On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, former wide receiver Michael Jenkins joins Roman and Peanut. Michael talks about playing at Ohio State University under Jim Tressel and making clutch catches in big moments. Michael explains how he became a medical device salesman and what it’s like to sit in on brain surgery. He also discusses the difference between catching passes from Michael Vick and Matt Ryan, his extensive shoe collection, and why he opened a CrossFit gym.
The NFL Players: Second Acts podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Media.
Michael Jenkins' former NFL Atlanta Falcon in Minnesota Viking chilling with my guys Ruman Harper and Charles. Peanut Tillman doing a little medical device sales. Now in my second act, join this NFL player Second Acts Podcast.
I'm Peanut Tulman and this is the NFL Player's Second Acts podcast.
This is my guy, Roman Harper. What's up? What's up? Man? That was very quick and easy, So thank you for pushing that to me.
First involved foremost shout out to iHeart Radio for allowing to use their studios. Really looking forward to talking to this guest today. I don't think I've ever had a genuine conversation outside of a helmet with this gentleman, So me, I'm really looking forward to it. I can't wait because I've been a big fan of this for a long time. And Peanut tell us who it is.
Yeah, he is a first round pick out of the Ohio State. He's a national champion, played nine seasons in the NFL. He's a broadcast was across the gym, and he's in medical sales. Ladies and gentlemen, please walk theme to the park. Michael Jacobs. Now, I'm not gonna lie. When when we finished with the last guests and he came in up, I like kind of looked, oh, he kind of looked like viz Card a little bit.
In the building. He was a talk who is this tight end? Oh no, this is the receiver. I just didn't know.
Have you continued to grow because like I played against you many times, I just thought it was the Cleatson helmet.
But no, you really are really talk.
Yeah six five NFL measurements didn't lie?
Man, Well all right, we'll talking about the NFL measurements.
How about how do you think you measure up with the tradition of the Ohio States receivers?
All you guys that you put in an y'all, it's a bunch of y'all. Yeah.
Man, you got Joey Galloway, Terry Terry Glenn, who I love aka Spider Man, David Boston. I mean, the dude can lift the whole house, maybe a little too Schwall tackle, Michael Jenkins, of course, yourself, Santonio Holmes, h Ted Gin Junior, who are both on Playmore All American Team, and myself shout out to me super Anthony Gonzales.
Who had a really good career. I was actually went to politics.
Yeah all right, Chrys Olive, Garrett Wilson, Jackson Smith and Jigba and of course Marvin Harrison Jr. The latest one, and they got two more in the stalls right now at State.
It's crazy. But let me ask y'all, does that make us whide receiver you? Or is it L s U? L s US?
Think about this?
One question is out of you guys in L s U, how many have Hall of Famers?
Are there any Hall of famers?
Out of those? It's cardis Chris Carter hall of Famer? Yeah he isn't. It took him a while though.
If you take a while, he didn't get Now what about L SHU? How many Hall of Fame receivers do they have?
Would you say so?
I I just can't just go off of just I'm just I think Ohio State has put straight dogs in the league and state. In my opinion, if I didn't go to Alabama, I had to redo it all over again. The Ohio State would be the second best university in my opinion as far as football is concerned in the country.
I think that's a strong statement, but I believe in that. But man, the recency of what l s U has done as far as like the wide receivers, though, it's like it's pretty legit because I mean, you can't. You can't complain when they got too out of the top three in the time in the league right.
Now, No, you can't.
But when the question is, though, is a receiver you at Ohio State or receiver you at LSU? I think it's Ohio State because the consistency over the years. I'm just gonna say, y'all, y'all got y'all put on some dogs for years and years and years to come. You're going off of like more most recently, yes, kind of sort of.
Their most recent is basically two guys. I know what I'm saying.
I'm going off of like I'm going off they.
Give them their flowers, but it went back to ninety five. Bro, I agree with you. I'm gonna say the oios. How is that in tradition the years that would be one.
I hate to say it, but Alabama's in there in the recency bias as well.
I think if you look at over like you said, the mass numbers, because you still forget Michael Thomas.
Yeah, yeah, Terry McLaurin.
Yeah, you add all those guys and would take in and all those guys and now with Jeremar Smith come in and Mecha Buba coming, Jackson Smith is doing Olive Garrett like the mass number of receivers version.
It's a lot their top two.
Yeah.
So I want to talk to you about the Holy Buck Guy play and on this play, is it true that you ran the wrong round?
Yeah, that is true. Well, Rob, you supposed to run technically, I suppose to have a post. Yeah, it's old school to sixty eight or two seventy eight ex post. Why you know Z dig But I ran a go and the Z ran a post. Basically that's all that happened. So I beat my guy Antoine Rodgers, who fun fact, we played little league football together in Cincinnati, Ohio. But just one of those things where I got outside instead of trying to fight over the top to the post, I just kept going up the field me and Crimson Hessl. Yeah, I had that connection and you let it go. So worked out on fourth and one for keep us in the Natty hopes.
So do people ever ask you because people you said, you get asked about that all the time. It's another play that I think most people probably sleep on it, and that is the fourth and fourteen play in overtime in the National Championship game versus the Miami Hurricane. Yeah, that was the play that really saved it or really made the season for you guys.
Yeah. I mean, for one, nobody thought we had a chance in that game.
And I was one of those.
I mean, if you look at that roster Miami had back then, that was what you was saying two thousand and two season, Yeah, two thousand and one, that's probably the two thousand, two thousand and three champions it was.
Yeah, Miami had won thirty three straight college football game.
Yeah, everybody that was Yeah.
I mean you're talking about Sean Taylor, DJ, DJ Williams, John Ville, Film, Vince will Fence, Andre Johnson, they were all on that on that team.
Yeah. And so you know, double digit dogs.
In the Hall of Famers all over they got Hall of famers over there.
Yeah, but you know, we came out.
I think they kind of obviously didn't take us as serious as probably they should have in the beginning, and we put up a fight and get to that point, Like you said, it's fourth and fourteen They've been playing cover two man pretty much the whole game, and that was what they That's what they did, you know, And so ran to comeback whatever, run a thousand times. Ohio State got my depth once again, Crims will hit me on the sideline, kept it, kept the game going.
You must have been his man that year. Correctly. He always for you try it. I tried, just do my job.
You get to the league. Now you got to prove yourself all over again. So you know the players on your team. What was it like getting to the Falcons? And then also I want to know what was your welcome to the NFL.
Moment getting to the Falcons. It was, Yeah, it's a pretty cool moment. Oh four draft kind of going back to the Natty. You know, I'm a junior in college. You win the Natty, then everybody's thinking, like, all right, Jink's gone. Maurice Koret was trying to fight the NFL and leave. But basically all your top stars you think you'll go to the NFL. And I remember people asking me in the locker room after the Natty and like, so are you leaving?
I'm like, what are you talking about?
You know, like I love playing college ball of our teammates, Like, I had no inclination of going to the NFL. So fast forward and that year only two receivers were drafted O three in your class.
Yeah, so we.
Go to four.
Now we got seven potential first round picks. That receiver in one round and so it was fits Roy Williams, Reggie Williams, Lee Evans, Michael Clayton, then me and Rashaun Woods all in the first round. So that was just pretty surreal to be in that group a part of that get to Atlanta, and back then it was a very veteran led team. Yeah, mud Duck McClure centered all the lineman veterans. Uh, you just go down the list and Kevin mathis you know, dB, you name it. And then myself and Deangela Hall were drafted first rounds that year and so of course you know d Hall's the eighth picks are expecting a lot of things. Of course myself first round are expecting a lot of things. But it's like, you know, you're getting them one on ones, OTA's and mini camp they're like, nah, you know, they're trying to you know, you know, but that was fun. That's part of competing that's kind of earning your stripes. You know, it's like, all right, you know things, doing what you gotta do. And then kind of my welcome to the NFL was preseason on the road at Baltimore, you know, Ray and everybody on that side. You know, they only played like one series, but it was raining. So my first past come to me, drop it and you know, first round, so you know you're not on the verge again, cut and nothing like that, but they're like, you.
Can't make the club, like that rook you can't make the.
Club, you know. You know, that was just kind of like my welcome you know, NFL moment.
I like that they knew you were a rookie and the fact that you drive that pass.
They just talked bad to you. Anyway, anyway, take it to you can't say nothing, you know.
So what was it like catching a Michael Vick pass versus a Matt Ryan pass?
Totally different? Uh so lefty verse righty? The ball does spin different?
Is that different to kind of pick up on early if like you got to in the beginning.
In the beginning, it is said, let's say I'm running down the left side of the field, I'm just running to go route. Mike's a lefty, so his ball is spinning this way and it's going to lean where it comes over my left shoulder. Well, righty, if they're throwing, the normal is spinning this way and it kind of stays in line with me running straight and it kind of so Mike's ball would always kind of tend to drift that way, even though he's like curls whatever, just kind of dips and then he through the hardest hell all the time. You know, Mac can make all the NFL throws, as they say, but it was just a nice easy.
Ball to catch. Yeah, so catch Yeah.
I want to talk about your second act right now. Did a little bit of broadcasting, and I do want.
To really call it.
I'm not doing like live NFL games.
So Falcons play and then I'm here with the local station Fox five here in Atlanta.
Now what the Falcons play is that radio is at TV.
With Falcons play that game.
I go into the studio after the game is done, and then we basically talk about the game postgame type stuff.
Now, what about your crossgem? You still got that going?
Now, I let that go in COVIDKA, So covid happened I kind of picked up my medical.
Device sales job.
Yeah, and uh so it was it was kind of bittersweet, but it was it was time.
Yeah, yeah, talk about the medical sales, the medical device.
You know what.
It's something that I never thought i'd be in sales. I always thought you had to be that slick, fast talking, you know, could sell the shirt off your back that you got on already. And that was never me. I was always quiet, humble, chill. Once I got done playing ball. You know, everybody talks about like having a plan when you get done. I really didn't have a plan, like you think you want to do some things, but I didn't, you know, I didn't intern here. I didn't, you know, do this and do that to kind of be set up to go right into something right after. So that's why I kind of opened across with gym with another NFL VET, Brian Johnson, who played nine years as well, came out of Penn State, and so we opened it together, and it was just kind of something to do in passing, you know, but enjoyed the people, enjoyed the camaraderie still working out, still training, and a bunch of guys that I played ball with. Ohio State got into med device sales right out of school, to the point now where one of the guys, David Mitchell, he's the COO of Logic, a big medical device company, and other guys have done very well in the career of managers. So just reached out to them after about four or five years out. It was just like, you know, do y'all like it, you enjoy it, you don't have to pay blah blah blah. And plus that that NFL insurance was running out for five years, so it's I an't gonna have to pay that Cobo Cobra cost and that Cobra would be taxing you know. So so it was just the timing was just perfect and they were just like jink, if you want a second career, something where you're not just sitting at the desk a normal nine to five, You kind of make your own hours, You get to interact with a lot of different people. Once you kind of get in, you can move about however you want. It's hard to get in. It's almost like the NFL. You know, they only take the best of the best. But once you can get in, you know you can do very well for yourself and so almost six years later, now you know, been doing that device.
So what's the process of getting in? Is it just like just a ton of interviews, Yeah, just.
A ton of interviews. It's a normal interview process.
But they're trying to weed out and they extendedn't make it long for a reason to see if you really want it, see you know, and see how you do your due diligence and getting in. And so it's a big turn from our world of just knowing football. Yeah, so now you're going up against corporate America, people that have been interurning, that have been that have sales, that have bd B sales beat it, you know, all that stuff. So you're competing against all them. And so I really got that kind of set on myself and em bet on myself on that one.
And so it's worked out.
Hey, let's sell medical devices. I think we should do that. Me and you, let's do it. He said. It's like the NFL, like it's hard to get into. Don't be shaking your head, baby.
He comes up with the idea something, let's do it, we should do this.
We should know always shot down.
Little thing.
What company do you work for and what do you specifically sell if you don't mind.
So I worked for Striker.
Yes, a lot of people know of people know Striker by the beds and kind of knees and hips.
But I'm in the neurosurgical space.
So if you see like Tiger Woods, how a Michael dissected me on his back, those are the surgeries I sit in all the time. Yeah, so laminectomy stuff like that, or if there's a tumor that needs to remove from the cranial space, I provide the tools that help the surgeons remove remove you know, bone.
Why do you sit in these surgical rooms when doing brain surgeries Because I mean it's got to be the first time you see one that you know, I don't want to use those terms, the first time you see one get cracked open, like it's got to.
Be a little just a little bit, you know, my.
First ever case.
Obviously, you never you never forget your.
First and it's it's it's something, it's something actual, actual brain. Yeah, so you do see it and it's not like it's not like TV and it's just wide open like these patients. Every patient is really covered from head to toe and if they're operating on the brain, all is the little small spot.
That they're working on.
The whole patient is covered, but there are some cases where it's it's pretty pretty nearly.
I'm gonna ask you a question. So seeing it is one thing, But what about the smell is that? Is that something else? That's a real thing. When they when they start to.
Yeah, when they cauterized and they're opening up the skins like melted butter. I mean, they're cutting through the skin and that's what you flash.
So that's what you smell at the beginning. But after that you just kind of get you.
So was there ever a time to wear you? Because the first surgery I went in, I sat inside the surgery one time. I was cool looking at this guy's and I was like, oh, okay, yeah whatever, because I thought I wanted to do the medical thing, thought I wanted to be a nurse, and all of a sudden they cut this dudes, they started caularizing, and I was like, I smelt it and that smell hit these nostrils.
Yeah, yeah, that's the real thing. I had to get out.
That's why I actually I was like, so looking at looking at it on TV is one thing. I could do that all day, but the smell is what takes people out.
Oh yeah, some.
People interview and don't realize that to go sit in surgery and then they're like, why am I in there?
Why?
Yeah, but you have to be in there just in case if they're using your tools something.
There's different reasons. The surgeons know how to use our stuff. It's like a cell phone, they know how to use it. So obviously when you're trying to introduce new technology, or sometimes they just have issues. You know, the mic wasn't staying up. You know, Hey, can you come in this room help us with this case. We've been having some issues over the last few cases. Yeah, so there's there's different reasons why you're in there. But there's certain medical device reps that are in every case because they're on the implant side, so they have to provide the screws or certain implants. I need to go in the patient every single time. So I'm pretty fortunate I'm not on the implant side, where I'm just on kind of the the tools side of things. So once they know how to use it and they're good with their cell phone pertain to our equipment, you know, I don't need to be in there. Every single time. Have you ever been in a room where you like dude? I mean, and you know Hippolo was a real but like man, you like dude. This is like I never thought i'd be doing this. Okay, I don't want to get descriptive, but I've seen some stuff.
We got to do it. We can do it on the side. We can still you can still do sec network, we can still podcast. I got four kids, bro, I don't have I don't have. I got fired exactly like, we can do it. We get good insurance. I don't have it. Come on, what's my question? The student is so lame here, does not want to learn nothing new. No, we're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back. All right, tell me this, Mike, I hear you are. I don't want to.
I don't want to put this label on you. But if I throw it out there, just yes or no? Are you a sneaker head?
Yes? Okay, all right, then all right.
I didn't want to throw it out there because I got a lot of shoes, but I don't claim to be a sneaker head. I think sneaker heads are next level. So how many pairs of shoes do you have. I haven't counted in a long time. Okay, when's the last time you counted? And about how many more do you think you have had acquired since? Because sneaker heads, they don't ever stop. It's a forever addiction because it is.
Yeah, and now my kids are in it, and it's bad.
Then when the kids get in it, and yes, I mean every year.
Yeah.
The Black Semen three is just shot dropped today on Nike Adams. So I had to get a pair for one of my sons. But I probably counted a few years ago and I stopped at four hundred and there was still more and.
That was five years ago.
Now where is there is there a spot in the crib where you keep them on? Like is it? Are you like bleeding into the next like the hallway or another room?
It was special rooms, the own special room that was initially for all closed and we had this one little weird room no windows, and so we kind of built made of the closet. It was all clothes at one point, and then all closes started going out and the shoes started going in. So my wife's still fighting me on that. There's you know, half closed, half shoes, but it's yes, one room fights will be one and lost. They shoes, my brother, Yes, tell me this. Are they all Nikes?
No?
Okay, okay, because you did have a Nike contract.
They have a Nike contract. Now there are a lot of Nikes, but they're not all Nikes.
Okay. And what is your favorite pair?
I probably go my most sentimental pairs Jordan twelve Playoffs. That was my first ever pair of Jordan's so ninety seven in high school.
Yeah, you still got them?
Not that pair got.
I got it?
Ok Yeah, but that's there's cinemonal reasons for that one.
Think my first pair of the fours Jordan. Yeh, I didn't have a pair until I got into college, until and.
The Alabama money start kicking in.
No, my my girlfriend actually bought them for me. Who's my wife now and taking care of you men that. But now I have a whole.
Bunch, and so it's just the coups running over my favorite or the eleven. I mean, I don't think you can get better than Concords. It's just the most classic. Nobody in the gym SS.
Like, Yeah, I absolutely agree. Yeah, I like the Space Jams though, I love the Space Jams.
Okay, I'm not mad at that. Yeah, elevens at all. Yeah, to me, eleven and ones are my faves. What are your faves? Favorite Nike? You shoot, you don't. They don't have to be.
I mean, if we're going Jordan's, it's it's one, eleven and fours.
Okay, yeah, so on eleven fours that's probably what are yours. I'm an eleven eleven, three, eleven four type guy. Yeah. You like threes?
Yeah, I mean I got a lot of threes too, So.
Coming we're at the point now my wife is like, don't buy any more. She likes them to, she loves them too. Yeah, you know, so you got to buy himself.
You know. I just got her some Nike formearros.
You know.
It's like so she's like, okay, you know, but me and my ups guy, you know, sometimes.
That's funny, like y'all on the first name block away I got.
So the shoe confession, the shoe obsession has kind of turned into bourbon now, okay, so I'm a big bourbon guy. Yeah yeah, so it's good resale value. Bourbon is just like the shoe market. You can't get a you know, these when they come out of retail. There are three four x the price for bourbon secondary market.
I'm an uncle Nero's guy. Okay, that's a good story. Hate story. I didn't know about it, and then I once I saw the story, I was like, I was all in, Oh, yeah, I'll never drink jack again. Yeah, I'm entrepreneurs all day every day. Then we can that's a whole nother story. We'll we'll we'll talk about that. I'll educate showing that. But it's it's a great story. If you don't know it. I don't know it, but yeah, educate.
After we get off this one, I'll see you in You got a question for you this year's CrossFit games.
Did you compete in them?
No? I never made to that level.
You didn't make it to that level.
Not the game, not like what you see on TV.
But I'll do the you know, they have all the gyms worldwide, do the little competition.
So I did a few few of the workouts.
Yeah, So do you do you know some of the stats on like what I did? Yeah? Do you know?
I haven't what you got? So the back squad it was four to twenty. The deadlift was two. Excuse me, the deadlift was five thirty. The cleaning jerk two six to five. You in college, fight gone bad three twenty seven. I don't even know what that is. The friend was for four minutes. Yeah, friend was four minutes eight seconds. The grace was two o two. I don't know what that was. Yeah, Helen's ten forty six, ten minutes forty six seconds, and the snatch was two oh five.
Yeah, that's all that's all from.
Yeah, ground that's you're a tall guy.
Crossman is not a tall man, not at all. So everybody, especially the ones you see that make it professionally in CrossFit, they're all like the same exact bill, like five, six to five ten, maybe the tallest like one eight five. You know, so a six five guys shying CrossFit is not idea.
Do you consider it a sporter or is it just exercise? Are you asking me? I'm asking both, y'all. I just looked at you. I mean it's sporty. I think it's sporty.
I think they're amazing athletes, but it's also like I think, I don't know how good. I don't know, because when I say athlete, I'm thinking like athleticism, which means you can do multiple things, like multiple sports. I don't know how good these frost fitters would be in other sports.
That's my only knock on it. So it's so you consider it an exercise. I didn't say that. I said what I said.
Do you consider race car drivers? Go?
Must say yes, because I do cross fits, so I can see it a sports an athlete. I like that find And I've done a race car driving too, So.
I think you've got to be I think you got to have endurance and stamina and you got to work out to do it.
But I don't know if you're an athlete per se kind of sort of. I don't know. Are you an athlete? If you ride horses, of course you're Are you an athlete? Or or does the horse do all the work?
I mean, I think your legs are different if you is there a sport ride horses? Is that a sport? Or the horse is doing all the work? I know I got to sneer them, but like go left, go right?
Whoa buddy? And you got to wait like less than hundred twenty pounds? Yeah, you gotta wait less than hundred jockeys jockeys or athletes? Is that is? That? Is it that's a sport. I do know this.
It's better to to bet on the jockey not the horse.
Yeah, that's true, so you get the history on the jockey makes the difference. So like you got to give them some more credit than that. Okay, I'm just where we are right now. We are talking about this sports.
So we think it's like ping pong, Like, I don't know. Ping pong players are definitely athletes dog bowling. You've seen what they do in the Olympics.
They are legit. Yeah, sorry, it's crazy. I don't know. I couldn't do it. I couldn't either.
I can't shipping.
Have you seen them their way?
I'm a basement ping kong guy, I do. Here's my final question mean by basement basement? Can playing my own base common sense? You went down about me a little slower, don't worry about that. My last question for you, Malt Rushmore. You have had tremendous success in your life, and if you had to pick four people who have had influence on you, who would those four people be.
I'm blessed and fortunate to have two parent household, grew up in two parent household. I think I put mom and dad up there.
Yeah, do you want to do that as one You want to think of this too, not make this too okay, Yeah, hold on real quick.
While Mom and Dad, I mean they're the rock there, the foundation, They're the reason why I've been able to do and have what I've been able to do. Yeah, And of course Dad was more of the kind of pusher and force. Her Mom was, hey, that's enough, He's okay if you don't have to go that far.
It's a good balance.
It was a good balance. It was a good balance.
But you know, I can still remember her sitting with me literally like elementary school, perfecting penmanship, with my studies and stuff like that. So, uh, like you said, a really good balance with those two. Love him to death, coaching wise, coach Jim Trussell.
No doubt I was hoping you'd say that.
Yeah, I mean I wish he was still coaching. Man.
He uh, you know, people talk about players coach and all that, but somehow he found a way in his own way to relate, you know, to kids coming from all over and motivate and just being somebody you want to be around. And you know, he would have guys over his house, his wife, his kids. It was it was.
It was special with what Trussell did while he was there.
So he's he's always been a big, a big fan of mine. Still talk to him to this day, which is pretty cool. Plus three four Ah, probably my godfather, uh mister we call it mister Nick h army bud with my dad, but one of my dad's best friends. But just someone I can always just I didn't want to talk to my dad and we was fussing about stuff. I call my god dad, you know, and we're working out and talk about you know, your pops just look.
Man, he just.
Yeah, you know so and then you know he'd be along the way of life lessons too. And we go to the basketball court and them too, rough me up thirteen fourteen years old, you know, and just you know, just taught me, you know, fight through things, no matter what it is.
So it's pretty cool to have people like that in your life. That's dope.
That's good, lischen I like, man, I love that list. Shout out to all the godfathers and uncles out there. That's keeping it alive. When yeah, when dad tripping, yeah that happens. So it takes a village, truly, it does. And shout out to coach Jim Tressel as well. I heard great things about it. I've heard nothing but great things. And at the end of the day, you know, he's a hell of a coach. All did was win from Youngstown as well, right Youngstown State to even to Ohio State. And he paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect his players. And so in a school and in a sport that we've seen change where now it's more about me and what coach is, getting his looks and doing all this, he was the one coach that I will always say he died, fell on the sword for his players and wouldn't let nobody get inside that locker room and break them up. So shout out to him preparing the ultimate sacrifice. So in Ohio State loves him for it.
Now.
It's crazy how mad they were at the time, how they treat him now where every time he shows back up. So it's crazy, man. But anyways, Mike Man, thanks man. Appreciate your time, Appreciate you having me, appreciate the blessing man, and I appreciate you just pouring into us.
So thanks for that, bro.
All of our viewers and listeners out there, thank you so much. As always for tuning in. Man, me and Peanut, we just we enjoy it. This is fun, man, This is what we get to do, and this while we get to listen to all these stories.
And so wherever you listen to.
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Thank you so much.
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That's where we are. Thank you appreciate it. Man, tell a friend to tell a friend to tell a friend. Peanut, get us up out of here, my guy.
I'm Peanut.
That's Big Jank, that's Roman Harper and this is the NFL Player's second next podcast, we are