and thought that would be where he would attend school.  However, when it came time to make the decision, he decided to stay home and attend his home town Syracuse University.  The proximity to home and the fact that his mom graduated from there were factors that influenced him to go there instead.  It was a choice he was happy he made and be able to have his family support so close by.  In fact, his family not only went to games, they would attend his practices as well!  His draft year was one of the most talented drafts in history.  He was a top prospect, however with a few Junior running backs declaring for the draft a year early, he was pushed down the draft a bit.  He still went in the 3rd round to the Eagles so he was still highly regarded.  He was thrilled to be a part of the team play with and against players he grew up watching.  A huge highlight for him was getting to meet Marcus Allen after a game against the Raiders.  After his time with the Eagles he played in the CFL with the Baltimore Stallions where he shared the backfield with the great Mike Pringle.  He had to play fullback but was a matchup nightmare for other teams.  After winning a Grey Cup there he signed with the Argonauts.  He got a chance to be the primary guy there and won a couple more championships.  After a couple more career stops, he headed for retirement, the love for the game had left him.  In retirement, he knew he wanted to do something to help kids and give back to the community.  He started his personal training company The Face of Fitness where he helps young athletes to reach their potential and help them achieve their goals.  He also developed a training platform the assesses an athlete’s athletic skill level.  It has even garnered the interest of the IOC and they may be using it at some point in the future!  For more on Robert and his training, follow the links below.LINKSwebsite: http://www.rapsrating.com/ (www.rapsrating.com/)facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.drummond.311 (www.facebook.com/robert.drummond.311)RESOURCEShttp://www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com)http://www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)

https://atgridiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ATG-Bryant.png ()Bryant played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Viking, Ravens and Dolphins.  He is a big tennis fan, and plays consistently.  He played basketball growing up and didn’t start playing football until high school due to his size.  He quickly excelled at football and played on the defensive side of the ball as a d-lineman.  However he had to start at a junior college before going on to a top level school.  After Junior college, he decided to go to the University of Miami.  There he played with numerous future NFL stars like Ed Reed, Clinton Portis and Andre Johnson.  He won the Outland Trophy in 2001 and was a top prospect for the draft.  He traveled to New York and visited different places in the city which was recovering from the 9/11 bombings that happened the previous year.  He was picked by the Vikings, 7th overall.  He was part of the team that went to the NFC Championship game with Brett Favre at the helm.  He got his Super Bowl win as a member of the Ravens.  The game was known for the power outage that delayed the game an extra 30 minutes.  His career ended as a member of the Dolphins and he had to adjust to life after football.  He started a company with his business partner called Letz Chat.  It translates websites into different languages.  A great tool in this increasingly global economy.  He also started a company called Repent, which is a hangover cure for those that have had a few too many.  It was started with a different business partner and is growing as well.  For more information on Bryant and his businesses, please follow the links below.LINKSwebsite: https://www.letzchat.com/ (www.letzchat.com/)website: https://drinkrepent.com/ (www.drinkrepent.com/)twitter: https://twitter.com/BryantMckinnie?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (@bryantmckinnie)instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryantmckinnie/?hl=en (@bryantmckinnie)RESOURCEShttp://www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com)http://www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)

https://atgridiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ATG-OJ.png ()OJ played 9 seasons of professional football in the NFL, all with the Miami Dolphins.  He was a standout athlete who played multiple sports growing up.  In high school he lettered in 4 sports, football basketball, baseball and Track.  His favourite sport was basketball, however he was on the shorter side so didn’t think that would be his best option.  He was heavily recruited but Ohio State was his favourite team being an Ohio boy.  However they fired their head coach so that opened him up to listening to other schools.  Penn State shot up to the top of the list and he decided to go there, even though his mom was pushing for Notre Dame.  He was outstanding at Penn State and rose to All-American status.  He also played baseball there and was drafted by the California Angels.  Their offer to him was only $10,000 which led him to pursue his football options instead of playing baseball.  That turned out to be a great choice with him being drafted in the 1st round by the Dolphins.  He was added to an already talented receiving corps, so initially he made his mark as a returner.  He excelled at it and had some great returns early in his career.  He eventually established himself as a top receiver and led the league in catches with 90 in 1998.  A toe injury ended his career prematurely and he had to focus on life after football.  He did radio work as well as some tv work to try and stay close to the game.  He also started his foundation, Catch 81 Foundation, to help kids in the south Florida area.  He has his own podcast as well, The Fish Tank, where he chats with former Dolphins players and personnel and they share stories from their time with the team.  For more information on OJ and where to follow him on social media, follow the links below.SUBSCRIBEhttps://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/after-the-gridiron/id1441939773?mt=2 (iTunes) | https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I3poqibyqfnwjnj5mwcn6lhmz2i (Google Play) | https://open.spotify.com/show/3hnoI8YbzNAcJ0Tlg1Hb0B (Spotify)LINKSpodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fish-tank-miami-dolphins-tales-from-the-deep/id1409148022 (The Fish Tank)foundation: https://www.catch81foundation.org/ (Catch 81 Foundation)twitter: https://twitter.com/ojmcduffie81?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (@ojmcduffie81)instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ojmcduffie/ (@ojmcduffie)RESOURCEShttps://www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com)http://www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)

https://atgridiron.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ATG-Jamel.png () Jamel enjoyed a long career of professional football playing 12 years in the CFL and a stint in the NFL as well.  He loves video games with Madden and NBA 2K being his 2 favourite games to play.  He started playing football in 7th grade and played basketball primarily prior to that.  His favourite player is Michael Irvin and tried to emulate him with his play.  He went to Victor Valley Junior College after first committing to Michigan State.  However he didn’t get the necessary grades to go there so had to make the move to Victor Valley.  He dominated while he was there and also was successful on the basketball court becoming the 2nd highest scorer in the state of California.  Despite his success, it was a tough transition for him to go out to California.  He became home sick, missing his home town on the east coast.  But his love for the game propelled him to continue on.  From there he got an opportunity with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.  He performed well at a tryout and got signed.  It was a bit of an adjustment playing with the different rules and in a different Country.  He learned from some of the veterans who took him under their wing as a young player.  His success there got him an opportunity with the Dallas Cowboys.  He had a great camp, however with the stiff competition, he was a a last cut.  However Terrell Owens had a big impact on him and his career by showing him how hard he worked to be the best.  That inspired him, and it led to him having amazing seasons with the Montreal Alouettes.  He finished off with the Riders before transitioning to life after football.  He did a few things like coaching kids as well as getting his masseuse licence.  However he didn’t feel led to do that.  He then went into becoming a claims adjuster which he is doing now.  He is also starting his training company, Upstate Fitness Connection.  For more information on Jamel, please use the links below. SUBSCRIBEhttps://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/after-the-gridiron/id1441939773?mt=2 (iTunes) | https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I3poqibyqfnwjnj5mwcn6lhmz2i (Google Play) | https://open.spotify.com/show/3hnoI8YbzNAcJ0Tlg1Hb0B (Spotify)LINKShttps://twitter.com/jamelrichardson?lang=en (Twitter)https://www.instagram.com/jrich_18/?hl=en (Instagram)RESOURCEShttp://www.atgridiron.com (www.atgridiron.com)http://www.symfonies.ca (www.symfonies.ca)