A Conversation With Marcellus Wiley
4/24/2020 7:48:00 AM | Football
Fox Sports Commentator, co-Host of the show Speak for Yourself, 10-year NFL veteran, and former Columbia Lion football player Marcellus Wiley ‘97CC sat down with Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Peter Pilling for a ZOOM conversation in Columbia’s first-ever virtual alumni engagement event.
Former Columbia football player and 1997 Columbia graduate, 10-year NFL veteran with the Buffalo Bills (1997-2000), San Diego Chargers (2001-03), Dallas Cowboys (2004), and Jacksonville Jaguars (2005-06), and current co-host of the Fox Sports TV show "Speak for Yourself," Marcellus Wiley sat down with Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education Peter Pilling and Director of Development Erich Ely for a Tuesday evening Question & Answer ZOOM call with Columbia alumni members. Columbia alumni members submitted questions for Wiley.
Here are Wiley's answers to various questions:
On his experience with graduating from Columbia, then moving onto the NFL:
Wiley: "My experience was unique coming from Columbia. It was amazing to see scouts, general managers, and others come to campus. In celebration of us defeating Brown in our last game, I was ready to start my preparation for the combine. With holiday break I had six weeks to prepare. I went on a six-week course on how to manipulate the combine, how to jump, how to run the 40-yard dash. It wasn't about taking off and running, it was about 17 steps. I was in Boston with a lot of top two round athletes. When you run a 40-yard dash and you compare yourself to the other players, you start to realize that you can make it on the next level, because I'm bringing my individual talents instead of where you come from. I got a lot of confidence out of that. I actually underperformed at combine. I went from being labeled as "undrafted" before the season started, and at the end of the season, I was a sixth rounder. After the East-West All-Star Game and combine, I became a second-rounder."
On how he selected his agent:
Wiley: "Agents were coming on campus, meeting with me and talking. Every day there were voicemails for me. The recruiting process was exciting. I wanted to be with someone who understood the Ivy League experience but also helping me to get drafted as high as I could from my situation."
On the mental preparation aspect of entering the NFL:
Wiley; "The latitude of experience was very wide-ranging. They were just throwing adversity at you in verbiage just to see how you responded. They wanted to see how you mentally processed how you would respond in adversity. For me, it was wild. Columbia was helping me in tests. You just had to make sure you kept your composure because some of the things they asked you were from left field. The Wonderlich Test was interesting in terms of structure; it had a reading and math section. If you're smart, you realize you should do the math first. It took me about 10 questions for that light bulb to go off, I got a 35 out of 50. That might have been the third best score out of all the draftees."
On if the Wonderlich Test had any application to on-field success:
Wiley: "On the field, you have to able to extract what's most important. What are you focusing on? I'm looking at the tackle. It went back to the Wunderlich. There were some ah-ha moments where the Wunderlich translated to the field."
On his experience at the NFL combine:
Wiley: "Day one was medical, they poke and prod you, with physicals. They tax your legs first. After that, it's interviews. The next day, physical reps. For me, I was in the defensive lineman group with Jason Taylor, who was from a small school, Akron, Hall of Famer. When he first arrived there, he was going in the first round. Good for you. I watched him perform in the combine and he was insane. He was 6-feet-6, 230-240 pounds, he is going first round. But he suffered because he was a tweener. They didn't know if he was a defensive lineman or a linebacker. I was the last of the 'old guard", a big guard who could stop the run. Jason ends up going in the third round and I ended up in the second round. Going through the testing, you just lock-in. Guys from the big schools, it was amazing to see how many of those guys weren't that special in terms of talent and strength. As much as we were intense because our livelihood was on the line, we were still loose and having fun."
On his experience with NFL Draft night:
Wiley: "Back then, they had multiple rounds. The New York Times wrote an article saying that I should be the No. 17 pick overall. That changed everything in terms of where I should go, in terms of should I be there? I ended up staying at home in Los Angeles in my apartment, which was the size of a campus room. That was my entire apartment, crammed in there, friends, family, camera crews. The Draft started at 8 a.m. with the First Round. Around pick No. 17, I was thinking I might hear my name. Every time a new pick would come up I would get stressed and everytime the phone rang, I'd get anxious. But finally, my name was called in the 2nd round, 52nd overall by the Buffalo Bills. It took eight hours to get there. It might have been 3 or 4 p.m. by the time I got called. You're just trying to pass time until that name is called. I ended up dozing off, there are pictures of me sleeping."
On if he had an inkling of which team was interested the most and might draft him:
Wiley: "The Cincinnati Bengals, I really thought they would. They were interested in my combine workout, then had a private workout at Columbia. Cincinnati really showed their interest in me. I left thinking that Cincinnati was showing the strongest interest. At the time there were 30 teams in the league and 28 teams were at our pro day, including the Buffalo Bills. I never talked to them at the combine, no John Levy, never talked to any execs from Buffalo. No idea that they were that interested, especially since they had Bruce Smith. And that's where I end up!"
On what happens once you're drafted:
Wiley: "The phone rings…after eight hours. I'm like 'hello,' and the voice on the other end says 'are you ready to be a Buffalo Bill?' then he puts on with a familiar voice in Marv Levy, and he says 'we are excited to have you here. We think you can come in and have an immediate impact.' It was a five-minute phone call and your life just changes. All of sudden you're getting itineraries, everything became VIP. You walk into the locker room and start seeing those nameplates on the lockers: Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith….and yours is in tape! Our mandatory minicamp was in late April, early May for two days. After that, it was see you in August. That was the norm. Every single offseason, they would add a few more days, then OTAs and voluntary camp. Before you know it, there was barely any offseason. I was fortunate to go out there for the marketing tour. It was weird being a second rounder. I got all of same things without the pressure of high expectations. The media pressure was totally different than the first round draft pick."
On if had a moment where he finally realized that he had arrived in the NFL:
Wiley: "There was a good one and a bad one. Bad one first. Second or third training camp practice, I was playing against Ruben Brown, a guard. When you size him up, he didn't necessarily look the part. You come out of college and think the moves you made against Harvard were going to work. So I line up and throw my best move at Ruben, who was sitting there waiting, and when he hit me it was boom and he hit me and drove me into the fence. Guys were all laughing and saying 'Ruben's throwing him out' and 'he's just a rook.' Now I'm saying, 'If my go-to moves don't work, it's going to be a long year.' My jersey was stuck into the fence. Meanwhile, all of the fans are looking and laughing, teammates are like 'you're so sorry.' What a way to start off your career. Good moment was the first game on the road vs. Denver. John Elway, Eric Dickerson were always idols of mine. I run out the locker room all hyped up. I'm wondering about the altitude because I can barely breath. So we are going through team drills at the 50-yard line and I'm watching our guys warming up, something told me to just turn around and look at the Broncos. I'm watching as I turn, three yards from me was John Elway, the No. 7, the real one, the real dude. That was my moment where I finally realize that I'm in the NFL, it's for real, and all those legends are not just on TV, and that I'm here with them!"
On what it was like in the NFL as a rookie coming from the Ivy League:
Wiley: "Being an Ivy League guy, I immediately was voted as a player rep for the Buffalo Bills and was physically forced to do it! I'm a rookie, I'm not thinking about being the rep for the Bills. But my teammates all said, 'Wiley, he went to Columbia he's smart' and voted me a player rep right away."
On what advice to give NFL draftees:
Wiley: "Don't let the introduction or ceremony into the NFL alter the fact that you just made your dream a reality. Everyone gets caught on where you were drafted. You're in the NFL, none of that matters. It's a test of skill, but also a test of your will. Tangibles and intangibles are important. Realize that your life has changed. You become not only head of household, but the head of family. You just became the richest member of your family; all things start and stop with you, and that's a lot to put on a 22, 23-year old kid. How much do you give of yourself and how much do you stay selfish? It's a process full of growing pains, but don't lose the joy for any of it."
On financial advice for incoming NFL players:
Wiley: "It's a tremendous burden and a tremendous blessing all at the same time. You have to walk in and not know the full value of money and the power of the dollar. You don't even receive a full dollar, you get about 50 cents on the dollar. That already puts the wet blanket on expectations. Everyone wants a piece and they're going to get a piece. You have to learn not to just say no, but to say no without guilt and you can't say no to mom, dad, sister. You get a check and that check is for $2.8 million. Your sister will call and will say she needs $5000. You have to work a plan and have a plan before you even get into those situations. You have to develop a plan. A lot of players need to understand, just say no but say it without guilt. You can't cave in on some things that are not part of your plan."
On how he became involved in his current television career:
Wiley: "It all started with my parents, they gave me the gift of gab. I like to talk, always been a talker. Going to Columbia gives you tremendous confidence. It was a blessing coming from Columbia because I wasn't tired of big business football. I met so many rookies that were so disgusted with the media and with the interview process. They were tired of the people who always want something. But with me, it was 'You want something, I'll help you out.' I established tremendous relationships with media members. I didn't just give PC answers, I really answered the questions. It was just the way I felt and the way I was groomed. When my football career was over, ESPN called and asked me to do a retired player interview. I went and I didn't know it was actually a job interview. I did a few shows, then you blink I'm hosting Mike & Mike. It kind of snowballed for me in 2007 and I've been talking ever since."
Here are Wiley's answers to various questions:
On his experience with graduating from Columbia, then moving onto the NFL:
Wiley: "My experience was unique coming from Columbia. It was amazing to see scouts, general managers, and others come to campus. In celebration of us defeating Brown in our last game, I was ready to start my preparation for the combine. With holiday break I had six weeks to prepare. I went on a six-week course on how to manipulate the combine, how to jump, how to run the 40-yard dash. It wasn't about taking off and running, it was about 17 steps. I was in Boston with a lot of top two round athletes. When you run a 40-yard dash and you compare yourself to the other players, you start to realize that you can make it on the next level, because I'm bringing my individual talents instead of where you come from. I got a lot of confidence out of that. I actually underperformed at combine. I went from being labeled as "undrafted" before the season started, and at the end of the season, I was a sixth rounder. After the East-West All-Star Game and combine, I became a second-rounder."
On how he selected his agent:
Wiley: "Agents were coming on campus, meeting with me and talking. Every day there were voicemails for me. The recruiting process was exciting. I wanted to be with someone who understood the Ivy League experience but also helping me to get drafted as high as I could from my situation."
On the mental preparation aspect of entering the NFL:
Wiley; "The latitude of experience was very wide-ranging. They were just throwing adversity at you in verbiage just to see how you responded. They wanted to see how you mentally processed how you would respond in adversity. For me, it was wild. Columbia was helping me in tests. You just had to make sure you kept your composure because some of the things they asked you were from left field. The Wonderlich Test was interesting in terms of structure; it had a reading and math section. If you're smart, you realize you should do the math first. It took me about 10 questions for that light bulb to go off, I got a 35 out of 50. That might have been the third best score out of all the draftees."
On if the Wonderlich Test had any application to on-field success:
Wiley: "On the field, you have to able to extract what's most important. What are you focusing on? I'm looking at the tackle. It went back to the Wunderlich. There were some ah-ha moments where the Wunderlich translated to the field."
On his experience at the NFL combine:
Wiley: "Day one was medical, they poke and prod you, with physicals. They tax your legs first. After that, it's interviews. The next day, physical reps. For me, I was in the defensive lineman group with Jason Taylor, who was from a small school, Akron, Hall of Famer. When he first arrived there, he was going in the first round. Good for you. I watched him perform in the combine and he was insane. He was 6-feet-6, 230-240 pounds, he is going first round. But he suffered because he was a tweener. They didn't know if he was a defensive lineman or a linebacker. I was the last of the 'old guard", a big guard who could stop the run. Jason ends up going in the third round and I ended up in the second round. Going through the testing, you just lock-in. Guys from the big schools, it was amazing to see how many of those guys weren't that special in terms of talent and strength. As much as we were intense because our livelihood was on the line, we were still loose and having fun."
On his experience with NFL Draft night:
Wiley: "Back then, they had multiple rounds. The New York Times wrote an article saying that I should be the No. 17 pick overall. That changed everything in terms of where I should go, in terms of should I be there? I ended up staying at home in Los Angeles in my apartment, which was the size of a campus room. That was my entire apartment, crammed in there, friends, family, camera crews. The Draft started at 8 a.m. with the First Round. Around pick No. 17, I was thinking I might hear my name. Every time a new pick would come up I would get stressed and everytime the phone rang, I'd get anxious. But finally, my name was called in the 2nd round, 52nd overall by the Buffalo Bills. It took eight hours to get there. It might have been 3 or 4 p.m. by the time I got called. You're just trying to pass time until that name is called. I ended up dozing off, there are pictures of me sleeping."
On if he had an inkling of which team was interested the most and might draft him:
Wiley: "The Cincinnati Bengals, I really thought they would. They were interested in my combine workout, then had a private workout at Columbia. Cincinnati really showed their interest in me. I left thinking that Cincinnati was showing the strongest interest. At the time there were 30 teams in the league and 28 teams were at our pro day, including the Buffalo Bills. I never talked to them at the combine, no John Levy, never talked to any execs from Buffalo. No idea that they were that interested, especially since they had Bruce Smith. And that's where I end up!"
On what happens once you're drafted:
Wiley: "The phone rings…after eight hours. I'm like 'hello,' and the voice on the other end says 'are you ready to be a Buffalo Bill?' then he puts on with a familiar voice in Marv Levy, and he says 'we are excited to have you here. We think you can come in and have an immediate impact.' It was a five-minute phone call and your life just changes. All of sudden you're getting itineraries, everything became VIP. You walk into the locker room and start seeing those nameplates on the lockers: Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith….and yours is in tape! Our mandatory minicamp was in late April, early May for two days. After that, it was see you in August. That was the norm. Every single offseason, they would add a few more days, then OTAs and voluntary camp. Before you know it, there was barely any offseason. I was fortunate to go out there for the marketing tour. It was weird being a second rounder. I got all of same things without the pressure of high expectations. The media pressure was totally different than the first round draft pick."
On if had a moment where he finally realized that he had arrived in the NFL:
Wiley: "There was a good one and a bad one. Bad one first. Second or third training camp practice, I was playing against Ruben Brown, a guard. When you size him up, he didn't necessarily look the part. You come out of college and think the moves you made against Harvard were going to work. So I line up and throw my best move at Ruben, who was sitting there waiting, and when he hit me it was boom and he hit me and drove me into the fence. Guys were all laughing and saying 'Ruben's throwing him out' and 'he's just a rook.' Now I'm saying, 'If my go-to moves don't work, it's going to be a long year.' My jersey was stuck into the fence. Meanwhile, all of the fans are looking and laughing, teammates are like 'you're so sorry.' What a way to start off your career. Good moment was the first game on the road vs. Denver. John Elway, Eric Dickerson were always idols of mine. I run out the locker room all hyped up. I'm wondering about the altitude because I can barely breath. So we are going through team drills at the 50-yard line and I'm watching our guys warming up, something told me to just turn around and look at the Broncos. I'm watching as I turn, three yards from me was John Elway, the No. 7, the real one, the real dude. That was my moment where I finally realize that I'm in the NFL, it's for real, and all those legends are not just on TV, and that I'm here with them!"
On what it was like in the NFL as a rookie coming from the Ivy League:
Wiley: "Being an Ivy League guy, I immediately was voted as a player rep for the Buffalo Bills and was physically forced to do it! I'm a rookie, I'm not thinking about being the rep for the Bills. But my teammates all said, 'Wiley, he went to Columbia he's smart' and voted me a player rep right away."
On what advice to give NFL draftees:
Wiley: "Don't let the introduction or ceremony into the NFL alter the fact that you just made your dream a reality. Everyone gets caught on where you were drafted. You're in the NFL, none of that matters. It's a test of skill, but also a test of your will. Tangibles and intangibles are important. Realize that your life has changed. You become not only head of household, but the head of family. You just became the richest member of your family; all things start and stop with you, and that's a lot to put on a 22, 23-year old kid. How much do you give of yourself and how much do you stay selfish? It's a process full of growing pains, but don't lose the joy for any of it."
On financial advice for incoming NFL players:
Wiley: "It's a tremendous burden and a tremendous blessing all at the same time. You have to walk in and not know the full value of money and the power of the dollar. You don't even receive a full dollar, you get about 50 cents on the dollar. That already puts the wet blanket on expectations. Everyone wants a piece and they're going to get a piece. You have to learn not to just say no, but to say no without guilt and you can't say no to mom, dad, sister. You get a check and that check is for $2.8 million. Your sister will call and will say she needs $5000. You have to work a plan and have a plan before you even get into those situations. You have to develop a plan. A lot of players need to understand, just say no but say it without guilt. You can't cave in on some things that are not part of your plan."
On how he became involved in his current television career:
Wiley: "It all started with my parents, they gave me the gift of gab. I like to talk, always been a talker. Going to Columbia gives you tremendous confidence. It was a blessing coming from Columbia because I wasn't tired of big business football. I met so many rookies that were so disgusted with the media and with the interview process. They were tired of the people who always want something. But with me, it was 'You want something, I'll help you out.' I established tremendous relationships with media members. I didn't just give PC answers, I really answered the questions. It was just the way I felt and the way I was groomed. When my football career was over, ESPN called and asked me to do a retired player interview. I went and I didn't know it was actually a job interview. I did a few shows, then you blink I'm hosting Mike & Mike. It kind of snowballed for me in 2007 and I've been talking ever since."
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