Jamie Nails: Hard Head

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Speaker 1: You're now diving who sitting down with Steth Living.

00:00:14
Speaker 2: Oh Jay Well, and this is strictly for the number one of course, y'all, just and the other never sports talk that might have been that fish Tank.

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Speaker 3: Welcome back to the Fish Tank, presented by iHeartRadio right here in the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, Seth Lovitt and the toughest podcaster Derino ever played with. He's to say it again for the people in the back, Oh j McDuffie juice, fresh off a big win against the stinking Jets and overtime, and the word big is the word that we're going to focus on right now, because we got the big man, Jamie Nails, finally diving into the fish tank. Tell me you're not fired up for this?

00:00:56
Speaker 1: You know I am? Man.

00:00:56
Speaker 4: You know I'm always fired up about one thing, first and foremost outside of football, right big, Set, that's always important.

00:01:03
Speaker 1: Man.

00:01:03
Speaker 4: I love this guy right here, man, And it's gonna be a lot of fun because a lot of great memories watching this dude running down the sidelines with some some some really good running backs.

00:01:13
Speaker 3: Man, there's no doubt about it. Well, you're he's one of your favorites. He's one of plenty of people's favorites. Yes, Samy Nails. Man, we've talked about this for a couple of years, big fellow. Welcome to the tank. How you feeling, Hey, I feel pretty good, man, I feel really good.

00:01:27
Speaker 1: Glad to be on with you guys. Man, really looking forward to it.

00:01:31
Speaker 5: Rattlers too, Yeah, I see you see it.

00:01:33
Speaker 1: You definitely gonna talk a little bit about that. Yeah, always got good. Well, like you said, you know, we've been looking forward this for a long time. Man. Now we almost don't even know where to begin.

00:01:43
Speaker 4: But you know, the reality is it's hard to mention the name Jamie Nails to the Miami Dolphins fan without them saying do you remember the time his helmet split in half? So let's let's start right there, Big Nails. December seventh, two thousand and three at New England. And it's twenty eight degrees that hike off in Foxborough, so it's cold, and now midway through the second quarter, you know it's even colder.

00:02:04
Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: So we call a pretty routine play Ricky Williams player or whatever it was, But.

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Speaker 1: What happens to you is anything other than routine.

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Speaker 4: You go and you can make contact with Teddy Johnson have a linebacker for new Aman at that point, what do you remember from that play?

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Speaker 2: I remember, you know, they called a player in the huddle and I knew it was cold, you know, it was really cold, but I knew. I knew I was with a defense, the three fourth defense they're running. It was gonna meet me and Ted, so I knew, you know, played with a guy named Joe Pennhos and Buffalo who had hit Big Ted and I guess he broke his neck or something like that. So you know, in my mind, I'm saying, Okay, this can't break you next out here. But you know, I'm like, you know, I'm a mother for the challenge. So I took my step and we ran the play. I took my step, but I hit him. And when I hit him, I heard my helmet, you know, it kind of like it made an egg shell sound like. And I got into my block and I started driving him. And as I'm driving him, helmer just fell off my head man, and I kind of like, and you know, everybody on the field just froze. So, you know, one of those moments like you're in the park or something and you ride your bike or something, and the bike breaks and tears up in front of all your friends. So everybody's quiet, nobody saying anything, and all of a sudden, Willie McGinnis was like, damn, your shit broke man, you know. So I'm pissed off. You know, everybody looking at me. So I grab picking up off the run to the sideline. You know, I think I saw Dave and the guys on the sideline. Everybody's looking at me like you okay you. I'm like, give me a fucking help me, man, give me a help. And I'm trying to get back out of the plate, you know, and everybody's looking like you're okay. I'm like, no, man, give me a helmet.

00:03:39
Speaker 1: Man.

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Speaker 2: So they gave me the help and I go back out, and I'm really pissed off because I'm saying, like I said, it was almost like an embarrassing.

00:03:45
Speaker 1: Moment, you know.

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Speaker 2: But at the same time, they high five in each other like oh man, we breaking helmetshide and right, and you know what, I'm pissed off. Yeah, they talking shit, you know what I'm saying. So I'm saying, like, come on, man, let me get back out here in the fire, you know. But that was a crazy incident.

00:04:01
Speaker 1: Man.

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Speaker 2: Like I said, I've never had anything like that happen. You know, I always pride myself on being a hard hit as well.

00:04:08
Speaker 1: So we hit. You know, I knew it was gonna.

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Speaker 2: Be a collision, but you know, I felt like, you know, like I said, like a kid, like I remember a time when I was playing basketball and little league basketball, and me and all my boys were out there man, and my mom had brought me these shoes from like the dollar store or something like that. When when the vill crow strap shoes had just come out and I'm out there, man were doing one on one drills, and all of a sudden, I plant playing a little defense in my whole shoe rip.

00:04:36
Speaker 1: Man.

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Speaker 2: So it's kind of like that same feeling, man, when I feel in front of my partners. You know, my shoe rip. So now my helmet broke. So it was kind of like that. But I mean it was something like I said, it never happened freaky uh, And you know it was just a freaking great play.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, you know what, big sad. We all jam and I we grew up with shoes like that, you know what I mean. The shoes are so great that the rubber souls were great, but what was covering and wasn't it?

00:05:04
Speaker 1: You might do it.

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Speaker 4: You might do a jump stop, the shoe might stop, but you might keep going through them damn things.

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Speaker 5: Man, you might miss aitch or two together.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember whose helmet you got?

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Speaker 2: Whoo? Whose helmet? Do I think it was Timbo? Because I don't think he was playing that game If I'm not mistaken.

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Speaker 5: I think, yeah, okay, I think he got a calf injury or something. He didn't miss many, but that's right right towards the end.

00:05:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we understand.

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Speaker 4: Big Seth and Tony said that they had to reevaluate how they handled the helmets and the technology that they're using helmets because of that incident, because obviously that's not supposed to happen.

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Speaker 2: Exactly exactly like I said, that was something that you know to hear it and then you know you hear it.

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Speaker 1: But then actually the wed fell off my head is just like slid.

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Speaker 5: That was the It sounded like an egg and then that.

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Speaker 2: Was the exactly like I said, it was something man that you know, we were all out there. I remember t Washington. Every time we come to thee he would call out hey, wreaky, you know, just kind of make it a little fun heyk.

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Speaker 1: And when that happened, everybody was like, you know, man.

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Speaker 3: Right, So Tony did say that Jamie, because you know, I reached out to try and get maybe a funny part of the story. And Tony said, well one, he said, look, Jamie went right back out there. I think he missed one play. He did not even flinch. And he said that everyone talked about the helmet and he'said, in reality, the helmet did his job because the helmet absorbed the blow and it's right, yes, the helmet's not supposed to break like that, but what it's supposed to do is protect your head from having the issue, and so he did his job. But he said every helmet manufacturer went back to the table when they saw that because they didn't want their helmet to be the next one to split. And what's crazy is he says that there was all this technology out there that they were all sitting on, but everybody it was kind of scared to be the first to market with new technology because helmets have been made the same way for so long. And that's when they were like, nah, forget about it. We need to come back to the table with something that's gonna make the game safer. So it's like, I don't even know if Jamie realized it, but the game is safer today for millions of you know, not just NFL players, but millions of people that played this sport because Jamie Nail split it down.

00:07:23
Speaker 1: Helmet.

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Speaker 2: That's greazy. I look at those guys now with those uh what do you call them, Guardian kept, Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, it's like a big I was saying to myself. So my wife the other day, I said, Man, I wonder if if they had those when I was playing, I probably would have had one of those, right.

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Speaker 4: Right, you know, and it might you might just put your helmet though there, Big said, held it in there.

00:07:46
Speaker 1: You might have even known it was splitting. That's a good point.

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Speaker 5: He was, just, what the hell is that noise?

00:07:50
Speaker 1: Exactly, great point.

00:07:52
Speaker 5: That is a good point.

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Speaker 3: So that that was Look, it was an unbelievable moment, which was kind of part for the course for you, Jamie, because your foot all journey had all kinds of unbelievable stops along the way. So I'm gonna go all the way back to your first Florida football home, which, as we see from that bright orange shirt, was Florida A and M University, where you played on the line. You played some tackle actually, and you played, from what I understand, every now and then, on goal line, Juice. What they needed to get big and strong makes sense. They put big Nails on defensive line to go in there and get a big stop and some goal line and short yard stuff. But you were all world at FAM like you were. You were the MIAK offensive Lineman of the Year in ninety six and that performance coupled with you being a big, strong dude.

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Speaker 5: Which side note, Juice, I don't know.

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Speaker 3: What you did at the combine when you did two twenty five, but do you remember how many reps you got at the combine?

00:08:48
Speaker 4: We got lifting, I'm not gonna get more to take me on a hill.

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Speaker 5: Well, big Nail did thirty seven reps.

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Speaker 3: Thirty seven reps at the combine after I have and this, you know, being the offensive lineman of the year at FAM. You so you get drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the ninety seven draft. I want to know how a kid from Baxley, Georgia who then goes to FAM You in Tallahassee adjusts to life in Buffalo.

00:09:16
Speaker 2: It was crazy, man. You know, been from the South, we don't get get a lot of cold weather like that. But I actually ended up at FAM because I wanted to go to Gremlin out of high school. Well, growing up, I wanted to go to Gramley because all I ever heard about was a great Eddie Robson Eddie Robinson. Well, when I started getting recruited in my tenth grade year, I was getting recruited by all these big schools, all these you know, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, all these schools, and I chose FAM You because when I went there, they were saying I had I mean, it was like the best time I've ever had at a college campus ever. And out of all of my visits that I went to, they told me, every coach was echoing the same thing, like, hey, you know, football is only like three months out of the year. You have to go somewhere where you feel so be comfortable, where you fit in, you know, and you're not gonna be somewhere like the middle of Iowa where you don't know anybody and you start doing crazy stuff you know. And and so I ended up at FAM and going to FAM, like you said, I played a little offense and I played defense all my life.

00:10:15
Speaker 1: Never played offense until I got to college. Yeah.

00:10:18
Speaker 2: So the coach that recruited me, he took a head coaching job at another school right after I signed, So.

00:10:25
Speaker 1: I was kind of stuck.

00:10:28
Speaker 2: Now with the transfer portal and all right, right, you know, back then, if you transferred, you have to either sit out, especially if you went to a division higher, you have to sit out a.

00:10:37
Speaker 1: Year or go down to a lower division. So I ended up there.

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Speaker 2: And it's funny watching Georgia play a couple of overtime games the other day. Uh, And I was telling my wife, I thought about the time, Mom, we played in a team Norfolk State in Indianapolis. We went into six over times, and from halftime until the six over times, I played both ways. So I played both ways, you know. Yeah, And after the game, I was so dehydrated I had to go The team flew back, but.

00:11:07
Speaker 1: I had to fly back the next day. But I ended up Yeah, but I.

00:11:10
Speaker 2: Ended up there, like I said, at FAM, Man, it was it was it was the smaller school that recruited me. But in that particular in that particular school, I was kind of like a big fish in a small pond. I think we played University in Miami my junior sophomore year on the field, but my junior year in class and Ray Lewis, Kenny Holmes, all those guys, and I had a really good game against those guys.

00:11:33
Speaker 1: And uh, when when the.

00:11:35
Speaker 2: Scouts came to recruit, you know, recruiting Ray and all those guys, they saw me, and so that enabled me to be the first player ever to leave a HBC you as a junior. I came out as a junior. Okay, yeah, so Buffalo they came. I remember them coming to school. They were talking to me and they were saying, you know, why don't you stay in another year? Da da da da?

00:11:58
Speaker 1: And I was just like, man, yo, need some money.

00:12:02
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:12:02
Speaker 5: They fellas got a huge They don't get that.

00:12:05
Speaker 1: They said, why they come out early? Man, man, please don't tell me.

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Speaker 4: You know, they talk about the Eli's and the Peytons and the Bradies that they stay all that time.

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Speaker 2: They can afford to stay there long. You can't afford to stay that long. So I was like, man, I'm tired of being broke man. So it was crazy because actually, uh, the year I got drafted the day of the draft, the Dolphins came that morning and worked me out. Yeah, I thought they were gonna take me with their first pick. They worked me out that morning. The draft started at what twelve or something like that on Saturday. They worked me out at like nine. I'm running, I'm lifting weights and stuff like that. The guy sitting at my house, the scout. First round comes and they pick you till Green. You know, my mom's kind of pissed off. So she's like, yo, you know, you throw my son, you know, picked, So he left the house. Uh, long story short. For three rounds. Later, fourth round, I was picked one. The Dolphins said one twenty one. So Buffalo called me right before they picked me and were asking me had I worked out with anybody lately? And I told him, you know, I worked out, you know, yesterday morning with the Dolphins because the draft was two days then, you know, and I'm sure enough. While I was talking to them on the phone, they drafted me. So I ended up in Buffalo, and I thought going to Buffalo was going to be this uh you know, New York City. I'm going to you know, New York, never been to Buffalo. Just thought everything in New York was like New York City and got up there and man, I was like, whoa, this is not in New York City. This is similar to where I'm from. Is you know, really kind of you know, country isolated, not a lot of big buildings or anything like that. So you know, and then it's cold, is I don't know what so even going up there coming from Florida, whereas you know, even in Tallahasse to get a little cold, but nothing like that.

00:13:58
Speaker 4: Well, hell, we're not gonna talk too much about Buffalo, that's for damn sure.

00:14:01
Speaker 1: Man.

00:14:04
Speaker 4: I think we've done about as much talking about Buffalo on this podcast as we're gonna do. Man, But I do have to ask you about a game that is you know, there's a fantastic memory for most of us Dolphins and your second year in Buffalo. You guys come down here, your faces and open around the playoffs and you know, the Buffalo bill starting guard at this time. It's kind of a you know, a back and forth deal until we take the lead twenty four to fourteen. Late in the fourth quarter when Danny hits my man Lamar Thomas for eleven yard score with less than four minutes to go. But then Doug Fluty starts this bullshit. You know, you know Doug Fluty bullshit, Dude, there he's a miracle.

00:14:36
Speaker 1: Worker at times.

00:14:37
Speaker 2: Man.

00:14:38
Speaker 4: So he drives down, you know, for a third three yard field goal, and with about a minute left then and a half to play, seff, is that what it was, man?

00:14:45
Speaker 5: Yeah? About a minute and a half, yeah, to make.

00:14:47
Speaker 1: It a one score game.

00:14:48
Speaker 4: And then you guys actually get the on side kick, and now here we go, here we go.

00:14:53
Speaker 1: You got the on side kick.

00:14:54
Speaker 4: You're driving all the way down first and goal from the five, and with only seventeen seconds left to go, and you know, I'm losing my ship because I'm you know me, I'm losing my shoe on the sideline. But then it happens, and I'm sorry to bring this up, man, you know, well I'm not really sorry.

00:15:08
Speaker 5: I'm not sorry.

00:15:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm not sorry. But Derman Thomas can't handle Trace Armstrong on the bless and then Trace blind size fluid. He forces the fumble. Big Shane Burton recovers it and the game is over. I mean, I see he's thinking, your head, what do you remember from that game and did you have any idea.

00:15:27
Speaker 1: Of what happened in our locker room after that? No, I don't know avenue y'all locker room, but I know we were sick. I know.

00:15:35
Speaker 2: One thing I remember about that game. It really Tracestrong. Trace Trace played in a wide nine man. I mean he was he was almost a cornerback out there sometimes. And I knew, you know, we run Slade protection, so I knew that, you know, as a loud we were going to the opposite way. The bash was coming this way, so I you know, didn't didn't think about you know, the formation or anything like that. I just remember after the play, you know, we were all saying, man, you know, we should have slaved the opposite the RT right, Yeah, you know, no way do you leave Thuman on choices like that, you know, especially with that Y and nine and him barreling down like that. But that was one of those games where, you know, we made it to the playoffs and I thought, okay, we lost, but you know, it was still kind of early, so I felt like, you know, uh, this would be something that would happen repeatedly, repeatedly, and it didn't you know, I think it only made the playoffs one more time, so it kind of took it for granted.

00:16:29
Speaker 1: But yeah, I remember the game.

00:16:30
Speaker 2: It's one of those games where you know, you go back and you're sick because number one, you guys were arrival at the time when of course always and anytime we lose to a rival, you know, that was that was that was that was heartbreaking, Sidney.

00:16:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I don't know if you remember, I know you remember remember the Flutie flakes that you know that that Doug Flutie was happening.

00:16:48
Speaker 1: Yeah that sreal. Yeah, yeah, well.

00:16:50
Speaker 4: We had we had an incident in our locker room where Jimmy Johnson I think, uh yeah, had fun with a box of Flutie flakes and time when it went viral, didn't it, Dick say, it went viral.

00:17:01
Speaker 3: Viral before went viral, but he had you know, he smashed the Flutie flakes on the on one of the trunks in the locker room and shook it all over and so just covered the whole locker room flute flakes and he was jumping up and down on the fluti flakes and everybody went crazy because they were just excited after a big win. But they went back to Doug and he was, you know, he he used that cereal to raise money for charity, and I think maybe his son was autistic what have you, And he was like, yeah, that's like he's jumping on my son, which I think was, you know, taking it a little too far. But that that was that was the post game incident there.

00:17:40
Speaker 5: But I you know, like you.

00:17:41
Speaker 3: Said, if you guys were sick already after that loss, and then somebody walked in and told him that that's where Doug Flutie took it.

00:17:47
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, he tried to make you guys feel guilty about uh we did for a little while. Guilty.

00:17:56
Speaker 2: We take some of this and make you heard a little bit. We were sick, man, We were really sick. We were really sick. Like I said, it was one of those seasons where we thought, you know, like you said, with Fluty and everything magical was happening and win these games, man, and it was like, you know, bam, we were spinding to beat you guys going but but you know, didn't work out that way.

00:18:16
Speaker 5: It did not work out. And enough about those damn bills.

00:18:19
Speaker 3: Okay, exactly, let's get this big man to Miami, and actually, you know, we talk about you being a big man. I think your size is an important part of the story, and particularly at this point in your career and the events that led you to South Florida. Right, So you you've always been a big man. I have to imagine you weren't. You didn't just have a growth spurt like your junior year in college, but always a big dude. You're six foot six and in two thousand, your final season in Buffalo, the media guy listed you.

00:18:51
Speaker 5: At three hundred and fifty four pounds, but.

00:18:53
Speaker 3: I read that maybe you pushed that number even a little bit more, you know, and you, you know, you can tell that's what you're comfortable telling us. But I don't know what the circumstances were surrounding your departure from Buffalo. But you ultimately signed with the Dolphins midway through August, so the preseason's already started. You play in two preseason games, but at the end of camp your contracts terminated, and you find yourself out of football. Like you know, it's not like you. You know, sometimes these guys get cut in camp, and especially veteran guys at that position. That's a hard position to fill that doesn't happen, and you take a volunteer coaching position up the road. Here, Drew said Dillard High School for the Panthers. Talk about that period in your life, Jane, What was it that led you to Dillard.

00:19:41
Speaker 5: Was there a moment where you thought you're playing career might have been over.

00:19:44
Speaker 2: Well, for a moment, I didn't think it was over. But when I was in Buffalo, yeah, I was probably about three seventy three seventy five, but I was still playing strength conditioning coach at that time, they were like, you know, really, you know, you can't. You know, you got to get down. They weren't more because learned about weight as they were body fat, so they were on this body fat thing. And my body fat wasn't high, but my weight was, you know high. So I still played. But they were saying, you know, guys can't play at rich sides in the NFL. Guys can't do this. Then they fired Wade Phillips and hired uh, I think the guy from Tennessee, Greg Williams. Yeah, and he was one of those guys that was saying that, you know, they didn't want three hundred and fifty pound a Lineman Da.

00:20:26
Speaker 1: Da da dah. And then they draft this big guy to Texas three hundred and eighty pounds.

00:20:34
Speaker 2: The day something like that. I'm not I can't remember that anyway. So I leaved there. I'm a free agent and I hadn't signed on, hadn't picked up with anybody. And my wife at the time was she was from for a lot of them, So I ended up back down and for a lot of that with her and her family. And while I was there, I reached out to the Dolphins. They brought me in and like you said, I came up like midway midway through camp, so it was kind of like I was like a not a camp body. They were really I think they were really giving me an opportunity. But because I came in so late, you know, they had guys that had been through the whole off season program. So when I got there, like I said, they pretty much had it already figured out. But I so when when I got released, my brother in law was coaching at Byler, and I, you know, I would go out there every day. I go work out in the morning and go out there and every day after after school and just kind of watching practice.

00:21:26
Speaker 1: So just hang out or whatever.

00:21:27
Speaker 2: And after about four or five weeks, they asked me, you know, if I would come and you know, start doing some drills with the kids and stuff like that. And while I was out there, that actually helped me kind of refocus and and and get a how do I say it, a.

00:21:45
Speaker 1: Refresher or a rejuvenated feel for playing football.

00:21:49
Speaker 2: You know. Mentally, I was kind of drained because it was like, Okay, I'm in Buffalo four years, I'm healthy, I'm a free agent, you know, but nobody's calling, you know, And that was kind of disappointing. But like I said, when I got on with the Dolphins, I thought, even after that I played a couple of preseason games, maybe I would get some calls. Didn't hear anything from anybody. So as I started coaching those kids and putting the concepts of things that I was taught to those kids and saw them, saw the kids start doing you know what I was saying, and saw paying off and stuff like that, it was like, Okay, man, the things that the coaches has been teaching me, I'm teaching these kids.

00:22:26
Speaker 1: But at the same time, I'm.

00:22:28
Speaker 2: Also kind of reteaching myself some things and also greater appreciation because I'm watching the season go on and I'm not a part of it. I'm saying to myself, when I do get a chance to play again, you know, I'm a cherishing value every play, every day, every you know, the mundane things, getting up coming to work, lifting weights, all those things that I really didn't care about once I wasn't able to do them, you know, then it was like a renewed passion for it. So that kind of set the stage for me coming back into the off the next year.

00:23:01
Speaker 4: And let's talk about that two thousand and two really, like you talk about, it's complete resurrection of your career. I mean not just because you're back in the NFL, but you came back with a vengeance. Man, You resigned with us, like you talked about, and we happened to make a little offseason trade for a guy by the name Ricky Williams that all season as well trade.

00:23:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the rest and the rest was obviously history. Man.

00:23:22
Speaker 4: Now it's it's been a few years, but Ricky was on on this show. He just had the best time reflecting on that two thousand and two season. But the first guy you always mentioned, right, Big Seth was was you. I mean, Ricky said that you were one of his favorite teammates and were surprised by all that. Can you talk about how, first of all, how the season started. I mean, I mean over the first three games, and Ricky was over one hundred yards and three straight games, I think the team rush were over five hundred and fifty six yards, six touchdowns. And by the way, you are him to game on two of those three games. I mean, I mean, that is what's up. So what was it like to have that kind of early success after being out of football the previous season?

00:24:00
Speaker 2: Tell you that I can take you back when I resigned with the Dolphins. We came into camp. It was off season, well off season training again off season, and I remember this first meeting we had. Dave stood up in front of the team and he was, you know, I guess telling guys, you know, what's your motivation? You know, as we approach this off season, what's your motivation? What are you working towards?

00:24:21
Speaker 1: You know?

00:24:21
Speaker 2: And he called he started calling out names and he was like, well, you know Zach and JT. You know, they made their their their motivation maybe to make another Pro Bowl or something like that. And he was saying, some other guy, his aspiration may be to make it, you know, uh, to to do something else. And he called my name and he was saying, you know, Jamie. You know, we got guys like Jamie Neil who's trying to make the team. And my motivation from that was like, Yo, I played against you guys for four years. You know what I mean, So I know I can play, you know what I mean. But now I gotta go. Okay, I gotta go show y'all I can play. So that was my motivation. And then going into it, like you said, they traded for Ricky when he got here. You know, you hear all these things. You know, he's anti social, this, that and the other. But I'm just the type of person.

00:25:10
Speaker 1: Man.

00:25:10
Speaker 2: Where I'm from, you know, South Georgia, we speaked to everybody, Hey, how you doing, Hey, how you doing. So I would walk in the hall I was see him, I would speak, Hey, he wouldn't say anything. See him again, Hey, he would't say anything, but I just kept speaking. You know, it didn't bother me. And I remember going into camp. We were at I think it was the first preseason game. We were practicing against Tennessee and we had a goal line situation and during that practice, like I was, I was kind of running with the twos and threes and uh, Mark Dixon was the start and guard, but he had he was coming off of surgery, so Dix was wasn't able to practice. So they put me in with the ones on this goal line situation and we running the plan and I had to pull, and I remember I pulled and it was a live situation.

00:25:57
Speaker 1: A guy came up.

00:25:58
Speaker 2: I pulled, and I dipped down and got up on the line back and knocked him out of that.

00:26:02
Speaker 1: So that night we were coming in the meeting and Bricon was like, hey, man, you know that was good. Good on the gold line, you know.

00:26:09
Speaker 2: So like this is this girl, you know, actually speaking to me, So you know, I'm like thanks, you know.

00:26:18
Speaker 1: Cool.

00:26:18
Speaker 2: So we going to uh get into the real preseason, and we started with Tampa Bay. And while we're there, uh they made us go to like things like Universal Studios.

00:26:29
Speaker 5: We did the Universal Studios filter.

00:26:32
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm in the back complaining. I'm like, man, you know I want to go to Universal Studios. Man, you know what I'm saying. I'm grown, man, ain't getting on these rides. You know, he's he's happy. Hey man, he's being funny. So you know, that was kind of like our first real in action. But for me, you know, just playing football. One of the things about the Dynamics when I got to the Dolphins was it was a heavily, heavily defensively favorite team. You know, where the defense got I ain't gonna say special treatment, but they had like almost like a preference, you know, it was kind of like a preference kind of if a decision was to be made, the defense would probably you know, get the purpose well whatever that decision was. So that to me, that that that was the standard. But for for me, having played against the defense, I had a different mentality. So, uh, I'm I'm always pro offense and anytime I'm protected with my guys, you know, so if you receive, if you're aligned, whatever it is we're on the field. Now, you know, I'm I think I'm a bear, and I mean I'm a bare. I'm gonna protect everybody that's with me. Like you know, as Ricky, we would run the player whatever we go down the field. I would always run and pick Ricky up, you know, no matter where he was, I would run and pick him up.

00:27:56
Speaker 1: Uh, we played.

00:27:57
Speaker 2: When we started playing games, guys would trash to Ricky, you know. But now as we're talking off the field, I'm quiet out. I don't want too much attention. But once we get on the field, now it's game time. So I mean, I'm gonna talk trash.

00:28:13
Speaker 1: That's just I'm gonna talk trash.

00:28:15
Speaker 2: And I figured, if I talk trash and I beat you, then you can't say anything.

00:28:20
Speaker 1: But hey, you know, great job.

00:28:22
Speaker 2: Because if I'm talking trash, that's gonna bring the best out in And if I'm still beating you and the best is you playing your best.

00:28:29
Speaker 1: Can't respect that.

00:28:30
Speaker 2: So I think with Ricky, I was I was more protective of him because he had kind of like had a target on his back. You know, he could run. Everybody was trying to tackle tackle him and kill him or whatever. But as far as I was concerned, you know, like I said, I was very very protective of him, you know. So I don't know if that's why we hit it off, but like I said, that that's just me with my guys if you're on offense, and like I said, with our team, I was, I was probably one of the only guys offense outside of maybe a couple of receivers that that were actually talk trash, you know. But guy, you know, guys on office just want to kind of grow about their.

00:29:10
Speaker 1: Business and do their thing. But nah, man, like I.

00:29:13
Speaker 2: Said, I played defense all my life, so that was all I knew until I got to college.

00:29:18
Speaker 1: And once I got to the NFL, Yeah, it was it was on.

00:29:21
Speaker 4: So how so what's your relationship like right now with Ricky? You guys, you guys doing communications.

00:29:26
Speaker 1: I haven't talked to him.

00:29:27
Speaker 2: I reached out to him a couple of times, I guess, you know, like through different social media platforms or whatever.

00:29:32
Speaker 1: But I mean I haven't talked to him.

00:29:34
Speaker 2: And you know how it is, man, Once we leave the locker room and we separate, it's not like we you know, uh really go search for guys, I guess, and we come across each other in passing or whatever.

00:29:45
Speaker 1: It's always respected love, you know.

00:29:47
Speaker 2: But like go I said, he's living his life and I'm living my life. Man, But I wish nothing but the best. And I really enjoyed our years together.

00:29:54
Speaker 1: That's what's up.

00:29:56
Speaker 3: Well, he enjoyed him as well, but I you know, it's it's funny.

00:29:59
Speaker 5: I've have the kind of a similar thing where.

00:30:01
Speaker 3: We reach out to Ricky and it's it's hit or missing a lot more missing than it is hitting, you know, maybe trying to like tackle him. But I just shot him a text last night and just say, hey, man, I know how you feel about big nails. And he got right back to me and he said that he goes man. I'd love to hear him talk about those first few games. I think it was kind of where you guys all realized that you had something special those first few weeks, and then going back and playing at Buffalo, finally getting an opportunity back in the league after sitting out and all that, and going back to Buffalo for the first time, getting to play against the Bills. So that was the Ricky Williams. You know, we typically don't take questions from listeners millions, that's a question. I got to go ahead and put it out.

00:30:43
Speaker 5: There and ask it.

00:30:45
Speaker 1: Hey man, those first few games, well, the first thing I noticed once we got into camp with Ricky was we could run a sweep or whatever it would be. He would run all the way to the other.

00:30:57
Speaker 2: End zone and run back and then he come do something he's running all the way down to the zone and comeback. So I, you know, uh, practicing events like in Buffalo with Therman Thomps and those guys come on, man, you know they they they're not doing that.

00:31:11
Speaker 1: Right right right? Yeah?

00:31:13
Speaker 2: Do So to see him, to see him do that and to watch him do it, you know that that showed me his work ethic. And then, like I said, once we got in that first game against Detroit, it was hot. They had those big guys on d line, and by the third quarter, I think we were up pretty good. And uh, we had this play particular play we ran where I would pull out and go around the edge and guys would block down and I would lead around the corner and we ran the training camp and it's one of those players that you know, you know how the juice to have these players in the playbook and you're like, man, yeah, it looks good, but we never run it. You know, it's like those players you never run running practice all the time. It works, but you never running the game. So we were up pretty good and they called his play and I don't even know if he was in the game then, but we called the player I pulled out, I think it might have been that was mine when I got around. No, no, it was it was Ricky.

00:32:03
Speaker 1: It was.

00:32:04
Speaker 2: Once I pulled around, I told him, kept telling Chris Chambers like, yo, man, you get your guy in.

00:32:10
Speaker 1: You know I'm coming out. Just move out the way.

00:32:15
Speaker 5: I'm running for covernment.

00:32:18
Speaker 2: He ran, he may make a long story show up. We run the player. I get outside, I saw the I'm rotching and see the dB. Normally, dB, you want to cut me. But I saw the guy. He kind of you know, ran and held up. So all I had to do was put my arm up and I heard the crowd start cheering, and I started running down the field. Like I told Chris, you know, after the player, I laughed. I said, I should have tried to avoid you man, but I was so hyped up. I said, I'm just running over everything.

00:32:42
Speaker 5: We gave him a warning, no warning.

00:32:47
Speaker 1: After that play.

00:32:48
Speaker 2: I knew then with the way he ran the ball, with the receivers, we had, with the you know, the defense was already tell you but I knew then we had a we had something special. And by this third game, I think I you know, like I said, I was telling guys, we walk on the fielding after.

00:33:03
Speaker 1: The first series.

00:33:04
Speaker 2: If we didn't score, I'd be walking off the field, but I'd be to the other side. I said, it's only amount of time. Man, you know, it's only amount of time. I said, once this train get cruked up, it's only amount of So.

00:33:17
Speaker 5: Let's talk about that trash talk.

00:33:19
Speaker 3: So another guy who people might be surprised that you had a great relationship with, but but you and t Wade.

00:33:25
Speaker 5: You and Todd Wade were cool.

00:33:27
Speaker 3: And I reached out to Todd uh and he said, man, I love Jamie. He was laid back as hell off the field, but once he put that helmet on, it was like all the emotions just came pouring out of him.

00:33:39
Speaker 5: And he said, we don't typically.

00:33:41
Speaker 3: Talk trash, but but Jamie was talking shit before the first drive and he would get he would get the d lineman barking at us and and he said, man, then we would all just start talking and it would just roll from there.

00:33:54
Speaker 5: So you kind of just addressed it.

00:33:56
Speaker 3: But talk about playing with Todd Wade and what you you know, I don't know.

00:34:00
Speaker 5: You ever get him involved in the trash talk in a little bit.

00:34:02
Speaker 2: Well, I remember one game in particularly, we were playing the Chargers and they had Marcellus Wiley, got former teammates from Buffalo, and uh, the game I just got got started pretty good, and uh, I think we're in a player. I pulled and I trapped and I hit him, and you know, like I said, me and him had a little thing going back in Buffalo where we you know, offense defensive type thing. But this particular game, now you're really my opponent. So I'm selling out.

00:34:28
Speaker 1: Man.

00:34:28
Speaker 2: You sorry, you know, we finished and uh and t Wade grabbed me. You know, he was like nails he look. I looked at Him's like, no.

00:34:38
Speaker 5: No, no, I have to deal with that.

00:34:44
Speaker 1: Exactly. I gotta deal with over here.

00:34:47
Speaker 2: But I'm like, yo, man, it didn't matter to me, you know what I mean, It didn't matter man.

00:34:52
Speaker 1: Like I said, the football field was the only.

00:34:54
Speaker 2: Place where I could legally literally fight, wrestle, tussle, beat somebody, beat the brakes off somebody, and.

00:35:04
Speaker 1: You know, nothing would happen. I mean it was that was you know what we were rewarded for it right exactly exactly.

00:35:11
Speaker 2: Move a man against this will make him do something you don't want to do. And then, like I said, for me, trash talking man was.

00:35:16
Speaker 1: Just a part of it.

00:35:18
Speaker 2: You know, like with anything, we're playing spades, you're playing domino, trash talking, we're playing football. So it's the same thing. It's just like I said, most guys on offense, uh out sided. Like I said, a couple of receivers and you know, I've never heard running backs really talk trash. Quarterbacks an outside is the receivers man. You know, most offensive line and don't say too much. But for me, like I said, I've had them now as you know, defensive line and they sell out all the time.

00:35:45
Speaker 1: And that was my mentality, you know.

00:35:47
Speaker 2: So playing playing man and talking trash that that was the ultimate for me because like I said, if I talked talk trash to you and I beat you, then it's almost like you have to say mercy, mercy.

00:36:00
Speaker 1: I love it, no doubt.

00:36:03
Speaker 4: But you know, there's a there's another guy in the Old Miss guys speaking of guys that played it Old Miss. So that was on our squad, but he was on the other side of football, and that was Tim Bowles, who of course was he was recently inducted to the Miami Dolphins Ring of Honor. Ye Tim bow was also also really cool and Tim Reville us that he might have gotten blamed for some of the some of your antics on the team bus allegedly allegedly, Big said it was not common for Big Nails to spark a black a mile, you know, on the bus for pre games. And Tim Bowle said that everybody blamed him for it, but they had the wrong Big Man Nail. Is that true?

00:36:40
Speaker 2: Well? Every now and then, man, you know what you know, like I said, the d a the defense they had, they showed it. The weight they carried, they carried the start you want to call it. So we'll let them take the blame. FA let him everything that's going on, man, you know, with much what is it? What's the same with.

00:37:10
Speaker 5: Great responsible.

00:37:15
Speaker 2: I let them take take take care of that. But Man Timbo and Man Timbo, he was awesome.

00:37:20
Speaker 1: Man.

00:37:21
Speaker 2: He was one of the guys when I first got to Miami, even the year that they released me, was the first guys to embrace me, you know, simply because having played against them, you know, I knew what he could do, and he knew what I could do. Him and Big d G, Big Daryl So and and those two guys. Man, like I said, for I don't know a lot of people probably don't know it, man, but well I'm pretty sure a lot of people know it. Guys like Zack and several other guys wouldn't have had the success they had.

00:37:49
Speaker 4: I'll be the first ones to say they say that themselves.

00:37:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, because I mean, he was a guy.

00:37:54
Speaker 2: I remember when I was in Buffalo and uh, before I became a free agent, my coach told me, he's said, man, if you want to make a lot of money, you blocked this guy. He was talking about Tim. So, like I said, he was a beast man. He didn't he could have easily made more more statistics for himself. But you know the type of guy he was, that that he was about a team, you know, And that's why I say, man, he's.

00:38:20
Speaker 1: A hell of a guy. I was so glad to.

00:38:21
Speaker 2: See him finally get his you know, his just due getting induble into the the Dolphins ring of way.

00:38:27
Speaker 5: That was awesome. It was a special night for sure.

00:38:29
Speaker 3: So so, Jamie, we're talking about teammates and you just mentioned this guy. You talked about Mark Dixon when he was recovering from surgery and you came in and played the left guard position. But they ended up moving Dixon over to left tackle. So you guys played next to each other almost that entire two thousand and two season. And Mark is one of our favorites to talk about here on the show. You know, shockingly, we got him on the show our first year five years ago.

00:38:56
Speaker 5: Now we can't get him a responder, damn Baxter or anything.

00:38:59
Speaker 3: He was not a talker on the field, but once he got in the locker room, he had all kinds of.

00:39:05
Speaker 5: One liners and things to say.

00:39:06
Speaker 3: So I just wonder what that relationship was like with you and Dixon, since you guys literally played shoulder to shoulder for so many games that first year.

00:39:14
Speaker 1: Well, at first I think it was.

00:39:16
Speaker 2: It was kind of kind of iffy because I was trying to take his position and he was hurt. Now, there was never any animosity or anything like that, but I'm coming for him and he didn't want to relinquish. But the thing, the way it worked out, was worked out like this. He was hurt, he wasn't practicing, but once once a day we had another guy, I can't remember his name, but he was he was the second team. I was thirteen. Well, as we as we started doing those joint practices, they would have to put I think the other guy he would run with the ones, and I would run with the twos and threes. Well he got hurt, so I ended up having to go with one, two, and three. So you know, of course, anytime, if you you know running reps juice, you know you want to be with the one ones because the two's, you know, especially like I can't speak for outside, but in line play when you were the second group, a lot of.

00:40:08
Speaker 1: Times those guys and some guys don't know where they're going.

00:40:10
Speaker 2: They're stepping on your seat, stuff like that, you missed the blocks and make you look bad.

00:40:14
Speaker 1: So once I got an opportunity to go with the ones, that helped me out. Well.

00:40:18
Speaker 2: Dix was always cool man. He he didn't say too much. You know, he knew, he knew what he was doing. He wouldn't say too much in the meetings. This was more like a quiet assassin.

00:40:30
Speaker 1: Uh.

00:40:31
Speaker 3: Seems like they had a few of them because Richmond Webb, Tim Ruddy was a silent assassin too.

00:40:38
Speaker 1: Him.

00:40:38
Speaker 2: That's a whole nother story, the whole another story. This is the side of assassin. Dix was technically sound. Dix was strong as a Knox man, even though you might not. You know, he was technical, sign stronger, I was really smart, but uh, and he was tough. So once uh, they moved me to starting guard. Uh. The guys that had been playing tackle, they told them that they were going to put Dixon out there because they wanted the five best offensive line, you know, regardless of position. So, and Dix's an athlete, man. I've heard stories about him on the basketball court. I never played, I've heard stories about him. And Dix is an athlete, man. So and to me, what I what I always admired about him was house how seamlessly he transitions from guard to tackle.

00:41:24
Speaker 1: You know.

00:41:24
Speaker 2: Playing with him, I new, especially in the run game, we were gonna be solid even in the past game. I think the thing what I remember most about Dix is, uh, he was second guest himself.

00:41:35
Speaker 1: Like he had the.

00:41:37
Speaker 2: Skills, he had everything it took, but he would just be kind of like Yo. He'd be like yo, watching nails, watching me something like that, you know, but he a to got locked down out there, you know what I mean. But he want, you know, watch me, watch me, And it would always be kind of like yo, did you.

00:41:49
Speaker 1: You got it? Bro? Like you know what I mean, you got it. So playing with Dixon, man, it was it was awesome. You know.

00:41:55
Speaker 2: Like I said, I knew we we didn't have to worry about anything coming on his side game.

00:42:00
Speaker 1: That's why.

00:42:00
Speaker 2: And that was one of another reason why I used to tell God, hey man, it's only a maunter of time. It's only a matter of time because I'm gonna move you if I don't move me, and DX is gonna move.

00:42:12
Speaker 5: So good.

00:42:13
Speaker 4: That's great stuff, man, Right, rumas done with you here, big nails. But you know, let's let's talk about this man. Just a few years ago. Back in twenty twenty one, you were, you were inducting to the FAM you Sports Hall of Fame. Man, how special was that, mama, for you, knowing that you were one of the greatest rattlers of all time.

00:42:32
Speaker 2: It was specially because when I went there, I had no idea what would happen? You know, where would I be? Where would I end up? My ultimate goal was get to the NFL. But the times that I had at FAM, you, when I think back and reflect on it, it wasn't the easiest role. You know, Like I said, you know a lot of people told me in fact, my high school coach told me he wanted me to go to Georgia Tech or he's an Auburn And when I told him I was going to FAM, my high school football coach to man, I was picking a can of pork and beans over state.

00:43:03
Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah, And that for a seventeen year.

00:43:05
Speaker 2: Old kid, that that was a little disheartening, but it made that was kind of a driving factor when I got the FAM. You know, UH, to show you know, no matter where you go or where you are, if you're good, you know you can help to me to accomplish your goal. So to finally be recognized as one of the best player FAM that was.

00:43:24
Speaker 1: That was an amazing feeling. Man, that was amazing, really amazing.

00:43:28
Speaker 4: A lot of great athletes come out of family and people don't even know about many football players, a lot of great athletes in general. Man. That's because exactly I love that.

00:43:37
Speaker 5: I love that. Did you did you reach back out to your high school coach.

00:43:43
Speaker 2: After that big Now? Well, actually I tell you a story. I saw him real quick. I saw him two years later after retiring football. Our team was the first team to win our region and UH in high school. So we had a little reunion like thing. And uh, when I got out, I was so amped up to go back and just show him. You know, look at me. You know when I got back, when I started talking to him, I saw him the way he revised history, he.

00:44:12
Speaker 5: Take credit for a new family place for you.

00:44:15
Speaker 2: The way he revised history. I just said, you know what, man, let him have that. You got it, Man, I ain't even even gonna break that.

00:44:26
Speaker 5: Good for you, Good for you being the bigger man. Literally, oh, good for you. Well, look, we're, like.

00:44:32
Speaker 3: Juw said, We're not gonna hold you much longer, but we do end every episode of our podcast the same way with the fish tank two minute drill.

00:44:39
Speaker 5: And as we said earlier in the show, ju said, he.

00:44:41
Speaker 3: Loves seeing you flying down the sidelines, you know, leading the way for Ricky. We know you had those quick feet. You can You're not gonna have any problems here with a two minute drill. We're putting two minutes on the clock. We've got a few fast paced, fun questions, although they seem to be a little more wordy than typically I'm a little faster with the juice. We've got some fun questions to throw out you, and we're gonna get you.

00:45:00
Speaker 1: To hear you ready, Okay, sure, all right, man, now here we go.

00:45:03
Speaker 4: Okay, your full name is Jamie Marcellus Nails, And believe it or not, there's no shortage of famous people named Marcellus. Now we've got you know, the character Marcellus from Shakespeare, you know, to play Hamlet, Cashus, Marcellus Clay who obviously became Muhammad Ali, Marcellus Wally Wiley, and of course even Marcellus Wallace from Pope Fixing, which I love that part, including yourself. Who's the baddest damn Marcellus of them all?

00:45:30
Speaker 2: I would have to say Marcellus Wallace from Uh That's my God, man. I love that movie, man, And that's when I heard it. You know, when I saw the movie, I heard his name was Marcellus. That really tickled me because that was something that you know, like you said, only a few people have that name.

00:45:47
Speaker 1: That's right. He was a bad man. Man. All right.

00:45:53
Speaker 3: I don't know whether this one's gonna go juice, but I'm taking a shot. The country rap group Relax is actually from your hometown of Baxley, George, and looking at his age, one of the guys in the group is named Brian Rooster King and he's the same age as you, and I know there's not a whole lot of high school options there in Backsley, so he might have even gone to high school.

00:46:11
Speaker 5: Have you heard of the Lax?

00:46:13
Speaker 1: I have never heard of the Lax? Never heard?

00:46:20
Speaker 3: Well, then it's probably a safe bet that you're not familiar with their hit single, keep It Redneck.

00:46:26
Speaker 5: So I think we're gonna keep it going.

00:46:29
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm definitely gonna keep it moving on that one.

00:46:33
Speaker 5: Look him out, Lac the Lex. They're from your hometown.

00:46:37
Speaker 1: Wow, I've never heard of that. Really, I've never heard of it.

00:46:40
Speaker 5: Go look him out.

00:46:41
Speaker 3: You probably find out why you two guys were not hanging out with the same crowd.

00:46:48
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, big nails.

00:46:50
Speaker 4: What was tougher taking on a three hundred pound defensive tackle like a like a Tim Bows or coaching the Miami Fury in the Women's Football Alliance.

00:47:01
Speaker 1: Coaches Miami Shuri? Man, it's different. That's a whole other experience.

00:47:08
Speaker 2: Man, you need to know a whole of the podcast.

00:47:17
Speaker 5: We'll save that one for part two.

00:47:22
Speaker 3: Man, give me three hundred pounders all day experience, Like I can handle that.

00:47:26
Speaker 5: Okay, last question, clock is running.

00:47:29
Speaker 3: During your appearance on the Perfect Bill podcast, and we love those guys.

00:47:33
Speaker 5: Say, those guys are awesome. You revealed to.

00:47:36
Speaker 3: Them that you were a state champion singer in high school.

00:47:41
Speaker 5: I want to know.

00:47:42
Speaker 3: What's your go to song, like, if you're at karaoke night or whatever it is, what's your go to song?

00:47:47
Speaker 5: And can you give the people the.

00:47:49
Speaker 3: Fish Tank listeners just the little taste of what a state champion singer sounds like.

00:47:55
Speaker 2: My go to song is probably probably something from Luther vandross Man. You know, I'm old saying to the lady, So you know that was my thing. Let's see, let me.

00:48:08
Speaker 5: Hold you.

00:48:12
Speaker 1: If only fool one night, let me keep you me.

00:48:21
Speaker 3: And right there, that's a state champion singer right there, juice.

00:48:33
Speaker 1: They tell me it will be so nice. Man.

00:48:38
Speaker 3: Sometimes these guys have these Wikipedia bios and they're full ship, like I mean, you know, and in fact, I forget who it was. Somebody was on the show and they said their buddies got in there and just made up all kinds of crazy stuff, killed the bear with one hand and everything else.

00:48:52
Speaker 5: But you know, I believe now that he's got that title.

00:48:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, but that was more stay tirled was more classical stuff, opera, that type of thing.

00:49:02
Speaker 3: So yeah, hey, you brought it so funny thing your guy Todd Wade, because he's a big karaoke guy. Now you know, he was big in the fort lauderal karaoke bars. But he finished the show and I think he sang me and Missus Jones didn't.

00:49:16
Speaker 1: He did, but I'll.

00:49:17
Speaker 5: Tell you something else. He didn't win no down state jail.

00:49:22
Speaker 4: I'm a straight karaoke there.

00:49:27
Speaker 1: To the University of Mercer to sing man.

00:49:30
Speaker 5: Look at that.

00:49:31
Speaker 3: I believe it too. I have no doubt. I believe that this was so much fun. Man was so much fun.

00:49:38
Speaker 2: Man really enjoyed you guys man. To keep doing what y'all doing. Man, y'all are awesome. Bro y'all awesome.

00:49:43
Speaker 5: Thank you too.

00:49:44
Speaker 1: Hey, thanks for diving in big Nails. Thank you guys man for having me. You're now diving.

00:49:52
Speaker 3: Just like juw said, Thanks for diving into the fish tank. Presented by iHeartRadio. Be sure to follow us on whatever streaming platform you're and don't be afraid to rate the show or leave us a comment. We love your feedback, and remember you can find us as well as drive Time with Travis Wingfield and all of our international partners on Miami Dolphins dot com.

00:50:12
Speaker 1: I haven't been at thisis tank