 What's up everybody and welcome to season one episode seven of Falcons in focus. I'm Scott bear That's Tori McElaney this gentleman over here Avery Williams who and I had to double-check the stats He leads the NFL in punt return yards who by more than two yards over the next get over the next person Almost 18 yards of punt return. Wow. That's that's man. I'm saying dude And my question is not about the punt return average or how you're doing this year Because as someone who has no experience returning punts, it seems like a nerve-wracking enterprise I think I've asked you this earlier a like a couple weeks back So when you didn't have any experience with it and your coach says go back there and then wait patiently for four seconds While 11 people are sprinting towards you trying to knock your head off How did the enterprise sound to you then and how long did it take you to get used to it? my first time ever Catching a punt was in high school and I just I mean Yeah, it sounds bad when you put it that way, but No, I was excited just any any moment I could get the ball in my hands, you know another opportunity I was fine with it the most nervous I've ever been was probably my first game in college returning a punt You know in front of you know tens of thousands of people, you know, that's when it got real I honestly don't think I could do it Like I there were we've been talking about doing like media olympics Yeah, like media combine media combine and I know they're gonna make us like field punts And I know for a fact like I used to play softball So I feel like my hand-eye coordination is good, but like it's so far up in the air And I don't I'm not good with wind Like and so I feel like I would just lose it in the air So it's really great that that doesn't happen to you because it would definitely happen Well to be honest you guys are probably gonna do it on the jug machine Yeah, depending on the jug machine you get sometimes the jugs are a lot harder than really a real punt Because of the spin because of the spin just the way it comes out of the machine Depending on how how messed up the ball is and it come out different There's there's times when the jugs are definitely harder than an actual punt. Oh lord So what's harder to to to catch a punt or a kickoff because it's coming at you in a different way Like kickoff is generally going end over end, right? Yeah. No, definitely Definitely a punt um I mean just depending on if it's a right foot of punter a left foot of punter You know some guys, you know This new era of punters are Are starting to kick the ball sideways and into the red zone. So there's a lot There's a lot of new flavors They could act like they're kicking to their right and kick it back all the way to the left. So Um, no punts are definitely harder to catch than than kick returns Okay noted now to get into the part of the podcast not about football, which is the rest of the podcast For you, I will say this and I will preface this by saying this podcast is supposed to be about you However, I think your mom is so freaking cool that I have to like at least ask a few questions about her Her name's Pam. She's awesome and she is a Have you met her? I have not met her in person yet, but I would like to so next time she's around just like yell and be like Tori come meet my mom But she like I'm just old enough to like like back when uh back when uh in living color was like in its heyday I was like a kid and that was like everybody's favorite show and the fact that she was the head writer on that show Kind of like makes me go we're a little star struck. Yeah, we're a little geeky about it also I should say his mom is a tv producer And does tv and has she worked on movies as well or just no movies, but she's she's really a showrunner So she produces directs and writes So freaking cool. I love it. I have so many questions. Okay first question though is like what are your Memories, I assume that you went like to set with her. Yeah a lot. What are some of your favorite stories of doing that? I feel like you maybe got in trouble. Yeah, no, definitely. Um a time me and my brother got in trouble You know the writing studio was Probably a five minute, you know cart ride from Where they they filmed their scenes and stuff And uh, my mom was already on scene or whatever, you know doing her job And me and my brother, you know with my mom's assistant went in and took the cart And they had some new security guard the old security guard let us drive the carts The new security guard came around and pulled us over with his security card Like a segway No, he just had he had his cart. We had our cart His might have been faster than ours He flagged us down pulled us over and made sure me and my brother couldn't drive because we're too young How old are y'all? Uh, probably I don't know 10. 10? Okay, because I was like if y'all were like 15 doing that it's like No, we weren't that old. Yeah So who is the coolest person you've I don't know met run into anything like that? Um, there's a lot. Um I mean just like the frequent actors that were Um that she worked with I mean a guy that you know, I met when I was young was eddy k. Hill He's a guy that you know always hits my brain. Um But she had I mean she had nely on her show one time. She had marshal falk on her show one time. Um, I mean she had a bunch of celebrities that I've met, you know come and go I've met, um, gabriell union Um, jesca alba Now we're on the most recent one. She was working on called la's finest Um, so I've I've met, you know celebrities here and there, but Um, we're always just me and my brother were always just kicking it I love that. I also feel as though I would get like very star struck with people like I feel like with With actors in general, like they're so different than a lot of like people. Was there anyone who you ever Met and you were like, oh my god I'm I feel super star struck to like be in the vicinity of this person um I don't know about any actors If I was star struck, but Always meeting professional athletes. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was definitely something like wow, that's pretty cool. Like pretty cool I love that now another question. Were you ever an extra? No, I did try to see if avery williams would like pop up on on on the IMDB app or whatever couldn't find it couldn't find it But okay, so if not did you tell your mom like I want to do that or was she like you're not gonna do that I think at one point she wanted to see if me and my brother were trying to get into acting or something But we wanted to play football. So So it was never a thought of like, hey, yeah, I'd love to get into the film industry one day That was never something you're like, you know what football is it? I'ma stick with it Not really. I always admired it, but no not to the level where I'd want to do that instead of playing sports. Yeah, because they they do have to dedicate their themselves as well Right fair amount. So You know and they work tremendously hard. So you can't just do both. That'd be that'd be really hard. Yeah, I think it's I mean Good for you your career worked out, you know, yeah, it's going pretty well. It's all right, you know, it could be worse But I I just think that's fascinating. So we'll we'll actually talk to you about you now I get questions about my mom all the time Maybe we should have her on the podcast like I think it next and then you could be in this chair Yeah, I do too. I like I'd throw some questions up So I was reading a feature on espn That said that when you were younger you were that you would like read like john wooden's pyramids of success Yeah, where'd you find that at? That's crazy. We do a serious homework. Okay. Yeah So so anyway, so like you're like paid for this So like you're like a younger kid You're reading like books on leadership or I don't know self it's not self-help book But like stuff like that to be fair to be fair. I didn't read it. My mom read it to us Really? Yeah, so So she she because we did not like reading We'd sit down and She'd go through this book and we do it. We do it, you know a chapter at a time or whatever and Yeah, the john wooden book was you know, he has his pyramids of success and talks about being the best best version of yourself and You know, it's it's all good stuff and in terms of building your character and and striving to achieve your goals. So That's something my mom always read us. I love that something else that kind of came up when we were looking through Some stories that were written about you was Someone it may have been your mom said that there is something called the avry focus vortex Have you ever heard of that? She was it was essentially talking about how like you get very like zoned in Maybe don't call her back as often as I think it was your mom and I was gonna ask you what is this It was written about you. Oh my goodness every focus vortex. So maybe that's not a thing that like you realize I guess but like can you get real tunnel visioned about your job or about something 100% I'm dedicated to this sport and I love this sport and you know, I'm very passionate about it. So Um I feel like everything else and mostly everything else is pretty stressful and when I just focus on this sport That's really when I can just hone down and and enjoy myself the most So I get locked in a lot. So it's good that even on this pad like even on this podcast You can tell your friends and your family. I'm sorry for not texting you back, but I've been I'm in the zone right now they understand um Something that I I noticed I think it was when you announced that you were going into the NFL draft And I've seen this phrase that you've used a few times the the walk-on mentality Right. I mean you were a walk-on going into Boise State, right? You weren't highly recruited out of high school Uh, what does that walk-on mentality mean to you and does it extend beyond the field? How do you kind of find that term? Yeah, um, you know being a walk-on And you know having worked hard um You know my whole life You know, you might feel like You know, you deserve an opportunity You might feel like you you've earned an opportunity and you know at the end of the day I did get an opportunity, but I didn't get a scholarship um You know I had zero d1 offers But you know, I got an opportunity, you know to To afford my career at Boise State and you know It was the best decision and the best opportunity that I've ever gotten, you know in order to get to where I am and uh Yeah, I mean it could definitely carry over and just to your regular life You know, whenever you feel like you you've been doubted or overlooked or you feel like the underdog Um, you know just to keep striving keep pushing you can always end up, you know, achieving your goals regardless I think you should sell t-shirts with that on it. Yeah, write your own book, man The avery williams. What is it pyramid of success, but not a period? Walk on mentality. I don't know. We'll we'll workshop the name. Um, now I'm glad you brought up Boise State because um The best thing that happened recently is you made d-haul where your Boise State Uh uniform jersey and Boise State beat Darren Hall, San Diego State Aztecs a couple weeks Yes, was uh, I guess the rule was like you would have had to have worn his jersey If it was gear. Oh, okay. It was we had to exchange gear. He didn't know I had my college jersey with me So he was caught off guard when he had to realize he had to wear my college jersey So it was all good, but I love it. I mean, I think uh with the blue It's just a nice color blue beautiful. It's a really nice blue Scott and I were talking about this before we started recording and we were curious what it's like to play on a blue field Because for us watching it is a different experience and I I can't help but imagine that playing on it is also a little bit of a like Because the grass has always been green everywhere. Yeah, and then all of a sudden it's and it's not just like Yeah, it's a very bright blue right like it's a shock to the senses Yeah, I mean talking to players that played against us I mean even on this team we have players that played against us at on our field And they they think it's annoying. You know, I've heard people say it's annoying watching it on tv We practice on it. So it's completely normal to us. It's not like we're just there on saturdays Um, we practice on it during the week and we get comfortable on it. We love it We feel like it gives us superpowers and gives us energy and I've seen that I've seen the superpowers thing where y'all are talking about like blue is special Which is why we take pride in it and every opportunity we get to play on it and protect it You know, it's gonna mean a lot to us. Wow that I love that. I'm super inspired again. Uh, so um The falcon stayed at the in the in the new york area before they played the jets And I was in your group when when we went and toured west point And you asked so many questions there and then the and then when when we were in seattle, you went out So it was like a military base, right? Yeah, and you seemed super into that too. Is that like a hobby? You're kind of in like interest of yours or are you just like a thirst for knowledge, dude? Like I think all the above. I think all of the above You know, not only do I want to learn things But you know when it comes to military have a lot of respect for for them, you know And the sacrifices they make You know, so we can do things like this, you know, so we can live the life that we want. Um And I respect those guys not only that I think what I think, you know, a lot of the stuff they do is pretty cool Um, so when we were out there, yeah, I was asking a lot of questions because I wanted to know it I wanted to know that stuff It was cool too because when y'all went to the base in seattle y'all actually got to Do a lot of things like y'all got to get in the fighter jets and you got to shoot the guns and all that I y'all looked watching the videos y'all looked like y'all are like kids in a candy store Like putting the face paint on and everything. What was that experience like because it looked like a lot of fun We didn't know we were going to do all that right because you thought it was probably like west point We were touring right. Well, I mean touring, but we also thought we were just going there Maybe signing some stuff and then just you know having conversations with military and You know, I don't even feel like I feel like they did more for us than we I mean, um, me and mike ford went and sat and you know, one of their apache helicopters I mean, I picked up every single gun they had out there I picked up a big bazooka Um, are they heavy? No, it was pretty or it didn't have a rocket in it. So maybe so maybe that adds to it You know, I'd assume it was probably really heavy fat a rocket in it. Yeah, obviously, they're not going to give me one Loaded probably smart. Yeah, you know, they could yeah could be fun unloaded. It was it was pretty it was pretty light I thought but no, we had a fun time out there really fun. And you know, they gave us some of their patches Which you know, I think is really cool. Yeah It was funny because I was watching another video and it was like mike ford had like gotten So many I don't know how he got them. I only got three He probably had 20 he had a lot like almost like a whole like handful. Yeah, I was like geez, okay, so um When we did this podcast last week, we will uh, we were talking to arnold uh, Katie and he was saying that his splurge purchase Was a car that he won't tell his dad how much that it costs, right? And and when and when we cruise through the parking lot, there are some nice cars Some guys are on their third contract. He probably has a pretty nice car You drive a a volkswagen Hatchback, I think and we love it and we kind of love it Do you have a fancy car on the way or are you gonna kind of stick to your roots there? So um and college had a land rover and then I sold it when I got drafted And uh, so I wanted I have an e-bike and I only wanted to I live, you know, close to the facility And I wanted to ride my e-bike here every day and my mom got mad at me and said you need you need to have a car I'm surprised it was your mom and not like arthur smith being like yo, man Don't be riding that thing down the road. Yeah, um, but yeah, no, it was my mom She was like you you need to have a car and then uh, so my brother had had two cars and he had one sitting around Back in california. So I hit him up and he just sent me one because I didn't want to buy a car. So Were there any big splurge purchases when you signed your rookie contract? No, no No splurges. No big purchases. No big purchase Did you like tour europe or go hang out on a white sand beach for a while? You just you just got into the avery focused vortex and started focusing on football In the off season. Uh, I did some traveling. Um, I went to vegas. I went to new york. I went to um, went back to boise um went to florida But no big purchases man Look at you being responsible. I can't say I can't say I would be responsible at all Um, this is not a question that we talked about beforehand. So i'm throwing this out there Your like twitter handle and I think like instagram handle is big av Yeah, um, who gave you that nickname or is it a self-dubbed nickname? No, I wouldn't I wouldn't give myself a nickname a k did yeah Of course he did. No, um, I think it was in high school my homie r egg. Um, the first high school I went to st francis Um, you know, he just said it one day and just kept going and that's what it became Just started calling me big a in high school and you know ever since people have been calling me that Nice, some people don't call me that some people call me a some people call me avery. So All right, I like it. Yeah, not too bad. All right. Yeah, are we ready? We are ready for everyone's favorite part of the podcast Rapid fire. Yeah, at least ours. It may be no rapid fire is rapid It doesn't really have to be rapid fire But it's kind of like everybody gets this like the exact same questions and then we compare all the answers and uh We we really don't but we really don't but yeah, so the same five questions. Yeah, are you ready? Are you gonna judge me depending on my answers? Maybe privately, yeah We won't say it. I'm kidding. No, we won't all right. I'm ready. Okay your favorite play of your career of my career um My first punt round punt return touchdown um My red shirt freshman year my first time My first rep at punt return. It was your first rep at punt return I think I had heard that but I wasn't for sure. That is really freaking awesome. Yeah, my first time touching the ball Took it 81 yards 81 yards. Okay. So like set the stage for us like who are you playing? Was it on the plane short? Yeah, so we're on the blue turf um, it's a day kickoff I was really nervous because the sun was right in my eyes. Oh and um Defense gets a stop at zero zero our first punt return rep I'm blocking the sun. They they funded to me. I'm blocking the sun out and I catching and go 81 yards of that Oh my gosh, what if just it's all downhill from here And yet it's not, you know, you always hear that saying it's like well You started off here and now you ended up down here You went from there to consensus all-american to draft pick right leading the league and punt returns All right, what's next? It's not it's not fair for all of us normal folk So given your family's history with television What is a a tv show that that you're kind of binging right now and what is your favorite tv show ever? for a two-parter I'm not big on tv shows. Oh, okay. Wow. This is a hot take. Don't tell your mom I'm more movie guy. Okay, then we can rephrase it then. Um a show I have been watching is um The last kingdom That is a great show. Yeah. Are you all the way through it? I'm on the lap So they Netflix just dropped the new season. Right. I'm on the new season. Oh my gosh. It's so good. No, it's really good I don't know. I've never seen it. It's about vikings battling Oh, well, okay. Yeah It's it's good stuff. Yeah, it's good stuff. So that's the one I've been watching. I really love it Um, probably don't have a favorite tv show all the time favorite movie though is uh, ratatouille Ratatouille isn't really that's your favorite movie. Why? Just always love it. Oh my gosh. I love that now we I think also had a conversation about um I don't know if it was like the minions movie or despicable me. Okay Um, I can't remember if it was you. I was talking to her who it was Yeah, but I was gonna tell you I watched the minions movie on the flight out to uh, Tampa bay recently Good movie. I really liked it and it's one of those movies that like I realize as a 25 year old woman It's like you don't need to just be watching like cartoons all the time But I love it. So I respect your ratatouille answer. Yeah No, the the minions the despicable me movies. They do a good job. Yeah, they're fun Yeah, I wish that it was more acceptable for us as adults to watch Animated movies see like I have kids. So I know that's your excuse so like I can get away with watching toy story three for like the 50th Exactly. I don't have an excuse Like it. Yeah Okay, um next one. Um favorite Restaurant, it can be Atlanta restaurant. It can be not Atlanta restaurant Just favorite restaurant. Okay. It's called the river cafe. It's in new york Under the brooklyn bridge. Wow on the brooklyn side And they serve like what? They serve everything very Luxurious place. That's awesome. We do love the bougie places. I love a good bougie brunch and uh, Who is the falcon that you hang out with the most? The falcon? Probably richie and darin Yeah, so richie was telling us when he was on the podcast that, um Darin is like a big dancer and he loves to dance all the time like when they're out there. Yeah, does he do you dance with him? I don't attest to that Okay, just just we're just seeing because we asked he was like, yeah him and j-hawk are always like Out doing their little dancey dances and we're like, oh, okay So who's the best dancer and he was like, it's not darin It's not me either I know it's not darin Not darin noted. Okay. When we get darin on the podcast, we'll we'll definitely ask him about it. Um last question What is your biggest pet peeve? Well, I just got this one the other day. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's when people say salmon with the l salman Salman that is the Most random answer we have gotten to that quen's that one only popped up in my head when I got asked this last week Is because someone had just said it that day. Uh, were we having salmon in the cafeteria? Yeah And someone said, oh, yeah, they got they got salmon in there. No, no, they don't have salmon. No, they have salmon Goodness, I I truly like the mispronounced How do you say it like when people mispronounce words? And it's like that it does kind of irk me a little bit But the problem is is I mispronounce words all the time because of my accent That like that's something that I do quite frequently and my mom I hate to say it. My mom does say salmon in it. Oh, man. Oh, yeah It got we gotta fix that before we give her so much crap about it too I'm gonna tell her I'm like mom Avery William said you're not allowed to say salmon anymore Just to get her to stop Avery, thank you so much for the time. We're gonna bring you back when we have your mom on the podcast Oh, yeah, yeah, um, and you can guess how is that one? But anyway, thank you guys so much for downloading for listening Please do what you do rate review subscribe all that fun stuff and we will talk to you again next week