Walking on Campus & Tackling NIL With Temple Football's Reggie Jones

[00:00] Nil undressed.

[00:18] I'm Ryan Schauchner, along with the future mayor of Rock Hill, South Carolina, the city with 37 active and NFL players. He also once threw eleven touchdowns in one game. Dr. Cheney Robinson. Doc.

[00:32] Yes, sir. We got a big one today.

[00:34] Got a big one. I'm excited to get back in football mode today. We are off to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where we are linking up with Temple University walk on linebacker, nil up and comer. And from what I've read about his practice squad performances as a red shirt freshman, he'll soon be one of those guys that we see on ESPN getting the scholarship in some sort of creative way. So, Reggie Jones, man, welcome to Nil undressed.

[01:06] How you guys doing? I appreciate you guys giving me the opportunity to talk to you guys. It's a real honor. Appreciate you.

[01:12] Yeah, and you just got out of a workout that was a grueler. So, like in multiple duty today, so we're excited to have you.

[01:20] Yeah, glad to have you on.

[01:23] What we like to do is we like to start with some rapid fire questions. So I'm going to hit you with a couple real quick.

[01:28] All right, here we go. Let's do it. Let's do it.

[01:30] Favorite temple tradition.

[01:34] Before, during the games, and after the games, we have a thing called fight. Fight for the cherry and the white. And I love singing. It can get this hype. There you go.

[01:44] All right, we're coming to campus, right? What restaurant do we go to and what do we order?

[01:50] So where I live at, in our gorn, there's a wing place called tuscan wings. What I get, and you should really get and try is a 15 piece wing honey lemon pepper with fries and their famous large piece lemonade. It is amazing.

[02:07] Perfect.

[02:08] It's awesome lemonade.

[02:11] You're not recommending the cheesesteak, then?

[02:15] Me personally, I'm not a fan of the cheesesteaks. They're okay, but I'm more of a chicken guy.

[02:21] Yeah, I'm with you. I like the wings myself.

[02:24] All right, last one.

[02:25] What do you do to get in the zone for game day?

[02:28] So first thing I do, I need a body oler. So I'll drink a whole body Oliver. And as I'm doing that, I'll put my big headphones on, I'll listen to my favorite rapper, Rodway. He just gets me in the mood.

[02:41] Gets you going. There you go.

[02:43] Cool.

[02:44] Love it. All right, man. You joined Temple as a walk on, right, versus going somewhere that schools where you're being recruited and some scholarship offers. So what was it about Temple and coming in as a walk on that had you pass up some other opportunities?

[03:05] I felt a real brotherhood. Like when I was being recruited, it was acting like I was a second option. Like, they don't care if I came. Other schools didn't care if I came, if I did it. And when tipple came to offer me my pwo at school, first thing he did, coach gave me a firm handshake. I love that gentleman. He was like, yeah, you're going to do something special for us and we're going to make sure we do something special for you. I was like, yeah, you sold me with that. So Temple made me feel like I could come here, become a man and become a better football player.

[03:39] I love it. So what advice would you give? Because there's going to be high school kids that are listening to this right now, and they're getting the gear and the phone calls and texts from the coaches. And what advice would you give those high school athletes as they make their college decision?

[03:59] Don't believe the hype. Don't go everywhere. Everybody wants to go to choose your own path. Because I came here, everybody was like, why would you choose Temple? I was like, it's my own path. I'm going where I'm alone. I'm going with no other people who know me and always been in my ears talking about, do this, do that. Can't touch me, can't talk to me head to head. So I was like, divided high schoolers. I always tell my teammates who are still in high school, choose somewhere where, you know, you become a better man, better football player and a better student. Go somewhere where, you know you're going to succeed for yourself and not for everybody's pledge.

[04:35] That's phenomenal, man. That is phenomenal. All right, so you red shirted this year, right?

[04:40] Yes, sir.

[04:42] But that didn't stop you from making an impact, right?

[04:44] Not at all.

[04:47] Chaney, you got to hear this, man. So you were named defensive scout team and special teams scout team player of the week twice, all in different weeks. So essentially a third of the season you were being recognized for your contribution. What was your mindset when it came to practice and how did you view your role as that red shirt and that sort of thing?

[05:15] Yes, sir. I'm not going to lie. This mindset started in high school. So where I went to, I went to Damatha captain High School, which is known to be that school that brings out great players and take them to the league or wherever they want to go becomes the best. When I was at Damatha, I would underlook. So I was basically trying to fight for a spot. I was basically a walk on in high school, if you get what I'm saying. So I knew I have a chip on my shoulder. All my coaches who finally saw that my ceiling is higher than a lot of people if they didn't see it. So I just knew coming to temple, I knew it wasn't going to be my time. When I first came in here, especially me being a walk on, I was like, let me do whatever it takes to show these people that I'm here for a reason. I'm not here just to play around. I know if I keep doing, like, scout teams, I knew if I go out there every day, help the team get better, every coach will realize, okay, we're going to need him someday. And I know that. So every time I went out there, I was like, look, reggie, you know your time is going to be called. Go out there and practice and get the starter so you know you'll be ready when time your number is called.

[06:25] How did you stay focused through that whole season?

[06:27] Right?

[06:28] Because I would imagine the early on guys, similar position as you come in and they're focused, but then they kind of trail off. But you didn't, right? You kept that mentality the whole season. So how did you stay focused?

[06:43] My dad, he would call me every day because he'd be like, look, Reggie, I know what you're going through because I went through it. Like, he played college basketball, but he also red shirted and he was like, man, nobody's going to be with you when you go through this. But I got you. He literally called me every morning. Look, he'd be like, get up. You know what you got to do. You know you're going to still be on the look while you're here to show these people why you're here for a reason. You're not going to allow them to bring you down. So my dad, that's awesome.

[07:12] All right, Reggie, nil went live when you were school, right?

[07:17] Yeah.

[07:17] What was the talk in your locker room and did it come up when you were being recruited?

[07:23] So when I was in high school, when I first heard about it, I didn't truly understand it because I was like, whoa. Only thing I heard is we can get paid now. I was like, okay, cool. But I didn't go into it researching where I can get paid, how I can get paid, what I should do to get paid, and then all my teammates who were getting recruited to Ohio State, South Carolina, Michigan, all that. They were talking about it because those recruiters were talking about that money with them. The recruiter I was recruiting by small school. I didn't hear all that money talk, so I didn't really understand it until I truly got here.

[08:03] So then you show up, right, and you made the decision, hey, this is a real thing, and I'm going to do something with it. So at what point did that decision to participate happen?

[08:19] So I got here June 2, day after graduation. That week, everybody come together, team meeting, right? And we talked about just how the season is going to go. Then we had one of our leaders who do nil for our school is called Justin Miller. He came in and talked to us about Nil. He was just telling us ways we can get paid. And then he was just talking about, saw him on the walk on. He was talking to all the scholarship players one time, y'all are going to get paid just because y'all scholarship. And he was like, the walk ons, y'all gonna get something there. I was like, look, if I can film a walk on, I'm not going to get paid as much as the scholarship players. Let me try to melt the **** out of nil so I can at least try to be close to the scholarship players.

[09:06] Yeah, that's, you know, a lot of it was collective driven, especially in know your buddies from Ohio State and Michigan, and that was, that was all. So. But then you come in and you see that there's a bigger opportunity than just dealing with a collective. So when did that trigger with you, and what would you say your motivation in the types of nil activities that you engage in? What is that motivation?

[09:42] The motivation I got was, I love sporting football, so anything football brings to me, I'm going to take a head off. So it brings me, I'm going to go besides the Nio real quick for a second. Our team has community service opportunities. We used to do when I first got here, and I loved it because always love giving back to people who say you can't do things like underprivileged kids say they can't do anything because I was always underlooked. So I get that part of their aspect of their life. So football has opened so many doors for you. So what I was saying to myself, look, you're here for a reason. You might as well do everything you can because life is short. Attack everything head on. So that was my motivation.

[10:34] That's very cool, Cheney. I love the community side of it and giving back, but also the realization that early on, because we talk to a lot of guys that play ball and it hasn't clicked yet, right. That football has opened up all these doors and just having the realization of the opportunity that has presented. How many guys would you say, reggie on the team are locked in trying to do stuff with nil?

[11:09] I'll say about 90%.

[11:12] That's a good amount. Then.

[11:13] That's a good number. It's just most of these people are trying, but they don't know how to. If that makes sense, they don't know where to go. But the good thing about Temple University is on our football team, we have apps that bring us nil deals. So that's a good part about it. Some people need to do, which I had to learn, is I had to research it for my own to make sure I know what I'm doing and make sure I'm putting myself in the right spot to make money.

[11:40] Yeah. So that it aligns with your values and that sort of stuff. Absolutely. So you use the apps. Have you ever done anything outside the apps to connect and get deals? So tell us a little bit about that.

[12:00] On TikTok. I use TikTok a lot. I have a pretty nice following, 23,000 followers on TikTok. And I got a couple of deals just from TikTok. People on my DMV, they'll go to my page, find me on Instagram. Then they'll dm me and talk about, we want you a part of this. We want you to do this. So I've used TikTok. That's pretty much in Instagram. People would see my page, they'll see my post on the Explorer page, and they'll just dm me or be in my comments, like, we want you to be a part of that. Cool.

[12:32] What do you wish you would have done more of? Either in high school or first getting. I mean, you started pretty early when you got. So I guess in high school. Knowing what you know now about nil, what do you wish you would have done more of?

[12:48] Definitely researched it. Definitely know where I should put myself at, what type of companies I should look like, try to get to instead of just trying to take every nil deal possible. Because some of these deals aren't the best, because what I've learned and what I've taken a part of, some of these aren't the best for my value. And don't try to drain me just to try to get their product across. And it just makes me look like less of a person.

[13:18] Yeah, absolutely.

[13:20] That makes a lot of sense because, Brian, you remember one of our most recent podcasts she was talking about. I want to make sure that I'm focused on my community and that way I'm going to be authentic, right. Because if I'm just taking everything, every opportunity I've got, then I'm stretching myself thin. I'm not really being authentic and really capturing and adding value to your members, your followers your.

[13:51] Think that I don't think you get enough credit, Reggie, and all the other student athletes that are out there, right? I mean, the hype and the stereotype with Nil is that these athletes are just out there trying to get it paid as much as possible and they're not thinking about who they're aligning with and all that type of, I mean, clearly Cheney for the last year or so that we've done this mean that's definitely not the case. I mean, there is some strategy and thought process that gets put into the brands that they align with.

[14:24] Yeah, absolutely.

[14:25] All right, Reggie, we've seen some athletes have participated in Nil and it has changed what they do after their athletic career, right?

[14:33] Yeah.

[14:34] So what are you studying? What's your major? And do you see Nil helping you once your athletic career is over? Hopefully that's future. Right. When your athletic career is over, do you see it helping?

[14:48] Yes, sir. Well, what I mean, I'm a sports manager, so I'm in the business and behind the scenes of sports. So of course Nil is going to help with sports because what I'm going to take sports management for. So my uncle, he's a sports agent for the NFL and an NBA. Him and the dad run an agency. So I've always been around in that aspect. So I was like, all right, I'm going to come into school because I love sports already. I love sports my whole life. I might as well get into the business behind it and see how money flows, how money comes in, how money comes out. So since with Nil becoming a big thing now, the business behind sports is expanded so much, so I was like, I might as well have to do sports management.

[15:33] Absolutely.

[15:34] When you got your built in agent already.

[15:36] Yes, sir.

[15:37] Ready to take that next step, all you got to do is say, I don't take care of me, help me out.

[15:41] Yes, sir.

[15:42] Well, here's the cool thing, too, is a lot of these agents don't quite grasp the nil space yet, right? They've been doing their thing for so long and they're so focused on the pro side. So hopefully they say, yeah, join the company and you're the subject matter expert. I mean, you lived it, you did it. You can relate to the athletes coming out.

[16:10] Yes, sir.

[16:11] There you go.

[16:12] Right?

[16:13] Kind of a three parter here. Tell us about a few of your favorite Nio deals and how your deals evolved over time.

[16:24] Got it. My favorite Nio deal was Nio deal with CBS Pharmacy. And I got that through the guy was talking about who runs nil, Justin Miller. He got that deal through an athlete app called Postgame, and he got it for every temple student athlete that goes here and just put it through the app. All we had to do is sign up, make one Instagram post, one IG story, and then a real. What you just talking? And I extremely love that deal because I'm from the suburbs of the DMV, so CVS is everywhere. It was my mom's favorite store. I know how much she loved it. So I was like, I would always go there two to three times a week as a little kid. So I was like, look, I've been going to CVS since I can walk, so I might as well take a part of this deal because I love it so much. Might as well do it.

[17:17] There you go. There you go. All right. And then I think the next part of that was, how have your deals evolved?

[17:26] Got it. So when I got the CVS deal, it was this Instagram page that said I'm the top ten creator, like athlete. That got me to where I needed to be, and then that got me more deals with that. When they saw that I was the top ten athlete creator in Philadelphia, I got this app that wanted me to be a part of their company called Access Network. It's basically TikTok, but it's only sports. Like, you can only post sports things about it. So I love TikTok and I love sports. Put the two together, it's amazing.

[18:11] What do you attribute that again? Access network.

[18:14] Access network.

[18:15] Okay, you got on the top ten list. What do you attribute the success or being named to that top ten? How did that happen for you?

[18:28] I think it was the cv and fB. But what I'm going to say, God. That's all I'm going to say. God did that for me.

[18:35] Well, he gave you the tools to be creative and get out there. And I think Cheney, I think we're talking about aligning companies with values. You're not just taking every deal. I mean, you're taking deals that are relevant to the community. That's connected to you that will increase the engagement rates and all that type of stuff because they're not feeling like they're just being pitched. Everything that comes along.

[19:08] Yeah.

[19:09] So what advice, Reggie, would you give to athletes as they enter the recruiting process with now Nil being a big part of the equation?

[19:20] Got it. When I say, take full advantage of it, because people work so hard just for us to have this. Like, if you don't know, there's a youtuber named destroying. He was a kicker, a college kicker. I think he went to UCF like a couple, like eight years ago, whatever, and he was making YouTube videos, but NCAA told him you can't make money off it. So he either had to choose football or YouTube. He chose the YouTube route, and that was successful. But it also showed them that they need to pay us because showing that he went that route and got paid more than you'll probably make in the NFL right now as a kicker, it showed him that they had to pay us. So for people like him who fought for us to have this opportunity, you have to do it for those people who they have.

[20:06] I love it, man. All right, what are the key attributes that you look for in a brand deal? And we talked a little bit about making sure it aligns with your values. But outside of that, what are the key attributes that you look for?

[20:20] I just look for people who believe in good people, people, what their worth is, is contributing to the community instead of just trying to make a push buck. And also, I love companies who look forward, who help athletes with their mental and physical health, because being a college, playing college sports is mentally draining. Like, every day, I am stressed out about class workouts, eating, getting my weight up. It's so much. I love companies who talk about mental health because people don't understand. We go through a lot of things in our head. It's more mental than physical. So that's all important, too.

[21:02] Yeah, that's great. All right, so all the companies that are listening right now, let's give us a Reggie commercial.

[21:09] Got it. Well, my name is Reggie Jones. I am a preferred walk on Temple University, and I'm a person who's been looked down his entire life. Before I was even born, the doctor said I wasn't going to make it out my mom's stomach. So when I had to be all of the ods, and I'm still being the ods every day because people keep telling me constantly that I can't do certain things, and it'd be people who I'm friends with who tell me I can't do things. So I just love beating and telling them that they're wrong, because, look, if you don't have haters, you're not doing it right. You know what doing. You have haters. You're doing everything right. So I think I'm just a good guy. That's all. Awesome.

[21:56] And that was fire. I'm charged up now, man.

[21:59] That's right.

[22:00] All right, Reggie. Hey, man, thank you for spending some time with us, especially after the workout. How can people find you if they're looking for you?

[22:08] Well, all my socials are the same. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. It's R then Reggie. R-E-D-G-I-E-J then Jones. J-O-N-E-S.

[22:22] Awesome. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in again to nil undressed. As always, every like, subscribe and share is greatly appreciated.

[22:30] With my close.

Connect with Reggie   

Instagram

@rreggiejjones

TikTok

@rreggiejjones

Success Beyond Gameday

https://successbeyondgameday.com

Instagram

https://instagram.com/amust.win

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanschachtner/