Tyson Bagent (00:00):
I am. I am.
Sevan Matossian (00:01):
Bam. We’re live. Should you be home?
Tyson Bagent (00:04):
Yeah. I had, uh, so I had rookie mini camp, um, last Thursday to Saturday, Uhhuh <affirmative>. And then I came home for a week. And then on Sunday I go for a month and then come back for a month. And then I go up to start the season.
Sevan Matossian (00:18):
God Tyson. Hi.
Tyson Bagent (00:22):
What’s going on?
Sevan Matossian (00:23):
Hey, um, your, your junior year in high school, um, you started, uh, varsity as quarterback?
Tyson Bagent (00:31):
My sophomore, junior and senior year.
Sevan Matossian (00:33):
A And what was your, um, what was your junior year like? You at the, at the end of the year did, did you guys have a good junior year?
Tyson Bagent (00:39):
Yeah, we won the state championship.
Sevan Matossian (00:41):
Oh, crazy. Okay. And, uh, and, and, and, good. You, you were good. You were healthy. Finished junior year strong. Lots of, uh, lots of accolades. Better than your sophomore year. Lots of touchdown passes. Lots of good running, lots of good, good times. Yeah.
Tyson Bagent (00:54):
Victories. I, I got better from my sophomore at my junior year, I would say. I just, I probably got a little, I was a little chubby my junior year. And then, um,
Sevan Matossian (01:02):
Are you just saying that cuz you have a, your, your body’s immaculate now? I can’t imagine that. Are you just saying that cuz you’re hypercritical? No. Yeah. So right
Tyson Bagent (01:08):
Now, right now I’m two 15 and my junior year when I was only 16, I was like 2 23.
Sevan Matossian (01:14):
Okay. Okay. Yeah. And, and then, and then your senior year, how, how are you your senior year in, in high school?
Tyson Bagent (01:20):
My senior year I got down to 2 0 5 and then I did really well and we won the state championship again.
Sevan Matossian (01:26):
Okay. So high school, you won the state championship your junior and senior year?
Tyson Bagent (01:30):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (01:31):
And, um, are high, do high schools have divisions also?
Tyson Bagent (01:36):
Uh, they have classes based on, um, based on the number of students. So we, it go in West Virginia, it goes up to aaa and we were aaa.
Sevan Matossian (01:45):
And that’s the highest?
Tyson Bagent (01:46):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (01:47):
Okay. And, and instead, and, but from there, you don’t go to some, I don’t know. And I don’t know any of the big, uh, uh, high school, um, or sorry, college football teams, but I just, the only one I know is Clemson. So is that, that’s a big high school or a college, uh, football team Yes. Program. Right? You don’t go anywhere like that?
Tyson Bagent (02:02):
No.
Sevan Matossian (02:03):
You go to a, a smaller school that’s a division two school called, uh, shepherds Town University.
Tyson Bagent (02:08):
Shepherds University.
Sevan Matossian (02:10):
Shepherds University. And, and then do you start your freshman year there?
Tyson Bagent (02:15):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (02:16):
Crazy. Is that unheard of?
Tyson Bagent (02:18):
Uh, yes. Yes, it was. It was kind, it was per, it was like a perfect storm though, because they, they had a really good quarterback the year prior, but he was a senior and he graduated and they had nothing set in stone at the quarterback position when I got there. Uh, so I was able to, uh, do good enough in summer camp to, they felt comfortable enough, uh, throwing me out there.
Sevan Matossian (02:41):
Uh, um, Sean, I will ask him this question. Uh, in 2000, um, and 37 when he retires, uh, from the NFL until then, uh, we’ll just put that one on hold for 15 or 20 years. Okay. And, um, so, and then your, your junior year at college, you go, you win 13 games, uh, in a row. And your senior year, same thing. Two, two basically perfect seasons, right? Yes. Junior and senior year. Yes. And your junior year, you win the, uh, Harlan Hill Award, which is the Heisman for the division, uh, two guys. Yes. So the, so these are like picture perfect. This is like, this is as good as it can get in high school and as good as it can get in college.
Tyson Bagent (03:27):
Yeah. I feel like I, I, I have thought about it. I feel like I have done the absolute best that I could do everywhere I’ve been.
Sevan Matossian (03:34):
Thankfully, I, I’m gonna, uh, stop the interview here and, and go somewhere else. Sorry. So great pe the journey’s never done for great people. If you wanna do great shit, you never get there.
Tyson Bagent (03:48):
Correct. Everything is transitory to the next,
Sevan Matossian (03:51):
You win the Super Bowl. It’s, it’s not, it’s, it’s the, you’re not, you’re not there.
Tyson Bagent (03:55):
Nope.
Sevan Matossian (03:56):
<laugh> It’s crazy. It’s, it’s cr This is not. Okay. Okay. Back to the story. Okay, so, so then you finished college. Uh, you have two, two fantastic years in including in, you know, I, I was fortunate enough to see, um, those, uh, final plays in two or three games in a row where you’re throwing touchdowns in the last, you know, few seconds of the game. You have some incredible, like, storybook finishes, crowds going crazy. And then from there, most, I’m guessing 99% of people when they finish college football, their career’s over, there’s nowhere else for them to play, right? Yes. They get like a job, like somewhere like selling mobile homes or becoming the c e O of McDonald’s or something. Becoming a lawyer or something. Yes. Okay. But you attempt to continue to pursue, to play the game. And, um, that involves, uh, something called the draft. What other, what other options are there besides the N F L?
Tyson Bagent (04:59):
They have a couple. They have a couple leagues now, right under the N F L, the U S F L league and the X F L league. They also have like arena teams, uh, which is like indoor football in a smaller field. Um, I, I wouldn’t necessarily be interested in that, but the X ffl U S F L gig, it’s kind of like a, a league where if you’re in the NFL and then you get, uh, kicked off a team, they can pick you up and it’s still a pretty good gig. Or if you’re, if you didn’t get drafted or picked up by a team, but you’re still pretty good, then you can also go in that league as well. And then if you do really good in that league, you can get a chance to make it back to the top.
Sevan Matossian (05:40):
What’s more likely to make it from one of these other leagues into the N F L or to make it from division two?
Tyson Bagent (05:46):
Ooh, definitely from one of those leagues.
Sevan Matossian (05:49):
Okay. Okay. Okay. Well that’s better than I thought. Okay. Because going from division two to the NFL is, is it’s probably
Tyson Bagent (05:56):
Like, it’s probably like hitting lottery like three times in your life, <laugh>,
Sevan Matossian (05:59):
Right?
Tyson Bagent (06:00):
That’s what I would compare to.
Sevan Matossian (06:02):
But, but when, but in the other two or three interviews, uh, chances I’ve had to sit down and talk with you, you’ve never wavered for some reason. You think that you, you, you belong there. You’re, I, I’ve never sensed any doubt in your mind like that you’re trying something crazy. You’re always just like, yeah, I’m gonna, I’m going.
Tyson Bagent (06:20):
Yeah. I, I feel, I feel like there is, I feel like I’m a bit of an anomaly just because I was under, I was just under recruited in high school, but I still had the same size and I was able to just grow into my size throughout college with the same like, drive and work ethic I guess. So I was able to continue to rapidly get better in college, while a lot of people tend to maybe have already reached their max potential just because of, you know, when they hit puberty or if they still like it once they get to college. Cuz once you, once you’re on your own and you gotta to go to school and do football and try to separate yourself from everybody else, it can be a little bit overwhelming. So, and people, I mean, once people get a little bit older, they start to like other things.
(07:02):
Uh, you know, luckily for me, I always had the same plan going forward, which was why, and I had the size to do so, um, which was a perfect match. And I was at a perfect school that threw the ball a shit time. I was able to, and I was at a school that needed a quarterback as soon as I got there. So I was able to have a lot of film and tape for a lot of years. So just everything had to play perfectly into place, you know, for me to even be here right now,
Sevan Matossian (07:30):
A a and, and the three things, it’s, it’s funny that you pick all those things. It, it’s pretty humble of you because here’s the three things that I would say about you, um, uh, from talking to you possibly you were a late bloomer mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, your discipline and commitment to the sport is second to none. And you were surrounded by, uh, a group of people who loved you. Yes. Like coaches, family, friends with no hyperbole. It, that’s just the way it was. You, the, the only fortunate things that ha and the fortunate things that happened to you in my mind is that you’re surrounded by, um, incredible family, but the other two and, and, and I guess late bloomers take it or leave it, but then your commitment and discipline, you’ve, you, as long as I’ve known your family, you’ve been unwavering in your pursuit.
Tyson Bagent (08:12):
Yes. I would say that was exactly just being surrounded by the perfect people, um, being in a perfect situation and then being a late bloomer. But even before I had necessarily, did you
Sevan Matossian (08:22):
Hit puberty late? When you say late bloomer, you, like all the other boys had hair under their arms and you were, you were like, what the fuck
Tyson Bagent (08:28):
Everybody had everybody had that before? I did. And I feel like, I mean, I don’t know exactly, I haven’t necessarily looked into it, but I feel like you get like two sets of, you get like two waves of, of puberty. Like, you get that puberty, it turns you into it from like a man to like a teenage strong kid. And then I feel Oh,
Sevan Matossian (08:45):
Okay. You mean like a sorry, from a boy to like a teenage strong kid?
Tyson Bagent (08:48):
Yeah. Like, like you get, like, once you get, when you first get hair under your arms, I wouldn’t necessarily say that you’re a man yet, you still go from that stage to then hitting another wave. And then I feel like that’s where they get the term like grown man strength. Yeah. Like, you just have that. So I feel like I was in that, I was in that secondary level, like from a, from a little child to like a strong teenage boy. But even when I was that and everybody else was like a grown man, I was still fitting in athletically, which is why once the second wave came, I feel like now I just need to exceed, you know, all expectations and it, and it just become a lot easier for me.
Sevan Matossian (09:30):
Okay. So maybe you didn’t have some of the biological, um, uh, advantages that other people had, but even with the, the late being a late bloomer, you were still hanging with these dudes and, and, uh, playing at the top of your Exactly. Better than a lot of them. Okay. Yeah. That’s cool. Yeah. Hey, were you ever awkward? Did you ever look, did you ever go through a phage phase at 13, 14, 15 where you look like a, a giraffe that was like, you know how like when a giraffe picks its head up when it’s drinking or a cow’s just born, it’s like just all goofy. Were you ever like that? Um,
Tyson Bagent (09:55):
I feel like I just, I just had like a, a little bit of a a a chunky stage. I I I, I wasn’t ever necessarily, um, awkwardly built, but I just had, you know, I just still had baby fat, baby fat, um, around, around that age that kind of lingered for maybe one or two years
Sevan Matossian (10:14):
Because six three is like li little guys don’t usually get goofy like that. But you see those kids, that kid who goes from being four feet tall to five foot five when he is 12 years old and all of a sudden he is just goofy. Were you ever rail skinny? Like cuz you’re tall, uh, over six three. Were you ever like one of those kids that just shot up and was like a stick?
Tyson Bagent (10:35):
I was not. I was always pretty proportional. Um, yeah. Throughout,
Sevan Matossian (10:40):
Uh, Steven Flores. Congrats Tyson. I’ve been telling coworkers and friends to be on the lookout for you. Excited to see what God has in store for you, brother. Nice.
(10:48):
Okay. Uh, Tom, don’t get ahead of yourself here. Hold on. Tyson, are you at risk of being let go after training camp or do you have a solid place on the roster? Oh, hold on. Don’t answer that yet. We’re Tom, uh, Tom, slow down buddy. First date, first date. Let’s build this up a little bit. Uh, let’s earn that question. Okay. But thank you Tom. I’ll take your money happily. So, so then you, you, um, you, you finish, uh, you finish college and you know, because of people who are talking to you that the NFL is looking at you, that it’s a possibility, right? That scouts all you told us that scouts from every single team came to Shepherdstown, all 32 teams in the National Football League.
Tyson Bagent (11:28):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (11:30):
And letters come and people call you and Dan Marino eats dinner at your house.
Tyson Bagent (11:34):
<laugh>. Yes.
Sevan Matossian (11:35):
Yeah, that’s awesome. And, and agents aren’t gonna waste their time with you either because they have to make, they only make money if they sign people and agents are interested in you.
Tyson Bagent (11:43):
Yes, exact. So, yeah. So the, the fact that I was being pursued by agents, um, well based on just what I had done on the field, the feedback my, my head coach was getting. And then on top of that being pursued by so many agents before my senior season, um, was a, was a telltale sign that this was pretty, uh, a pretty realistic thing because agents aren’t gonna go, they’re not gonna, uh, pursue somebody who they don’t think can make them any money.
Sevan Matossian (12:13):
There. There’s this, um, I’m, I’m gonna jump ahead here a second. There’s this constant, um, cliche line that everyone keeps using about you that’s been probably used on every, every division two player ever. And it’s kind of pathetic that no one’s come up with something new, but it’s basically like, Hey, he’s amazing. He might be the best guy ever to, to do it in division two. But the speed, they always talk about the speed thing and the N F L is different, and that’s going to be his test. How are you, um, going to, you’re so supremely confident in yourself, and yet you seem humble at the same time. How, how do those two exist? And do you have to use that humility to grow? Like, on one hand you believe in yourself that you’re totally capable and you’re already there, but on the other hand, you have to be like aware, like, okay, if what they’re saying is true, what am I gonna do to fix it?
Tyson Bagent (13:02):
Exactly. I, I feel like I think about that quite, quite often. Um, because I do, I, I I, there’s like a lot of peace in the preparation I feel like. So when I’m not prepared, I’m not at peace at all. I can’t, I can barely function in anything if I’m not, you know, prepared in some sense with, with what I, with what’s at, with what’s at at hand. Um, so I know that I, I get a lot of confidence and peace through my preparation. But also I understand also that the N F L is, is a cutthroat business that the average lifespan in the N F L is is two years. Like the average career is only two years long. Um, so I know that there’s also a lot of luck involved. And when you’re all, when you’re at the top, everything’s going well. It’s, it’s obviously a lot to do with your preparation, but also just realizing that, um, you know, you’re at the top right now, but the, the switch could flip, you know, in a day, in a, in an hour and a minute.
(14:03):
So being able to just understand that, appreciate the moment, but also understand that this, this could take a turn at any moment as well as when you’re down bad, when you’re down bad and it’s not going well. Understanding to not be super upset and, you know, get down on yourself just because, you know, the switch could flip an instant, you know, things could start flowing again. The luck could go in your favor and all those things. So just trying to keep the same personality and the same kind of emotions through and through, I think has been, has been huge for me. But also understanding that I am prepared. So I am, you know, very confident in, in my abilities when I’m out there.
Sevan Matossian (14:43):
Uh, it, that’s a crazy line. If I’m not prepared, I’m not at peace. I’d never heard that before.
Tyson Bagent (14:49):
Yeah, there’s a lot of prep, a lot of peace in in preparation.
Sevan Matossian (14:53):
Yeah. It’s, it, it, um, that’s what it’s like. Um, uh, at night before I go to bed, if I’m gonna have a guest on, if I’m not prepared, I’m not at peace. I have to, I have to be
Tyson Bagent (15:02):
Prepared. It’s almost like if I have to get up at a ridiculously early, um, hour, and I don’t lay out like a, like an outfit. Uhhuh
Sevan Matossian (15:09):
<affirmative>,
Tyson Bagent (15:10):
And like if I have to get up and go immediately in the morning, I don’t have my outfit laid out, that would, um, that would just cause a lot of stress when I wake up. I feel like. So little things like that. And then I feel like you can, you can kind of put that with anything in life.
Sevan Matossian (15:25):
Yeah. Crazy. That’s a cool line. Uh, so then, so now you’re, you’re done with, you’re done with college. You have an amazing college career. You have agents Beck, uh, at your call. You have football teams at your call and this, this thing happens. That’s the, uh, senior bowl. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which is sort of the last chance for all the teams to look at you. And you go there with, uh, I think I, from what I read, 106 other, um, guys show up who are like the best football players, um, in the country, more or less minus maybe a handful of guys. Uh, how was that?
Tyson Bagent (15:59):
It was, it was very crazy. It was obviously a huge opportunity and looking back on it, very glad that I did it just because of the mindset it gave me, kind of going forward and what to expect. It was very, like, it was very hands on, got to meet a lot of people. Gotta see Dan Marino, like you said. Got to meet with a lot of N F L teams. And then also with all those questions about the speed, just from where I’m coming from, I was able to play with the best of the best. So it was a huge opportunity for people to get eyes on me playing with that speed that they had been talking about all these years.
Sevan Matossian (16:33):
And what did you notice? Did you notice anything weird? Like, did it go from, did you notice anything different? No,
Tyson Bagent (16:38):
I didn’t notice anything different with the speed. The only difference was the fact that the, the big, the big boys, the offense and defensive linemen were just a little bit bigger and by a little bit, I mean a lot, they were a lot bigger
Sevan Matossian (16:51):
<laugh>, right? Mi so that’s actually, that’s another thing. I don’t know if your dad or someone explained that to me or when you were on the show, but yeah. So that basically looking over the guys was different when you threw down field. Yeah.
Tyson Bagent (17:04):
It wasn’t even necessarily that. It’s just the fact that like, I had no problem seeing everything and doing, you know, kind of what I’ve, what I’ve been doing throughout my college career. But it was just cool. It was just a little bit cooler to look at these dudes.
Sevan Matossian (17:17):
Right. Okay. Okay. Yeah, just a little, like a, like giant, like, like the difference between a giant sunflower and just a medium one. Like, you drive by the, you know, when you’re a little kid and you plant a sunflower and it’s 10 feet tall in the head, like,
Tyson Bagent (17:25):
Yes. It’s like looking, it’s like looking at a look, looking at a regular tree in like ch rivertown and then looking at like one of those like redwood oak trees.
Sevan Matossian (17:33):
Yeah. A and um, and do those guys move just as good as the smaller guys? Oh,
Tyson Bagent (17:38):
They, I mean, yeah. Yeah. I would say they’re, they’re equal to better, which is why they have the intangibles and they’re able to move the way they do. Uh, you kind of have to be like an alien in that sense, be able to make it to the senior boy at one of those positions.
Sevan Matossian (17:52):
And, and it’s kinda,
Tyson Bagent (17:53):
It’s kinda like a, it’s kinda like an NBA player, like an NBA player doesn’t look like a, you kind of look at them like they’re not human because you’re like, wow, this dude is like seven foot tall. That you kind of feel sorry for ’em in that sense of like, they’re like, the things you can do day to day is limited with the way that you’re built. Like, that’s crazy to look at
Sevan Matossian (18:11):
A a and, but instead of, instead of it hindering you, you admired it. You were happy to be out. It sounds like you’re happy to be out there with those giant guys. You enjoy it, you admired it, you had fun with it. You, you respected it.
Tyson Bagent (18:21):
Yes, 100%.
Sevan Matossian (18:23):
And, um, you had also talked about wanting, you felt like you could play even better with better people around you. Have you sensed some of that coming out of you already?
Tyson Bagent (18:33):
Yes, I’ve noticed that. Um, I’ve noticed that I have to spend less time worrying about if other people are prepared and good enough as I did at Shepherd. Just not because people were, were terrible or anything, but just because lack of resources, you can’t necessarily, um, and, and the, uh, just the limited amount of money that you give to each individual, individual player. Sometimes you question like, if this dude’s getting $500 a semester that’s barely being able to pay his books, how much does he really care about this whole football thing? But you don’t have to worry about that, you know, at the senior bowl and at rookie mini camp and things like that, just because you know that these guys have made it to the same level that you are so you don’t have to question or waiver, um, their preparation or ability. So I’ve been able to just solely focus on what my job is and making, making the best out of every opportunity that I get, uh, that I have been able to, it’s been able to compliment my game, having dudes that are just as capable all around me.
Sevan Matossian (19:31):
Hey, for, for someone like me who doesn’t, uh, understand the game, when they say move faster timing stuff, do they mean like maybe you’re, you would have to change a li uh, sort of your perception on passing because a guy might be a little bit faster or you might have to, um, throw different, uh, arches in the ball because dudes might be able to jump up quicker and swat your stuff down. Is there anything like, you could explain to a l the layman?
Tyson Bagent (19:55):
It’s a little bit, it’s a little bit of that, but I think more so than anything, it’s, it’s a job now. So people, instead of you going to class and studying and then going to play football, you’re studying football and then going to practice mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So the timing has to be so on point just because it’s not that, the fact that everybody is necessarily faster. Um, cuz you know, human beings tend to get slower as they get older, but it’s the simple fact that everybody knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and knows exactly what their job is. So it makes it a little bit harder than when you’re playing a, a division two guy or even a d one guy that, you know, had had to go to class all week and then it’s just playing football because he loves it. You got a guy that now he doesn’t, this dude doesn’t even love football anymore. It’s just his job. So he knows exactly where he needs to be because he’s trying to make, provide a living for his family, so to speak. And if he can just know where to be at all times and do his job, his family will always have food on the plate. So like, in that sense, just the timing has to be just impeccable more so than it needed to be at the college level.
Sevan Matossian (21:00):
So there’s a precision, it’s all been, it, it’s, there’s a precision to it. You’re, you’re not playing the, uh, you’re the piano for your family and it could, a couple keys could be outta tune. Everything’s perfect. Yes. If you bump a key, the whole stadium’s gonna know you played the wrong note.
Tyson Bagent (21:14):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (21:15):
Yeah. Crazy. Okay. And then, so, so you, so your senior bowl goes good.
Tyson Bagent (21:20):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (21:21):
And you’re happy with that mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, and you have, you have the most, uh, completions of all the quarterbacks on, on your, on your team or, or, or both teams? I
Tyson Bagent (21:30):
Think it was like the most completions ever in the game.
Sevan Matossian (21:33):
Awesome. Okay. And, and, and, and, and, uh, and you threw an interception there. Is that, was that a, is that a bad thing? Yeah,
Tyson Bagent (21:40):
Yeah. At the end of the game I made a nice play and then soon as I went to, I don’t know, it was just a weird, I made a, I made a weird, a weird throw, just a, it was just awful a little bit. And like I said before, these views are a lot faster and smarter. So, um, they’ll highlight any mistake that you make. Um, but it was very close to being the play of the game. Very, very, very close to being the play of the game, but just under, through it a little bit.
Sevan Matossian (22:08):
Wow. And, and, and how do you recoup from that? Uh, do you just start tripping immediately and start reeling?
Tyson Bagent (22:14):
Uh, I actually, um, it was at the end of the game we were down and I had done so well up until that point. Um, and I was about to, I hadn’t seen my family in like a month and a half, and I was gonna be able to see them after the game, and that was like one of the last plays of the game. So I really, I wasn’t, I wasn’t stressing about it at all. I really didn’t even necessarily care. Um, obviously it would’ve been nice to have ended it on a high note, but it didn’t, it wasn’t like a low note for me by any means.
Sevan Matossian (22:44):
And when you say it was go, it was close to being the play of the game, meaning if you would’ve thrown it a little differently? Yeah,
Tyson Bagent (22:49):
Meaning like, that play, I, I, I caught the, I caught the snap, the defense was rushing me. I made a couple good moves, uh, ran out of the pocket and it was kind of like, you remember that video, uh, that you showed when we were at Shepherd Stadium when I was rolling out to the right and I threw it, it was like a shorter version of that, but I under threw it just a tiny bit and, um, ended up being interception set up a touchdown. What,
Sevan Matossian (23:12):
What? Oh, okay. So it was in the end zone. It
Tyson Bagent (23:14):
Was close to the end zone. It was right before then. Zone.
Sevan Matossian (23:17):
Gotcha. And, and what, and do the guys say anything to you on your
Tyson Bagent (23:22):
Team? No. No, everybody, it would, I mean, especially with like, like if it would’ve been a real regular season game for a real team that I was a part of, you know, that conversation definitely, you know, would happen. I’d probably beat myself up about it a little bit more, but because it was just an all-star game, the senior bowl week is like, hell week, basically because you’re learning an NFL offense for the first time, you know, you’re juggling all these things. And then on top of that, you know, you’ve gotta go to parades for the city, you’ve gotta meet with NFL teams for four hours at the end of every day, and you’re getting five hours of sleep. So I think more than anything, I was just, I was happy that it was over with excited that I had done well and just relieved that I could just enjoy it now and be able to see my family.
Sevan Matossian (24:06):
Um, did are you enjoying the process?
Tyson Bagent (24:11):
Yeah, well, I, I definitely, I think it was, looking back on it, a lot of newness and anxieties because of that newness. But I think that everything that’s happened has been nothing short of amazing. And I am still having those same feeling feelings of just nervousness and excitement for, you know, what’s to come.
Sevan Matossian (24:34):
And then after the Senior Bowl, uh, uh, comes the, um, national Football League combine, which is sort of like a place where all everyone comes and, and they basically poke you and prod you and test you. But before I, I you answered that, uh, we talk about that. I wanna, um, read a comment here. Uh, Judy Reid, how is Tyson be able to maintain his values with his walk with the Lord in college? Uh, whatever he answers, I’m going to clip it and save it and show it to my son. W are you, you and she, maybe she knows something, I don’t know. But you are, you are a religious guy. Uh, uh, um, you’re man of faith. You, you’re a, a Christian Tyson.
Tyson Bagent (25:09):
I am, yeah. I am. My, I was, um, I grew, my family used to go to a church, uh, in Shepherdstown, Episcopalian, uh, church. I grew up in the church, and then me and my mom, uh, started going to like a newer style church where the, the pastor was saying things that, that we, that we could understand and that were, that, that correlated with our everyday life. So I, we, we started going there, I think in 2016. And it was actually, it was in Shepherdstown at the time. They moved to a bigger building in Martinsburg because they were, they were having to do so many, uh, services because of the amount of people. But, um, it was actually a two minute drive. So just because it was something I feel like me and my mom connected, connected with as well as, um, just, I mean, really something that that makes me feel, um, that makes me feel, you know, really good about what, what I’m doing and, and who I am.
(26:07):
Um, it was easy to kind of, to, to stick with it. And I don’t know, it was just something that I could do on my own that, that I, I could make my own and I could have my own relationship and then I could also connect with my mom while doing so just because college, oh, you get a little bit busier and, and all that stuff. So it was pretty easy for me. But I was also in a super lucky situation with a, with a, with a newer style pastor that was saying things in a way that I, that I could, that I could understand that I felt comfortable enough to, to ask questions and to, to text with and, and call when I, when need be. So I, I was lucky, but I think it definitely helped, um, it definitely helped me mentally along the way.
Sevan Matossian (26:51):
So, so I, I so kind of like, um, connect with your, your mom, which I’ll say is like one of the most earthly, um, and I don’t, but I say this with positivity, no negativity for us humans who have good relationships with our parents. Being connected with your mom is one of the greatest things ever having a good relationship with your mom. So you maintain that using the church as, as a, as the tool, and then also connect to a higher power, which you, which you believe in, you have faith in.
Tyson Bagent (27:16):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (27:17):
And, and then, um, and then there, from there, you had a pastor. Do, do you know what any of your values are? I’m 51 and I, it seems like only like in the last couple years, it maybe last year that I’ve started being like, wow, values are important because no one can take them from me. Yes. I, uh, yeah,
Tyson Bagent (27:33):
I, I haven’t, I have, I don’t have like a list, but all, I mean something. When I think about like my values, um, I think about the things that I care about that will make me a better person. Uh, health and wellness, I have a big, like, I value my health and wellness. I value my, my relationships, um, in, in, in watering those relationships and being present in those relationships. Um, I value, um, not lying, cheating, stealing, um, telling the truth, which is, I feel like these are all things that are ne, that are, that are hard, that are hard to, to stay consistent with 24 7, 365 days a year. It’s hard to tell the truth all the time, especially when you’re around a lot of people nowadays that will tell, you know, little lies, you know, almost every day. And you, it’s easy to get caught up into, you know, just hopping on board with, with that. And it, honestly, it makes life pretty easier in the, in the moment when you can just tell a lie and then move on to the next, you know, daily activity or your day. But being able to stand, stand up and tell the truth, and then whatever happens, so be it. As long as you’re telling the truth, um, I feel like it makes for a much simpler life. But sometimes people can’t stand a, a simpler life. They, they want to, uh, spice it up and lie <laugh>
(28:58):
Do all do all the things.
Sevan Matossian (29:00):
Uh, the other day, uh, so I, I bought, uh, a magic coin for my son, Avi. Yeah. It’s, it’s a coin that you bite off and then the tops missing and then you’ll, and then it becomes a whole coin again. Okay. And my other son was Joseph was like, Hey, I want one of those. I was like, okay, cool. And it’s only seven bucks. I’m like, I’ll order ’em another one. And, and part of me kinda, I didn’t wanna order it to him cause I wanted it to be my oldest son’s like, own thing. Yeah. But anyway, so then he said, Hey, did you order it for me? I’m like, Uhhuh <affirmative>. And I hadn’t ordered it, so I lied to him. Yeah. <laugh>. Yeah. And, and it just started eating away at me. Yeah. Because just to eat. And I thought, and my, I justified it as like, Hey, I’m gonna tell him I didn’t order it for him. I’m gonna tell him I order it for him. He’ll forget about it for by tomorrow, and then we’re good to go. And then so the next day he’s like, Hey, did it come? And I said, oh no, it, it’s coming the next day. And then finally I just stopped. I said, Hey dude, because what? I’m like, I didn’t order, I, I was like, fuck this. Why am I lying to him? You know what I mean? That’s what it is. It’s like, it’s all those little white lies. Yeah.
Tyson Bagent (29:55):
It’s cuz it ma, it’s it’s comfort in the moment, but it’s just a, it’s a road to disaster. It.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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