014 - Colby Pearson - Small Town Athlete to NFL

Welcome back to Next Level Athletes Podcast. I'm your host Kelsey Higginson, and today I get to sit down with, I would say, an old friend or maybe an old acquaintance of mine. Um, but honestly, I was pretty dang young when he was in high school. We are from the same town, Blackfoot, Idaho, a teeny tiny town in Idaho, and Colby Pearson was known as the hometown hero. So from the small town in Idaho, it was rare for kids to go on and play next level sports. So Colby Pearson in this podcast shares his journey from being a high-level football player in high school to achieving every little boy's dream of playing in the NFL. Colby and I talked about his— the importance of his mindset, preparation, and consistent effort in being an elite athlete. He dives into the challenges of being a walk-on at Brigham Young University, the grind that Division I sports takes, and the physical and mental demands of this high-level sport. Our conversation delves into the power of mindset in sports, the impact of confidence on performance, and the of imposter syndrome. Colby shares his experiences and insights, hitting on the importance of living in the moment and enjoying the game. He also shares the transition from high school to college and from college to the NFL, as well as the significance of his parental support and understanding in a child's athletic journey. This is probably one of my favorite podcasts just because I did have a hometown connection to it, and it was really fun for me to learn and hear Colby's story. And so I hope that you guys enjoy it as much as I did. All right. I'm super excited for this episode. I have Colby Pearson. He is a long, long time kind of star BYU football player. He was in— he's from my hometown. I heard his name being thrown around left and right when I was younger. He's got about 5 years on me. And then he also had some experience in the NFL, which is super cool. So I'm excited to pick his brain and kind of see his experiences all the way from high school to the NFL.

Yeah, well, thanks for having me. It's— I've been following your stuff a little bit, checking your stuff out, so you got a good movement going. So thanks for having me on.

Yeah, thanks, appreciate that. All right, so I kind of want to just jump in here, but I mean, people don't— I kind of want to first give a little background. We are from Blackfoot, Idaho. Colby and I are from the same hometown. Obviously, we were in different grades, didn't know each other very well growing up or anything like that, but Very, very small town, very hard to get recruited, very hard to be seen. Little town in Idaho. I feel like it's getting better and kids are getting more exposure and more opportunities now, but I'm sure back in the day it was pretty hard for you. But you, you have essentially lived every little kid's dream. I mean, star high school football player goes and makes it D1, gets a lot of playing time there, gets seen goes to the NFL and is able to play with the top players in the world. And so, like, take me back to like 7th or 8th grade Colby. What, what were you doing to set yourself apart from the rest of your peers to allow you to achieve those dreams?

Yeah, so let me just take you back a little bit further. In 1st grade, and this is something my mom has always told me, and so it's just kind of funny. In first grade, and I think she still has it, she— and it's the constant question they'd ask like a first grader in a class, like, what do you want to be when you grow up? Well, I wrote on my page NFL football player, right? And my mom still has it. And so like all growing up, the thing that was crazy to me is that like it didn't ever seem like unrealistic to me. Like I always believed I could do it, right? You know what I mean? And maybe that's just like some small town thing, but I was always like, yeah, I'm gonna play college football, I'm gonna go to the NFL, and I always believed it, right? And so Starting out young, I mean, I started playing football when I was like 8 years old probably, and so I ended up playing like 20 years. And so football has been a huge, huge part of my life, a huge teacher in my life. But I mean, looking back and just starting, I think just from a young age I realized like I loved football, right? And I could run, so I was pretty fast. And so I had some things that were naturally given to me that I was able to expand upon. And so, I don't know, I just would say from a very young age, I even wrote it down and I always believed it, like up until the very end, even when other people didn't, I always did, you know? And so I think I would tell people like, that's one of the major reasons I made it, you know?

Yeah. How did— because I feel like there's a lot of kids who have that dream, have that goal, say that they're going to do it, but then they don't pair that with the work, with the actions of doing it, you know? Like there's a lot of talk, there's not a whole lot of walk. How did you— what were you doing to make sure that you were kind of pairing your actions with that belief?

Yeah, good question. I was still kind of old school. Like, listen, I'm getting up there in years now. Like, I was still kind of old school. So like, my dad was like, if you're good enough, like, they'll find you. You know what I mean? And back then, like, you touched on it earlier in your intro, it was like there wasn't kids getting recruited heavily out of the area. And so I had a really good high school career. We had a really good team. We played in 4 state championships. We won 3 of them. I had really good stats my senior year, I mean, for a few years up there. And so I felt like, man, these offers should be coming in, you know, rolling in. And they weren't. And so I don't know how much of my story you know, but I can tell just a little bit without taking up too much time. Yeah, please do. So out of high school, I wasn't heavily recruited. As a matter of fact, I had one scholarship offer and it was to Idaho State and it was to play defense and I wanted to play receiver. And so at the time I had asked them, I was like, hey, like, can I play receiver? And they were like, you know, we can, we can visit that down the road, but we need you at defense right now. And so at that time it helped me make my decision. Okay, I'm gonna go to BYU and I'm gonna walk on. At that point, like, in my football time, so one, like I said, I wasn't really doing much to put myself out there. And it's a good point, I didn't know what else to do. Like, maybe go to some camps. And we didn't have the huddle, we didn't have all the stuff that the kids today have, you know. And so we went about it in a really old-school way, and I would just attest to you guys that wasn't probably the best way to do it. So use your resources, right? But I did get the opportunity at the end of the day to walk onto BYU. So I came— like, I came into college and into BYU feeling like I was robbed, you know what I mean? I was like, I just felt like this is so crazy. Like, I should— I felt like I should have had offers. I should have had more choices where I wanted to go. Obviously ended up working out for me, but So I just came in with a big chip on my shoulder, and it was kind of funny is they put me on as a walk-on. Obviously, you probably know and you've talked to other people, but you are treated a little bit differently. It's a little bit different, you know, and they put me on the scout team just to start my career there, and like after 2 practices, they moved me to the real squad. And so at that point, I realized like it wasn't just a belief in my head, like I could actually do it. But let me say, like, as you asked my question, what are the things I do, I obviously did not do it by myself. Like, I had so many people that played critical roles, you know, throughout my journey. And one thing I would just say and advise people is, first of all, first and foremost, and what I want to touch on, like, since first grade, you have to have, like, a dream, right? Like, you have to have your ultimate goal, and you have to have the path you want to achieve. Now, the second thing you need is you need to know how to get there, and that's where other people come in. Right? And so like one example is my trainer, Mike Strohschein. He's down there in Pleasant Grove at Next Level.

Awesome.

And maybe you should reach out to him and do a podcast sometime with him.

Oh, that'd be awesome.

Yeah. And he, I mean, he changed me physically, mentally, 180. I mean, coming out of high school. And so with him and my confidence in him, I knew, I knew what it took to get there. Right? But that wasn't from me. I didn't have that knowledge. I was given like, this is how you do it. And then the last puzzle or the last piece of that puzzle is being like what you touched on. You have to be willing to put in the work. Like, you have to put in kind of what I say, and I learned this from one of my buddies at BYU at the time, Elijah Bryant, played basketball there. I don't know if you remember him, but he'd always say like, whenever you're showing up to a practice, whenever you're hitting an extra rep, you're dropping your pennies into a bucket, right? And so there's a price to pay for anything. And so are you adding pennies in, right? Or are you taking pennies out of your bucket? So essentially you have to have your dream, you have to have the path, are you willing to pay the price? And that'd be putting the work in. And so if you can match those 3 things up and be consistent, I mean, that's how, that's how I made it to where I made it, 100%.

I love that. We, I mean, it's a very common, constant thing that we talk about on here is the consistency aspect of it because kids get it. I mean, It's not just kids, it's not just athletes doing this, it's anyone. Like New Year's hits, people are excited, they're ready, they hit the gym super hard for 2, 3 weeks and then beginning of February or March, it's empty, right? Like it's kind of a very human thing for us to do of just get super motivated in the moment, have a really fast spurt of, you know, a lot of extra energy, a lot of extra effort and then it dies out and then they're frustrated because they didn't get results, they didn't get things. Like to get real results, you got to do this day in and day out for years, right? And so, um, that, that's interesting that you touched on that. I like the penny analogy. You're either taking pennies in or taking pennies out. I'm a believer in— I mean, it's kind of like a river. You can't just sit in a river and not go one way or another. If like you're not swimming, you're gonna just be brought downstream, right? And I think it's gonna— that's gonna happen with anything in life, whether— I mean, I'm a spiritual person, like, whether it's with spiritual stuff, um, knowledge stuff, or this athletic-based stuff, like, you either got to put pennies in towards that future self or kind of going into debt with it. So I like that analogy a lot.

I think you nailed it. And what I learned from this— and I haven't been out of football for too long, I think, I think I just hit 3 years working at the job I'm at now— but what I did learn is exactly what you said. Like, I learned this through football and through athletics But it's the same recipe for success in no matter what field you're in, right? And I think it's important to note that it's pennies, right? Like, you can't drop $5 bills in. Like, it's pennies. And so, I don't know, people expect to drop in, like what you said, at the beginning of the year, and they're going to put in 2 weeks of hard work, and it's like, you haven't paid even close to the price of what it takes, you know what I mean? And so what people have to understand is it's just, it's penny, it's tiny, tiny little things and tiny, tiny little progress that over time become something, right? Everyone wants the magic pill, everyone wants the overnight results, but the people who can learn the discipline and that it's just by tiny, tiny little improvements that make big differences, those are the people who you'll see succeeding. And no matter— like what you said, no matter what field they're in, whether it's football, business, whatever.

Yeah, I love that. So when you were at BYU, obviously you were walk-on, quickly got moved to the, like, the real squad. What was the rest of your time there? What did that look like?

Yeah, so I kind of went, just to touch on my story a little bit, right toward the very end of my high school and where I was deciding where I wanted to play because I knew I was going to play, it came down to Boise State or BYU. And ultimately at the very end, I chose BYU. And so I kind of had the idea that if I went and I was told, hey, if you come and perform, I was a late recruit for them. We can try to get you on scholarship next year. And so I ended up going and I played very well. They moved me over a year and a half and then I was put on scholarship. So luckily, right? And so to me it just was always like my hard work was paying off. And there was plenty and plenty, and we could talk stories all night, but there was plenty of times where I was at my breaking point where I was like, the mountain's just too tall for me to climb. And I easily could have said, oh man, they weren't really giving me the shot, like woe is me, like the coaches didn't like me, I didn't get any chances. And people probably— like, the worst part about that is when people— like, people probably would have agreed with me, you know, and to my satisfaction, like, oh yeah, you're right, man, they screwed you. But like, you got to be very careful. What I found out in my journey, if the people you're around are constantly finding everything else that's wrong rather than themselves for why things aren't working out for them, be very careful around those people, you know what I mean? Um, I think I was able to learn— it's and turn internally as to why things like— and I take pride in feeling that being a walk-on, I take pride in feeling like I earned everything I got. Nothing was given to me ever. And I liked it that way. And so same thing when I went to the NFL, I was an undrafted free agent. I'm like a walk-on in the NFL, right? And they kept bringing me back, you know. And so I always— I became comfortable in that underdog position. Because I just knew I had to, I had to do something extra all the time. And so for me, that became my norm. And so, I mean, I'm from Black Friday, like you said, I'm like 6 feet tall. I'm not the biggest, obviously. I'm not the fastest. I'm not the strongest, but I would work with any of them, you know? And so I was able to maximize my potential, obviously not through myself and with, with a lot of people and a lot of resources around me that helped me reach that potential. But, um, Unfortunately, I just had some untimely injuries. Otherwise, I would have kept the, kept the train rolling. But once the little ones started coming and stuff, and kind of like what you had experienced, it was time for me when I realized it's time to hang them up, right? But the lessons and stuff that I learned are completely invaluable at this, at this point for me.

Yeah, I think it's so cool how it translates. Like you said, it's the same recipe for success. Anyway, you do it, you can't just— there is no magic pill. There is no overnight success. And a lot of people might see that with athletes or with people. I don't know, like, I even look at Caitlin Clark. She wasn't super known her freshman, sophomore year, and then she just popped off, and people think she's some overnight success or, you know, just got lucky. And I'm like, no, you don't see the— you don't see the hours and thousands of reps that she takes. And so, and there's, there's a lot of different examples we could take with that, but it's like or even a business when it pops off overnight and people are like, oh my gosh, and you're like, no, you didn't see the first decade of them grinding before it actually popped off. And so I just think it's— I loved the pennies analogy. I love everything you're saying. When you got in those moments of, man, I don't know if this mountain is— I don't know if I can keep climbing this, what was your inner dialogue? How did you work yourself through those moments?

Man, I— a lot of times it was— it almost became like I told you, I always had this self-belief, but there were times— the hardest times is when I started to doubt myself. I was like, you know what, like other people, they might be right. Like this might be a little bit too much. And so it was always just the inner battle with me, and then I had to prove it to myself. It became like a battle with Colby, right? Like younger you always knew you could do it. Like don't let you on this day stop that, you know. And so that's kind of what it turned into. And then what I learned and what I— because actually after I was done playing football, or actually in my offseasons, I would train others at the gym I trained at. That's like a side gig, right? And same type of thing is I was like, the battle is just show up. Like you may have the worst workout of the month or the year today, but just show up. That's it. And like, a terrible workout is always gonna be better than sitting at home. And just— and it's almost just— it's just a proof to yourself. If you start telling yourself and losing small internal battles, like, they have huge impacts. Like, for example, if you're someone who struggles to wake up early in the morning and you set your alarm at 6:00 a.m. and you just have to hit snooze, snooze, snooze, like, you're lying to yourself. You know what I'm saying? Like, you're not even accountable to yourself. So how are you gonna— how are you gonna conquer these things? And so there's little battles like throughout our days that like actually mean stuff. Like if you're always late to class, you're always late to appointments, like those are little losses within yourself. Like, you know what I mean? And so it's kind of hard to explain, but then things like— and I didn't really learn this until I was looking back on stuff. So like we had Bronco Mendenhall at BYU who had all these little rules. Like you couldn't have any scruff on your face, you couldn't have hair, like all these dumb rules. Like your locker had to be clean. And we're all like, dude, that's so stupid, man. But like, looking back, it's all like intertwined, right? And so I don't know, I would just say it was always at the very hardest times when I was laying there in my dorm room, like, I have another 5 AM winter workout tomorrow, like, I'm not going, I'm done. I just was, I just told myself, just show up, just show up. And over time you become calloused to that and then you're able to beat yourself. And then you're able to, you know, succeed that way. So I don't know, I would just say you have to conquer the inner battle first.

And a lot of those justifications that we tend to make as humans of, oh, too tired to wake up, or I'm too tired to show up, or all those different examples that you gave, some of them are very honorable justifications, you know, like that. And I've heard— I heard that the first time I heard honorable Justifications. It's by this guy, his name's Braven Grant, but he talked about it at this event I was at and it nailed me to the core. And he talked about how when things get hard, when there are chasms, when there are valleys in your journey, it's very easy to say, man, I'm struggling here. Like, this is, it's not gonna work. I'm not gonna do it. Like, I'm not gonna keep going. And it's very honorable, like it's an honorable justification. People would probably agree with you, like you said, yeah, I agree, like you haven't been given the chance or the shot or you've had a lot of hard go at it. Like you're completely justified to not show up tomorrow, you know, it's very honorable. And so that's been a real gut check in my life of like, though this is an honorable justification, do we wanna still make this justification? You know, like if you would have done that at that point, imagine how different your life would have been.

Yeah, and I'm telling you, like, it's funny because no one would ever— no one really knows like how close to the breaking point, you know, I was multiple times, multiple times as a walk-on. I have student loans out. I'm waking up at 4:30 in the morning in the middle of the winter to do this. I may never even see the field ever, you know what I mean? And so it's just— and you've probably heard this from many people and it's kind of cliché, but it's so true, but it's like, what is your why? What is your reason? And that's like, that becomes your anchor, right? And to me, it's kind of funny too, is that like, I can't, I can't go back home. Like, my friends and my family, like, I'm not going back home, like, quitting, you know? So like, little things like that to me were just like, all right, like, I don't have a choice at this point, you know? And so I just had to drag myself, drag myself to the workouts. And I remember, it's funny, just The one memory that popped into my head is that— and Mitch Matthews would attest to this— but like, we'd have winter workouts. We have an indoor facility, but for some reason we couldn't use it, so it would be snow on the ground. So I remember we'd be moving snow out of the way to do planks. It's dark outside, snow in Provo, to the point where like you're— we're throwing up on the side. And then the worst part is that as soon as you finish the workout, you're like, I have to do this again tomorrow, right? And so It became— I mean, those things, and this is gonna sound pretty crazy to a lot of people, and maybe you would understand, but like, those are the moments that I almost missed the most. Like, I will never push myself to that point ever again, you know what I mean? And so like, that's why I kind of miss it. And you're doing it with your teammates and stuff, which creates that bond that like a lot of people wouldn't understand either. But it's almost like I miss pushing myself to like the very extreme. And right now, like in the phase I am in my life, I'm like back then I had a purpose, right? I wanted to be the best football player in the world. Now it's like we just— we're so comfortable in our lives. It's like, why would I do that other than just to make myself push myself to the very extreme? You know what I mean?

Yeah.

And so, yeah, I would just say like, it's gonna sound crazy, but like that's one of the things I missed the most was like the pushing myself to the very, very edge, you know, and just proving to myself I can do it.

I tell my husband that often too, and, and you do almost have to be Obviously I didn't go as far as you did with sports or anything, but you almost have to be that elite athlete or the athlete with that big dream to get that. And I tell him, I was like, the thing I miss most, it's not the pre-games, it's not winning the games, it's not hitting a cool shot or a good play. Like, it literally is the grind. Like, I miss— and there is different aspects of life where it's a grind now too. Being a mom for one, but it's like the grind of pushing physically, you're pushing yourself physically and mentally for a specific purpose. Like you said, I totally understand that. And it brings like this feeling of dread plus nostalgia, I guess, for me. It's interesting that you brought that up.

Yeah, I, it's just funny. And it's a good point, like with sports too, especially for football, 'cause like, You train so much time, like you have to almost have that like mentality because you train so much time. Like, and think about the game's like what, like 60 minutes long and you play like 12 games a year maybe, you know what I mean? So like the whole year round though, you're working. So it's like 99.9% of your time as a football player is like not even on a game field. You're on a practice field or in a weight room, you know what I mean? And so if you don't fall, and I say this all the time, When you become a college athlete, like these young athletes who talk to me and ask me about college, like you better love, like you better love the sport because it is your life, you know. And in college you're trying to balance school, obviously is a huge part, your social life, football. Like football is life and people like say it is, you know. And so all year round you're doing that just for a small tiny glimpse at a chance, you know, to be under the lights, you know, on Saturday. And so I don't know, you have to fall in love with the journey and embrace the suck for 4 years or you're gonna have a miserable experience playing college sports.

Oh, and that's totally true. I've, I've touched on that with several pretty elite athletes and collegiate athletes. It's like, it does become your— in high school, yes, you have to work hard. Yes, you have to do things, but you can get by doing a whole lot less and still shine. In college, you're at this point where You're— I mean, especially as a walk-on, like, you're around people who are just as good, if not better, than you.

Everyone's good.

And like, so, so everything that you thought you've— you were doing a lot of in high school just became like penny, you know, like pennies are just not, not significant. And so it's— and now all of a sudden you have to take a look and take a step up, do a gut check and say, okay, like, what do I really want to do? And it becomes a job. And then I'm sure for you Going from Division I level to NFL, I'm sure that was a whole nother trip.

Yeah, it was almost like the same, just like what you said. It was the same thing like all over again, especially being an undrafted free agent. It was just like day one back in my freshman year at BYU, right? Except for this one was even crazier because like I was in the room with Clay Matthews and Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers. So I just was like sitting here like trying not to fanboy with my new teammates, you know what I mean? So Yeah, I don't know, it all comes down to like— to— and we can talk about it as well, but I think there's a good— a big difference between like being nervous before a football game or being anxious. And like, I think you should have a little bit of nerves, and I think you should have a little bit of excitement, but I think you get anxiety when you're not prepared, right? And you probably talked about this with some of your former athletes, but like preparation is key. Like if you're prepared and you're ready for the battle like you should just be excited. And so it's almost really like the feeling you have like you're walking into a test and you know you didn't study well enough for the test. It's too late, you know what I mean? Like it's too late, you just got to go. And so same thing before a game, like I just, I remember the feeling of just like, I don't know my playbook, like I'm like dreading this almost because I don't know the playbook. So like it's like anxiety instead of like excitement, and then you lose out on the task, and so then your performance obviously can't be as good, right?

Right.

So another big point too that I always tell these guys is you, like, your preparation has to be like on point on every single level, right? Because when you get to game, even when you get to game week, like, it's too late. When you get, especially when you're like right before you're running out of the tunnel for the game, all the work has to be put in and like it's too late for anything else, right? And so I don't know, I miss all of it. Just like what you touched on with you, I miss the preparation, I miss the grind, and of course Of course, I miss, you know, being out there on the football field, so.

Well, what have you done differently, or if you could kind of— I mean, you're— it sounds like you're kind of mentoring slash just talking to kids going up to those bigger levels, but what would have you done differently in high school to prepare yourself better for college?

Good question. I am— and you kind of touched on it with your last— when we were talking just barely, but I thought I worked hard in high school and I had I had no idea, you know. It was a really rude awakening with that first summer out of high school, like training for my first year of college football. It was, it was rough. Looking back, I definitely, I would have probably sought out like a training, a trainer, like a legitimate trainer, like for outside training. I mean, we'd have our high school, we took like weights class in high school and we'd hit a couple bench sets, a couple squat reps. We weren't really doing anything anything for athletic performance. We weren't doing any plyometrics, we weren't doing any jumping, explosive work, nothing like that. And so, um, after working out and training at the gym that I trained at and watching the kids, um, there's some players at BYU— Kingsley Suamatai'a, who just got drafted, I remember seeing him in my gym. Puka Nakua, I remember him being— I mean, who's the rookie, almost the Rookie of the Year, setting records. He's in the Hall of Fame already. I've known Puka since he was 6th grade, 5th grade, little kid, and I've just seen him. And so the— these guys like had— and they did it the right way. They were training since they were young, um, and they were training the right way, developing their body. They, you know, I don't know whether they're younger, if they're not incorporating much weight, but they're doing a lot of body work, they're doing a lot of plyometrics, they're working on balance and on hip mobility, on, on mobilities of your ankle. I mean, they're just getting all the little things that I had no clue of until I was 18 years old trying to play my first year of college football, right? So I think you get a huge head start finding a legitimate trainer. Obviously one who's educated and knows what they're doing.

Yeah.

Secondly on that, I would definitely look for resources of exposure because it seems to be like today's day and age is all about exposure for athletes. And it really like, I mean, I go back and watch my high school highlight tape and it looks like it was filmed in 1950.

50s.

Like, things have changed like so much in 10— like, these kids are getting the highlights on their phone like the day of their game, you know. And so they have the availability with social media and, and with technology to have all the resources of yourself to then, to then share and, um, get out and cast your net as far as you can. I did— I really didn't do anything like that. And so, um, just to give you guys a reference, like, to make my high school tape, I had to get burnt CDs of all the games and I had to watch them all myself and mark the timestamp on every play, the start and the end of the plays that I wanted on every game. It's crazy. So like, it was nuts and it looks— you can't even tell the number. It's bad. But anyway, so I would just say get a trainer, make sure you get exposure. And then if athletes— if I had the resources, I would have loved to have someone like you, like a nutritionist. Because I mean, high school kid, like what— I ate McDonald's every day in high school. Yeah, like, was that helping me? No, you know, but I didn't know. Like, that just was like normal, you know. You go eat Little Caesars or McDonald's, grab Taco Bell for lunch. And so if you even just had the knowledge of, of a somewhat baseline of nutrition and how it affects your body and how it affects your performance, I think— and you, you would know this probably better than anybody— but like, you can always out-eat a good workout, like a good training regimen, right? Like you can ruin like a full week's work, like if just, you know, if you just trash what you eat and what you fuel your body with, right? And so if I had that stuff as a high school athlete or even starting younger, like middle school up there, like I think things would have been completely different for me.

Interesting. Going back to the pennies analogy, as you talk about nutrition and just like these other things that you would have done, It's interesting to think about. I mean, I touch on sleep, nutrition, recovery, stretching, injury prevention stuff, and like all of these different things. Like you said, it's, I mean, let's go back a little bit. You said, I mean, you could blow a whole week's worth out, a whole week of workouts with one, two meals. You can set yourself up to not perform well in a game after doing all of that work all summer, simply by just either not eating enough or not eating the right thing. And so it's just so interesting to me to think about that. Like you just spend all week putting those pennies in and then game day, you just decide to go grab something crappy and you just scoop them all out and throw them in the river. You know, it's interesting to think of it that way. I think that that would help kids too as they're kind of hearing us talk about this, of that visualization of, is this really worth all the work that I've put in, you know?

Right, right. And that's what I tell them, just like, you're working out so hard, and I don't know if you found it this way too, but like, I find that I naturally eat better and cleaner when I am actively working out hard, just because in my mind I'm like, I'm not— I don't want to waste the work I just put in, right? And so to me, that's like one of the things is like when I start like realizing, dude, I'm kind of slacking on my diet and I'm eating fast food or this or that, like I got to hit the gym harder because then I don't know, it just becomes easier for me to eat better that way. And it's kind of funny, it's like kind of the older you get, the more in tune I became with like my body and my diet and my sleep. Because like honestly, in college even, like I don't think myself and a lot of my teammates took, took that stuff that seriously, you know what I mean? Until like you started to see negative effects. Effects. But like I said, like, at that time it's too late, you know. And so I don't know, we also had— and I maybe just wanted to pick your brain a little bit on— we also had at BYU Dr. Manning, who was like our psychology, like our mental coach. Like, what's your thoughts on that stuff? And I don't know, I want to pick your brain on that.

Oh man, I'm— I— that's one thing. If I could choose one thing to go back, um, to high school or to my junior high self, and do differently, and there's a lot of things I would do differently, but if I could only choose one, it would be the mindset side of things. Aside from even nutrition, recovery, training, like I would have touched on mindset hard. I'm a big Craig Manning fan. He, I'm trying to get him on my podcast right now. I'm trying to get ahold of him.

Oh really?

But yeah, he's cool. I've read some of his books and the mind, and as I've been studying about it more, It is crazy what the mind can do. And I feel like I'm a toddler in the sense of knowing all of these things. And it's going to be cool to watch and hear my husband go through that psychology PhD because he'll learn those things. But yeah, I've just heard stories. I mean, for instance, Mitch, he shared his story with me of— and it sounded like he— you would know this better than me, but it sounded like he was a pretty high-energy guy, pretty positive guy, and a pretty, I'm gonna get it done guy. And he said that when he showed up to BYU, he was the slowest wide receiver on the team. And he said that all 4 years he would tell himself, I'm gonna be, I'm the fastest player on the team. I'm the fastest player on the team. I'm the fastest player on the team. And he grew similar to how you said, like, it wasn't really a big, you said growing up, you're like, it wasn't out of reach for me. Like, I knew I could do it. I'm going to play in the NFL. I'm going to play in the NFL. And so you talked your mind into it so much that your actions paired with that and it came to fruition. And Mitch said that that's what happened. By the time he graduated, he was the fastest player on the team. And he said that how he believes that, like, he, like, he told his brain this, and our brains are incredible creations, and that it's able to control the body and kind of help it develop and morph and change. And then also from that other psychology side of things, of you're gonna naturally put in extra reps or work harder and be a little bit stronger to help that, um, come to pass, I guess, is— but yeah, you got me on a whole tangent. But I saw you smiling, I was talking about Mitch.

What came to mind? I saw that. No, he just— yeah, Mitch is Mitch is— he went— Mitch is a freak athlete, by the way. I mean, he's throwing between-the-leg dunks and stuff. So, um, but no, and you see him now and what the stuff that he's doing, and so he kind of— he practices what he preaches. And, um, I would just say the reason I want to ask you is— is this funny— is because all through high school and stuff, like, I didn't think it was necessary, and I don't think it was at the time. And it was not to the point where, like I was telling you, I was hitting those moments of like self-doubt did start to creep in. And it's because like, like what you said, when you get to college, like everyone's the star of their high school team there. Every, you know, everyone's good. And so once you kind of get put into the pool where it's like, dude, I'm not a star anymore, and like then it's like, oh, maybe I'm not. Maybe I am just from Blackfoot, Idaho and my competition wasn't great, you know, like, and so it was just interesting there because I never really thought that I needed that side of it. You know, I was like, "Oh no, I'm fine. Like that, I don't need that stuff." Until later in my life and in my football career where I realized like, "Yeah, this is— this stuff's like pretty essential to make sure your mindset is right." Because if that's wrong, like it doesn't matter how physically fit or ready or what your preparation is. If your mindset's wrong, like it's not going to work out.

This might seem a bit, um, I don't know what the word would be, cocky of me to say. But I think that the one thing that kept me from— I played D2. I think the one thing that really kept— held me back and kept me from playing some good Division I ball was my mindset. In high school, like, I struggled in high school with it. I was my own worst enemy in a sense. There were times I remember my junior year of high school, after one game I came home and I was like, I'm done. I'm done. Like, I can't. I went down those rabbit holes and I wish I would have even picked up a book, you know, like one by Craig Manning or something like that, just to get, just to help change my thoughts or question those thoughts and not give kind of ear to that little voice in your head that's just trying to tear you down. But I let it in way too often as, I mean, I think girls are just more emotional anyway a lot of times as athletes, but I think I've just struggled with that a lot in different aspects of my life and whatever I was trying to achieve and be better with. And so as I've gotten better at it and I'm learning to manage my thoughts and emotions and kind of those little voices in your head, that just not to pay attention to them and to, you know, believe in that vision and that dream that we've talked about. But yeah, I would say that, I mean, to any athlete listening to this, like if you've So if your experience sounds like mine, definitely go seek even a couple, you know, like a couple knowledge nuggets of things and tools that you can use, because it would have been, I think it would have been a huge game changer for me.

Yeah, and I mean, part of the reason I want to bring it up too is, and you probably remember, one of the biggest points, and I actually remember this from being on the football team there at BYU, this has been years ago, so Dr. Manning would always tell us like, You know the number one mental attribute that affects actual performance on the field? Do you know what it is? Confidence.

Crazy.

Yeah, and so there's one thing that like really clicked with me. Like, look at like all the, the biggest stars in sports right now. Like, think of, I don't know, LeBron, Steph Curry, um, Patrick Mahomes. Like, do you think these guys lack in confidence?

No, man.

I'm not saying like There's a fine line between being cocky and confident. Like, I think you have to have the mindset of like, I'm the best in the world. And I think if you don't have that mindset, like, again, just like think of all like the top level performing athletes in their sport. They believe they're the best. And they are, right? Like, you're not going to find the top superstars who are like lacking in confidence, you know what I mean? And some of them portray in different ways. But I almost love— I don't know, I almost love seeing him saying like, "I'm the best in the world," you know? Like, why? That's what you're going for, like, and you are. And so I don't know, I would just— I would tell young athletes, like, if you're lacking in confidence, like, that's a battle you really need to fight first. And why are you lacking in confidence? Are you not performing? Are you not putting in the work? Are you not prepared? Like, I always would tell this too to, like, people who would ask me, like, even if I wasn't— and a lot of A lot of times I wasn't, especially when I got to college. Like, I always felt and truly believed that I was the best player on the football field at any given time I was on the field. Like, this guy can't guard me. This guy— and that's what I'm telling myself in my mind, like, as the game's going, right? And I truly— that may sound cocky, but that's what I believed. And I think that you almost have to have a little bit of that mindset and a little bit of that grit to excel, you know what I mean? And so I just always tell people, like, if you don't believe that you're the best out here, like you got some more work to do off the field before you come out here. You know, just some thoughts that I had that I don't know, some kids.

Oh, those are great.

Yeah.

I wish I, like I said, I wish, because I was, was a workhorse. I loved the preparation. I loved the work. I loved watching film. I loved doing all that stuff. I wish I would have, you know, like you said, figured out why I was lacking certain, like, this, that certain confidence, or why I was struggling so hard with the mindset of things and fixed it. Um, because like I said, it would have made a big difference in, in things. And I'm glad I'm figuring it out now because it's— I mean, this stuff like we've talked about, it translates over into life very well. But it's, um, it's a big thing I think that a lot of athletes need to pay attention to.

100%, yeah.

But like you said, I would say a lot of athletes too, like, do are cocky or do want to be the best in the world, but they don't feel prepared. They don't, they don't prepare. They don't do things that they need to, to put themselves in a position where they can be, you know, like you said, walking up to this guy and like, he can't guard me. Like, they don't put that work in, so therefore it doesn't happen either. And so it's a fine line, like, finding that balance.

And I'm not like, like don't come off that way, and you don't need to portray yourself. Yeah, but it's more of just an internal mindset about how you view yourself, right? And so obviously be humble. I mean, don't portray— I mean, you know, I mean, be humble and be a decent human being, but at the same time, as soon as you walk on that football field, like, we'd always talk about having like a different, like, an alter ego, like a different person. Like, I'm not the Colby Pearson you're talking to in this podcast as I am who's on the football field in the middle of a game, you know what I mean? Like, I'm a different— same animal, different beast, you know what I mean? And so people have to— and a lot of people, I think, struggle with like that disconnect, or, you know, struggle with one or the other, and they kind of mesh into each other. I don't know, I was just— I feel like I was— what I did well is was able to control that mindset on and off type of still, you know. I don't know if that's confusing, but—

No, I get it. It's like you can still be a good person and a nice human being, but once you're on, like, once you step foot on that field, like, it's game time, you know. It is. And you don't have to be a super huge trash talker, like, disrespect people, but it's like, like you said, once you walk on that court or field or whatever it may be, it's blinders up, you know.

Yeah, you, you said it. I couldn't— you said it much better than myself.

Cool. I like that. I have a couple more questions for you. This has been awesome so far. I've loved it. I kind of just want to know, what is your number one favorite memory from the game of football that you have?

Man, that is a tough question. There's a couple that just pop into mind. Okay. Wes Jensen, I think he was assistant principal at the time at Blackfoot High School. I don't know if you remember him. Him. Anyways, he, um, I was playing, I was a true sophomore, I had won the starting job in my position.

Um, were you a wide receiver in high school too?

Yeah. Okay.

Yeah.

Yep. And I, uh, we were playing at Boise State and so I was like, man, I need to have a good game this game. Anyways, long story short, I see Principal Jensen in the end zone before the game while we're warming up and I'm just waving to him, talking to him. He's my principal back home, Blackfoot. And I just so happened to have a long touchdown that game right in front of him. And so I just pointed at him right in the stands right after I scored. It just was so funny that I had happened to see him before the game. And then I think he— I might be wrong on that. I can't remember if he was a BYU guy or a Boise State guy. Either way, I pointed at him when I scored. But I just remember that I had a really good game at Boise State, probably my best game at BYU in my career there. So that one's sad just because it's Boise State. I almost went there. The home school, you know, and so that one always was a fond memory to me. Of course, the Hail Mary at Nebraska that Mitch Matthews caught. I'll never forget that just because, I don't know, just the roller coaster of emotions you have of like, we just lost this game to catching a Hail Mary, you know, from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. And so that was probably the biggest swing of emotion.

I remember that game. That's crazy.

In a sports game. And then, man, honestly, I We went to a lot of different— like, I played at Notre Dame, I played at Wisconsin, I played at Nebraska, I played at Texas. Like, I went to— I played at Michigan, the biggest stadium. Like, I got to go and experience, like, the best of the best venues in college football. And so, man, I was very lucky. The years I came through, we had awesome schedules. We were independent at the time, and so we played, like, everybody. And so Other than that, like kind of outside the football thing, I obviously like miss— there's still some teammates that I speak to and we're still pretty close. I miss that aspect of sports almost the most.

Does it come out like the camaraderie?

Just being on a team, like on a team that has a goal to accomplish something. Yeah, right. And so you kind of get that in the workforce, and I'm on a sales team now, and you kind of have aspects of that, but it's just never, never the they're the same as when you're on a sports team, you know, achieving for that. And of course, we're all young, we're all fit, we're all trying to make it to the NFL. And so your aspirations are high, your confidence is high, your motivation is high. And so I miss all of that. But probably just specifically on football, I miss that the Boise State memory was awesome. And then the Hail Mary memory was pretty cool.

That's awesome. That's super cool. I think, I guess it's funny that you brought up, 'cause you made it to the NFL, but all of your favorite memories were from college too. Like that's interesting.

It's funny. I mean, I have some great memories in the NFL. I, man, it just, what stunk so bad is I, being an undrafted free agent, injuries are your worst enemy. And I just kept getting the most untimely injuries. And so I'm not saying like, I loved my time in the NFL. I mean, I caught balls from Aaron Rodgers. I played FIFA video. I played FIFA with Aaron Rodgers, like video games. We sat and ate lunch together. I sat in a room with Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams. I played the same position as Randall Cobb. You may, some of your listeners may know, potential future Hall of Famer. And so my memories there, It's always just a little bit different. And this is like, I've explained this to a few people before, football after high school was never the same game. High school football might be the most fun football I ever played. It just changes. NFL's really, it's really more business-oriented. It's weird. It's hard to explain. It's not the same game. I heard that from a lot of players. It's not the same game that you fell in love with. It's really not. It's work. I still loved it, of course. I love football more than anything, and my memories in the NFL were awesome. But there's even in college, there's still a little element of like school pride, of teamwork, of— and that was before NIL, that was before all of that stuff. And so I think even more so when I played, it was that way. I think now it's diminishing even more and more. It's becoming more NFL style, more business. Where's my money?

And that transfer portal makes sense.

And the transfer portal, I'm not, I'm not a fan. I understand it, um, but yeah, as you evolve, the game is just, it's just different, right? Like high school football with your friends who you grew up with, you have no other cares. I mean, it's just, it's different. That's probably the most fun football I ever played. And then obviously college was amazing, it's just a little bit different, right? And so, and then so on and so forth, um, But yeah, don't get me wrong, the NFL was incredible, and I got to play at Denver against the Broncos. I played in New York. Like, it was pretty surreal being there, um, and we can get into more details on that stuff too. But a lot of times, and I don't know how many people have spoken to you about it, like, I had— this is why the Craig Manning stuff was so good— like, I had imposter syndrome, like, so bad. And so, like, I always had to tell myself, like, dude, you deserve to be here, right? But, like, I'd have I kept letting my mind like be a roller coaster instead of like— you'll see the top performing athletes, like they just stay here, like whether it's good or bad, right? Like they stay here. I was always like, I had one really good practice, I'm like, dude, yeah, I'm gonna be a star. And then I drop one ball the next practice, I'm like, dude, they're gonna cut me, like I'm gone. Like I just let— I really let myself ride a roller coaster of emotions instead of just being focused and just level. And so that's another bit of advice I would leave with young athletes is nothing's ever as good as you think, but nothing's ever really as bad as you think either. Like, stay here, you know, just stay here, um, and don't get caught up in this and this, right?

So I like that a lot. I, um, made me think, like, with the imposter syndrome, how did you— I mean, like, you, you kind of said you kind of had to just go inside yourself and reaffirm But how did you— said caught a ball from Aaron Rodgers and some of these insanely talented guys. How did you get over that imposter syndrome? Because yeah, that'd be hard.

That's a good question. I think one thing that I did, and this, this is kind of crazy, I would, um, and I would do this before games sometimes, and I've actually like advised some— I think Dr. Manning was the first guy who actually advised this. And so, um, I would actually pull pull up like a highlight tape of myself and watch it.

That's cool.

Like before practice, and I'd watch it. I'm like, dude, this is like, I know this is what I'm capable of doing, you know? And so like, why? And then it's almost just lets you get to the mindset of like pushing that doubt out and then it's just ready. It's go time again, right? I would do that. And so like when I really felt like, dude, like I don't, you are in a different world right now. You just feel like you don't belong, especially when you're seeing like these future Hall of Famers and like people that I've watched on TV all growing up and like they're lined up across the ball from me. It's crazy. But then as soon as you start seeing like little bits of success, then like you're reassured. Like, dude, I'm in the NFL. I belong here. I'm performing. And so I don't know. It's just a really— the problem I had was that, like I said, like I'd drop one ball in practice and I would just like rag on myself just tank on myself. Like, that's unacceptable, dude. Like, they're gonna cut you. No, dude, like, just move on to the next rep. I mean, you've, you've done it a million times. You've caught a million balls before. Um, so it was just really homing myself to like the bare fundamentals of like myself as an athlete. And, and I don't know, it might be weird, but yeah, I just watched like a highlight reel of myself just to let myself be reassured of like why I'm here, what I'm capable of.

No, I think that remembrance I love the word remember, and we could get— go on a whole new spiel for that one. But I think remembrance is key with that, like remembering who you are, what you have capability of doing, what you've already done and achieved. And like you said, you just kind of reassure yourself to move forward and tackle the next big play or the next big opportunity, which is really cool. I have one closing question for you, and this— hopefully this one doesn't Isn't super hard, but so your oldest boy is 6, right? Yep. Okay. I'm assuming he'll play football if he's anything like you or is— but let's fast forward 12 years from now. He's playing his senior year game championship or state championship. It's his last high school game. What would be What would you tell him?

It's his last high school game. Let me just show this. You bring that up. This was— oh, I don't know if this will work.

Come on, you could send me the picture and we could always edit it in. Oh, I see it.

That's my 6-year-old and then my 4-year-old. They're the Packers. That's the team I played for.

That's so cool.

So yeah, that's— it's been fun because the game that I fell in love with and love, I get to see them start to learn.

Oh yeah, I bet that's amazing.

Learn, learn it or whatever. And so that's been kind of fun being, you know, seeing that come. I'm okay with my cleats being hung up because now my boys are coming in, you know.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm sorry, I was looking that up. Remind me what, what your question was.

I guess I just wanted to like, what would be your number one piece of advice for your, your son when he, when you, he's got this pressure on him, he feels like there's scouts there, it's a bit as his last high school game, but he's one of the our players, like, what would you do to ground him, or what would be your biggest piece of advice? Because you've been through a lot, obviously.

And I kind of touched on this a second ago, but I would literally tell him, I'm like, dude, you just gotta live. Like, football will never be the same as it is right now for you. Like, your high school football, it'll never feel like this again. So you gotta just live in the moment and have fun. Like, and I would tell him from here, like, and I'm telling you as someone who's already been through it, like, I wish I could go back and play high school football game with my friends. Like, that would be incredible. I would do that in a heartbeat. And I'm just telling him, hey, it'll never be like this again. Enjoy this. The other stuff that comes, we'll worry about that after, right? And I hope that he has a desire to play, and I'm gonna— I'll back him as far as he wants to go, or whatever sport, whatever thing he wants to do. And it's kind of funny, is my 4-year-old loves sports. He wants to be a football player when he grows up. My 6-year-old doesn't love it yet. And it's been a little bit hard for me because that's, you know, and so I want him to fall in love with the game the right way and in his own way. And he loved flag football, he was really good at it, but I'll just let him know, dude, I've got your back all the way through this. Enjoy the moment right now because football, no matter how far you go with it, will never be the the same. Um, and I'm not saying it's going to get worse, but it's just different. Yeah, and it's better in different ways, and it's different in different ways, right? And so I guess that's what I would tell them. But on a side note, man, I don't know. I don't know if football is the sport I want to push them, push them into. Really? It depends what they love and what they're best at and what they want to do. But I'm going to leave— I'll leave the door open to them. And, and right now they play soccer, baseball, football, basketball, ball. I want to get them doing some golf.

So it's exposing a lot of different options.

Yeah, I mean, if they love the game like me, it'll be a pretty easy decision. I had an opportunity to maybe play baseball, and, um, I just knew it. I mean, like, I just told them I'm playing football. Like, I already knew. I just— the love I had for the game, and, and it was just different. And so for me, it was easy. And so if they're anything like their, their pops, it would be an easy decision. But That's, that's probably what I would tell them, you know.

Love that so much. Just one more side note, I, I love that this is kind of more for parents our age and kids as we have kids getting older and stuff, but I love that like you being an NFL quarterback, or not quarterback, an NFL player, former NFL player, you're still not going to just push your kid to go live your dream. I think I see so many parents do that and pushing their kids, like you said, in the wrong ways to try to love the game or to try to be stars at the game. And it doesn't serve the kids well. And too many parents try to be coaches and parents just need to be parents. So I think that that's cool for the parents listening to just realize like, whoa, this guy's very experienced and very knows what he's talking about. And he's still not pushing his kids like in that way.

And I think it's just, We kind of touched on it earlier, but I think it's kind of just because I knew— I went through the journey and I knew that if— I just know if someone didn't love it, they would just be miserable, you know what I mean? And so it doesn't work out for everybody. I mean, Taylor played football for, for one year, hated it. He was on a full ride to Idaho State, hated it. It wasn't for him. But if you don't love the game like that, I don't blame you, you know? Like, I've been through it, so I know if you don't love it, like, don't, don't do it, you know? So I don't know, we'll just see. We'll We'll see what they love and if they want to do it. And what's nice is that I do have a little bit more knowledge than what I had when I was in high school and growing up younger. So hopefully they'll have a little bit of a head start in that aspect too.

So cool. Colby, thanks for sharing all of your stories, all of your knowledge with us. Like, this has been probably one of my— don't tell other people— but probably one of my favorite podcasts up to date. So I really appreciate this.

I love that. No, thank you so much for reaching out and having me. It's been fun watching you. I wish you all the best. If I could ever help you out in any way, please, please let me know, and I'd love to do it again sometime. Let's rerun it.

Yeah, that'd be awesome.

Okay, thank you.