Kool Ken: Peace, peace, my friends. How y'all feel out there? It's your host, Cool Kenneth Get Your Mind Right podcast. And I got an extremely special guest with me this evening. we grew up together, Lincoln Heights. Y'all always hear me talk about it zone 15, exit 13. We play sports together, football, baseball, basketball. Let's give it up for Mr. Ron Carpenter, Super Bowl champion. Let's go. How you doing tonight, sir?
Ron Carpenter: Good, my brother. Pleasure being out here with you, man. Miss seeing you. I love being here.
Kool Ken: Yeah, man. Hey, this is beautiful. Technology is wonderful. I I remember some years ago, you you were selling something similar to this. You remember those little the the TV phone things? Hey
Ron Carpenter: Yes, sir.
Kool Ken: man, that that was what 20-something years ago now? How long ago was that?
Ron Carpenter: It was a big old clunky phone that had a video
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: screen on it. Now we got it in the palm of our hands with this little cell phone. So
Kool Ken: Facts. You know what I'm saying? where where you living at now?
Ron Carpenter: I'm in Indianapolis, Indiana. Actually more specifically
Kool Ken: Cool, cool, cool. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: more specifically, Carmel, Indiana is the surgeon. Yes. Yes,
Kool Ken: Carmeland, yeah. That's a football town, ain't it? It's a little football down there, right?
Ron Carpenter: sir, Carmel Greyhounds, check us out.
Kool Ken: Let's go. Let's go. Speaking of football, man. I I mentioned hit on a little bit, Super Bowl champion. Let's talk about a little bit football. Give give give some of your stats, brother. Get let let them know who you are.
Ron Carpenter: So I was a walk on at Miami of Ohio. We'll we'll we'll go straight to that part and maybe come back to the high school stuff a little bit later. But
Kool Ken: Okay, okay.
Ron Carpenter: my successful stuff, I was a walk on at Miami of Ohio, red shirted in the spring of that freshman year. Terry Hepner was a DB coach. He said, Hey, they're not gonna use your receiver receiver, but I think you're a great athlete. Come over here. If you're getting it too deep by the end of spring ball, you can earn a scholarship. Did that, walked on, became the starter. turned became the all time leading past interceptor with sixteen interceptions in Miami history. had a couple other records too and then was actually undrafted. So it was like being a walk on again, undrafted to the NFL, made the Vikings. from there, moved around to a couple teams but won a Super Bowl with the the ninety nine Rams, greatest show on turf, Super Bowl thirty four. And then again from there, you know, by the time I hit thirty the Super Bowl year, I was thirty. So they kinda weed you out of the NFL. if you're not a dominant starter or something like that. So played arena ball in the arena league. We went to the championship two years in a row, didn't win it, but got close, played in the XFL, won the Super Bowl with the LA extreme, led the league in interceptions in in one of those years. and then also I I finished up With what I didn't finish up with, but I played in NFL Europe in between one of my stints in the NFL when we went to the championship game. Again, I led the NFL Europe in interceptions that season. I was over there. So had a lot of success. continued to play, even though I couldn't stand the NFL, still wanted to play, still had some things to prove. So I ended up playing 13 years total. but six, six in the NFL and the rest in NFL Europe, XFL in the arena league.
Kool Ken: Man, we're gonna give it up to you on that for real. Those accolades that you just rattled off, phenomenal.
Ron Carpenter: Logic.
Kool Ken: I I I I'm I'm fortunate, right? I'm fortunate to know you personally, fortunate enough to see you grow. You know what I mean? I I I've seen you play from little league to high school to college. To seeing you, man, overseas playing, man, NFL, arena football, you know what I mean? I I've supported you along the way. and
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: I say this wholeheartedly. I'm I'm extremely proud of you, man.
Ron Carpenter: Thank you, Brent.
Kool Ken: not not just because of the accomplishments. I'm proud because I was able to witness you overcome adversity. how how are you over How are you able to walk on? You know what I mean? Not being the star initially, but forcing it on them, man, turning yourself into a star, making them recognize and respect you, man. How'd you do that?
Ron Carpenter: So and I'll say I left out one thing. I am also in the Hall of Fame at Miami, Ohio. class
Kool Ken: That's right.
Ron Carpenter: of twenty sixteen or seventeen, something like that. So forgot about that. But what
Kool Ken: I got a cap on that too again.
Ron Carpenter: the the the actual It all came from literally I I I from the from fifth grade, ten years old. That's when started spending the majority majority of my time in Lincoln Heights, Zone 15. Prior to that, my grand one of my grandparents, my father's side, they lived in Mount Healthy. And when I first got into sports prior to 10 years old in zone fifteen, I was in Mount Healthy a lot. So I ended up playing football for the Northside KFC Rebels. My gr my other grandmother's house was right around the corner when I was six years old. hadn't met y'all yet. So when I
Kool Ken: Right.
Ron Carpenter: was when I was six years old, I was playing ball over there. And over there, I was one of the best players. so I was good, but I wasn't I wasn't learning anything. I wasn't developing drive, determination, and all that. It came pretty easy. But then at ten years old, we moved out to Lincoln Heights with my grandmother on my mother's side. And that's when I met y'all. That's when I started
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: playing basketball with the Lincoln Heights Tigers with with All the little league teams there. So basketball, baseball. and I wasn't the best when I came over and played with y'all. There were there were there were countless number of players that were better than me, faster than me, stronger than me. but I never gave up. Like y'all were my boys. I went to I ended up going to fifth grade, Robert D. Lucas. I went to school with y'all. we played toss up tackle, what we call Kill the Man. Other places around the country they call it. A lot of my development. I got just from starting to play ball with y'all in in the it recess at Robert D. Lucas. down down down in in in the heights at the bottom of the hill. Just all my drive and all that came from playing with y'all. I was the last man, I was the the the last man off the bench in basketball. I was a pinch runner. I was fast, but I couldn't hit. But I couldn't hit. So I was a pinch runner in baseball. You know what I mean? We
Kool Ken: Right.
Ron Carpenter: we go to the Little League World Series. I wouldn't go see the plate. I got in to still first still go from first base to second.
Kool Ken: Exactly.
Ron Carpenter: and I learned, I went from being the the best player in Mount Healthy to just an average player. And with the way we grew up, you don't want to be average. You better get your mind right, you better get your game right, get your skills intact. So I watched y'all, I learned from y'all, I got my toughness from playing ball with y'all, whether it was basketball court or the baseball field. I didn't play football with y'all. Because I've been playing football since I was six with Northside and my mom didn't want me to switch. So so imagine going to school with y'all, playing baseball, baseball and basketball, but during football
Kool Ken: Yeah, we come are you?
Ron Carpenter: season, I'm in class with y'all, and then I get
Kool Ken: You're right.
Ron Carpenter: a football practice, I gotta go with them. And then when we play on Saturday, y'all give me the business at the weigh-in. You know what I mean? So
Kool Ken: Right, right, right, right, right, right.
Ron Carpenter: a a lot of my determin I had something to prove because I'm going to school with and I'm interacting on a daily basis. With guys who are better than me. So my drive was it was like it was like the little brother and the big brothers. I'm I'm gonna get to that level at some point in time. I progressively got better and better. the summer before our senior year, I'm slated to be one in the starting outside, you know, down safety, the the rover, whatever you wanna call us. And we're playing basketball somewhere in Wyoming. We would go around playing older guys on the basketball court, five on five, whatever. And I last play the game, going for a layup. I make the layup, we win the game, but somebody pushed me, I come down, I tear my meniscus. Two weeks. Yeah, yeah. And two weeks before,
Kool Ken: And I wasn't there. I heard about it, man. Yeah. Terrible.
Ron Carpenter: well, three weeks before two of days start. I show
Kool Ken: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: up on crutches, and Coach Mancuso goes off. Right? But we tried to get me ready. I get ready by the first game against Centerville. but I still couldn't move without pain. So I wasn't as as fluid as I needed to be. Mancuso didn't play. He saw that. All right, get him out of there. Put Lamont Calhoun in. Lamont starts the rest of the season and Man Cuso puts me back on the offensive side at wide receiver. It devastated me, but it taught me something. It taught me resilience because I didn't play. I got in maybe the last drive of a game at wide receiver. Coachman Crusoe told Billy Leach, hey, don't put him in, know all that. But Billy Leach would sneak me in every now and again towards the end of game. So I knew I could play. I had a chip on my shoulder to prove I could play. So when it came time, no scholarship offers, when it came time to walk on, Ali Smith, one of our counselors, Ollie Smith told me, said, Hey, you can walk on up there. you'll have you might have some success. You got the academics. I took his word, I went up there. And I bought that drive and that grit that I learned from my my classmates and my my guys in Lincoln Heights. I took that with me to Miami Miami of Ohio and it worked out. It worked out and I became the all time leading pass interceptor up there. So you guys you guys helped me. I learned from you guys.
Kool Ken: Right. All all I know, Ron, like I said, all of that stuff was I witnessed it. And the one thing that that really, really stood out, still stands out to this day, is that you were one of the first people I knew who had knee surgery in high school. back then the technology wasn't what it is today. You could have probably been out a couple of weeks now, you know, the the technology, they're going in, they scope you up and and and you're done. But I remember you walking around with that fat knee.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: how how was you how was your mental, your mentality at that moment, knowing that your knee was injured and and you couldn't play?
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, you well, you know, we come from a a culture where, you know, black people don't get counseling and seek therapy. So so my mental was not right. Depression, not full blown depression. I was a happy dude. I just wasn't happy on Friday nights because I wasn't playing. So, you know, we we went in, we only lose one game, everybody's celebrating, but I'm still sad because I didn't get to play. And my knee ain't right yet. My knee didn't really get right until week seven. You know, I mean, we play a 10-game regular season. Week seven, it was right, but it was by that time it was too late. Lamar Calhoun was killing it at the rover spot. Defense was killing it. And the
Kool Ken: Yeah, master. Master.
Ron Carpenter: the defense was killing it, offense was killing it. So there was no space. So that led me to to becoming depressed. and you know, just everybody yucking it up, we having a great season. You know, I'm like, Yeah, yeah, but it but when I get home, you know, I'm I'm depressed and sad about it. So so I enjoyed it because we won the state championship our senior year. But I didn't feel like I was a part of it. so so that that also motivated me. It pissed me off, right? and what I learned from my mom was if you know you can do it, no matter what everybody else says, go out and prove it. Don't ask for it, go take it. So
Kool Ken: Yeah. Go take.
Ron Carpenter: when my opportunity came, you know, I walked on, I had the academics to get there. I knew I was gonna make the team as a walk-on because I wasn't gonna quit. The first We could practice. We didn't practice with the team. They ran us. It was it was like seventy-five walk-os. They were only gonna keep twenty-five. So they ran us until fifty quit. Fifty of them
Kool Ken: One quit. Yeah, wow.
Ron Carpenter: quit. And then by the time I graduated, my fifth year, there were only three of us remaining from that original twenty-five that they kept. So Yeah,
Kool Ken: I I didn't know that. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: yeah. So it and and all three of us ended up on scholarship. I got on scholarship first. and then the other two ended up getting on scholarship. one or two years later. So you know, it's it's it's been an uphill battle from that time that I was smaller, 10 years old, coming to Lincoln Heights, all the way through proving myself in college. And then, you know, I started to peak and do well. But then it was an uphill battle again because I didn't get drafted and I was a free agent for the NFL. But I knew how to make a team. I knew how to go in, focus, lock in, and I did the same thing when I was a free agent. I locked in. I wasn't gonna tell, I wasn't gonna let anybody tell me that I wasn't good enough. And I went out there and took a job. and that that was my mindset, my goal. I wasn't up late playing video games, I went to sleep, studied my playbook, go out that morning, lock in. Was always first in drills, sprints, all that. I made sure they noticed who I was and did the same thing at Miami.
Kool Ken: What was your first team, NFL team that you played for?
Ron Carpenter: my first year of the Minnesota Vikings. So I was a free agent signing to the Vikings. made the team and loved it, man. I was up there with Chris Chris Carter. Chris Carter, he knew I was. I was tripping. I went up to him, hey, Mr. Chris Carter, I'm Ron Carpenter. I went to Princeton High School, our schools were rivals. Man, Carp, I know who you are. He addressed me. And he called me Carp, you know what mean? And and all only
Kool Ken: Death for thought, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: people who I grew up with called me carp. So so it
Kool Ken: Next.
Ron Carpenter: was real cool. He was real welcoming. and that was my first squad. Denny Green, head coach, Tony Dungey, defensive coordinator. It was a blast.
Kool Ken: And how how long were you with Minnesota? And then what was your second team after that?
Ron Carpenter: I was Minnesota for a season. and my second team was the Cincinnati Bengals. I came back home. and we weren't very good, but I was back home. I was at the crib. I was playing with the
Kool Ken: Yeah, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: Bengals. I saw my mom, my my my sisters, my family, my boys. You know, yeah, I I bought a place out in Fairfield. and you know, I was got showing up at Fat Tuesdays out there at Forest Fair Mall when they were
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: still doing that. It was great. We weren't very good at all. Milk was on that team, Milt Steagle.
Kool Ken: Yeah. Shout out. No.
Ron Carpenter: he had shut out the milk. He had come out of Miami a year before me. So he had already been on the team for a year. So it was heavy, man. Like I said, the only thing was we didn't win. I think we were like three and thirteen. But it was great coming back playing for the hometown Bengals. And people ask me to this day, you play for four different teams, who was your favorite team? I was like, Well, my favorite time was with the Rams because we won Super Bowl. But my favorite team is the Bengals. Still my favorite team to this day.
Kool Ken: Yeah. You had teammates, home hometown teammates on that squad with you.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: was it who was your favorite teammate to play with?
Ron Carpenter: that's a good one. Probably Probably Marshall Falk. And here's why with the Raiders.
Kool Ken: Man. That's dope. Talk about it.
Ron Carpenter: Here here's the reason why. Hit we his nickname is Rush. just because he was such a great running back. It's probably Marshall Falk because with the Rams, you couldn't as on the on the defensive side of the ball, you couldn't touch Marshall Falk. You couldn't touch Kurt Warner. You couldn't touch Isaac Bruce, Osakeen, Tory Holt, Tony Horn, Ricky Pro. You couldn't touch him. And if you knock him down or something, just by accidentally tripping him up, you was about to you was about to catch it from the offensive coordinator. Well, Marshall, he went a hundred percent. Mar Marshall was a quiet dude. He ain't he ain't braggadocious. He ain't pointing to himself, Tom Baham the man. He was just gonna shake you out your draws, get to the end zone, turn around, run back, do it again. what I realized when I was playing with him, like I'm playing against one of the greatest. foot running backs to ever play the game. Hence, he's in the Hall of Fame now. and if you think about it, that whole offense, we were playing against some of the greatest receivers in the league. so I enjoyed that, but especially him because it made me better. I figured if I could it wasn't no tackle on him in practice, you had to tag off. I figured if I got into a position, a football position where I could tag him off and be there, if we were tackling, actually be close to being able to make the tackle, I'm making myself better. So So Marshall Falk was my favorite player to play with 'cause he challenged me 'cause he was the best. You know what I mean? I got to
Kool Ken: yeah that
Ron Carpenter: go I got to get to the goal just the best every day.
Kool Ken: st stories like that, they make me smile, like, genuinely, because to hear you Say those words that you played football with Marshall Falk. You know what I mean? You were in a locker room with these guys, training with these guys.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: And yeah, it's awesome to know that like we live through you. You know what mean?
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, yeah.
Kool Ken: you through your stories and stuff like that. So we definitely appreciate you sharing that.
Ron Carpenter: Thank brother.
Kool Ken: I appreciate you, man. Big time. School-wise, give give me your one of your most memorable high school moments, college moments, and then a memorable NFL moment. Your three favorites.
Ron Carpenter: high school. This is gonna sound funny, and it's gonna bring up one of our brothers who's this deceased. But Shane Curry. Two a day.
Kool Ken: Yeah. Rest.
Ron Carpenter: Two a days. You know, we go, we go, we go into gymnasium, take a nap in between that first and second practice. And we're gonna bring up another brother, Skip Hun, right?
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: So the the juniors and seniors are sleeping. you know, on on their co on the mats or whatever at one end of the state of the of the gymnasium.
Kool Ken: Was he in the gym or the or the cafeteria?
Ron Carpenter: I think we were in the gym this day.
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: And I'm walking down. I'm just walking next to Skip. Just walking. I ain't said nothing to the upperclassman. Skip joking around, talking to him a little bit, you know, out of pocket, playing with him. And I turned my head, I didn't look. Shame two other people. I can't remember who they are, but they were all big. They they were all big defensive linemen type builds. All I know is I I felt myself levitate. see the roof of the of the gymnasium and then laying down lay down laying down on the mat. Somebody has scooped me up, slammed me because Skip was talking trash to the upperclassmen as they was trying to take a nap. So that's what it's yeah, loose enough. Yeah. Yeah. When I'm dumped, I don't know
Kool Ken: Probably Lucius Lucius and them, Lucius, Shane.
Ron Carpenter: who it was, but once I got dumped, I got up and ran to the other end of the gymnasium. So that's one of my favorite moments, because at that point, you know, I think we're freshly or sophomore, probably sophomores, sophomores
Kool Ken: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was freshman that year, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. So, you know, I'm like that was my that was my introduction. Like, number one, person high school football is serious. Number two, don't mess with them dudes. They the real deal. And number three, notice who you walking with when you when you're going down in the dungeon down there being board.
Kool Ken: That they ain't officially initiate you then. You did you get initiated? That was it. That was it.
Ron Carpenter: That was my initiation. I knew not to go back down. That was it. It was a wrap. They didn't get they didn't hear nothing else from me. So so that's my high school memory. yes, winning the state championship was great. That's a memory, but again, I kind of depressed. I didn't feel like I was really a part of it. But that that part right there, that was that was my initial introduction to to the class of eighty five, the class of eighty six, and what they was all about. So so that was awesome. college. have two, but I'll talk about the last memory. once I got through my first two years as a starter, I was two interceptions away from breaking the record. so my my first year as a starter, I didn't have any picks up with Miami. My second year I had seven. My third year I had seven fourteen picks. The the record was fifteen. I need to pick one more to tie and two to break it. My fifth year I got the first interception, the second game of the season. So I'm at, I'm tired with the record at 15. I'm like, I got 10 more games, 11 more games, whatever it is, to break the record. I got it. Didn't get another interception for the rest of the year. People started throwing away from me. I was I was first team all league two years in a row, so they stopped throwing my direction. We're the last game of the season. we're not playoff bound, we're not bowl bound. 'Cause back then you had to win the Mac to make it to the to a bowl game. It wasn't all these other the Big Daddy Bowl or whatever they are. We didn't we didn't have little teachers bowl we didn't have all that. We're we're playing Western Michigan. It is fourth quarter, and I'm on the sideline talking to my other safety, my teammates. I gotta get this pick. I gotta break this record. I I I ain't gonna know what to do with myself if I don't break this record. We're in cover two. I tell Coach Epp, I Coach Epp, go to cover two. He's like, Why? We were winning the game. We were Winning the game wasn't the issue. It was how long I was gonna be in the game before he pulled me out or before the clock ran out. I said, Coach, don't take me out. I gotta break this record. So I asked him to put us in cover two. Most of my picks came in cover two. And in cover two, I knew if they sent a tight end down the middle of the field, I always played to the opposite side of the tight end. I was in the boundary. Tight end normally goes to the field. So if they did it, I knew I was gonna be able to sneak in and get a pick. And sure enough, they tried to s to get that right down the seam. I read it. I vacated my half of the field, ran over, jumped in front of him, got the pick, caught it. the referee was like, Here you go, hand me the ball. I ran off the field with the ball in both hands, like this, like I was carrying the football, ran to the bench,
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: ran to the bench, sat there with it, turned around, showed the ball to my mom in the stands, and that was it. I still got it to this day. it's not down here.
Kool Ken: Down.
Ron Carpenter: It's we moved not too long ago and it's still in storage. I gotta get out with my trophies, but I still have that ball in my trophy case to this day.
Kool Ken: That's dope, man, right there.
Ron Carpenter: Okay. I've had the record for I'm still the all time leading passer, and so I had it I've had it for thirty two years now.
Kool Ken: That's dope.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: And tell us your favorite NFL moment.
Ron Carpenter: hands down winning the Super Bowl. Greatest next next
Kool Ken: How was that experience? How was that experience?
Ron Carpenter: next to having my my four sons and being married the first time to our classmate Sherry and then being married the second time. Next to those events, winning the Super Bowl was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had in my life. Imagine being a football player from the age of six, playing with some of the the greatest little league, playing against some of the greatest little league competition and then playing with those guys in high school going undefeated as eighth graders going undefeated as ninth graders as freshmen j v ball I think we went undefeated we may have lost one I can't remember and then when we get to our senior year we lose one game and win a state championship. That was awesome. Now imagine doing it against the greatest talent on the earth in the NFL, getting paid to do what you're doing, having fun, playing a game that you've been playing since you were six. That you would probably do for free if you had to. and then going from three and thirteen the previous year to thirteen and three in the regular season and then sixteen and three and winning the Super Bowl. One of the greatest feelings of ever. Cry like a baby. Cry like a baby. All the champagne and all that, cry like a baby. So yeah, it w it was awesome.
Kool Ken: Hey, we we watched that game. I remember cause you you ran a couple got some punt returns, correct? Did you get
Ron Carpenter: Good job, yeah.
Kool Ken: did you score any any punt returns for touchdowns in the NFL?
Ron Carpenter: No, I never made it to the end zone. I had some long returns, kickoff returns, very few point returns, but kickoff returns. I think my longest was maybe 57. got caught from a guy. Guy ran out of bounds. He got forced out of bounds. He ran
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: down the sideline and then came back on the field and caught me from a blind side. I ain't seen. one my mo my greatest achievement other than winning the Super Bowl, individual record-wise, in '95 with the Jets, I led the NFL. in average yards per kickoff return. my average was twenty seven point seven yards per return. so didn't make it to the house, but I was getting twenty seven to thirty yards a clip. So but yeah man, just that Super Bowl man, just the way we did it, how bad we were the year before, and then to come together as a team and dominate the league the way we did, it was it was awesome. It was awesome.
Kool Ken: Yeah, it was awesome, man. What what was your your number height? You were number fourteen, right?
Ron Carpenter: Fortunately in high school, yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: And fourteen and baseball, right?
Ron Carpenter: Four fourteen in baseball, yeah. I think I was even fourteen in basketball. Yeah. Yep.
Kool Ken: Fourteen in basketball. Yeah, I I remember fourteen. When when did you change the twenty four?
Ron Carpenter: well, first I changed to twenty-one when I went to college. So
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: no none of the the senior who had twenty-one, he was the senior safety. He had twenty-one. He graduated. They gave me twenty-one. As soon as I earned a starting job, they said, Well what what number you want? I said, Primetime. Deion Sanders, I want twenty-one. No. So they they gave me twenty
Kool Ken: right, right, right, right. Yeah, there
Ron Carpenter: one. So I was twenty one all through college. I was only twenty-one. I made it to the hula bow. I was hula bow hula bow defensive MVP. I wore twenty-one there. I'm looking at my jerseys. in NFL
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: Europe and Amsterdam, I wore 21. And when I got to the realms, somebody had 21. Dexter McLeon. He was a starting corner
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: of 21. So they gave me 24. And I think I was 36 with the 36 with the Vikings and 32 with the Bengals.
Kool Ken: So with all that you've accomplished over the years, all the blood, sweat, and tears, where has that led you to now?
Ron Carpenter: so all that it taught me perseverance, it taught me to be tough, it taught me to never give up, don't quit. have confidence in yourself, believe you can do whatever you set your mind to, right? that's allowed me to transition from playing football. I stopped playing at 35, and now at 35, what you gonna do next? Got into the school system. You know, I was like, look, I'm a people person, I want to coach. So maybe I'll go back to Princeton, coach, and then get into the school building and try to mentor, you know, help help some of the younger guys, talk to them about some of the things that I've experienced, some of the things that I've been through, how to persevere, you know, be a be an example, be a mentor. That's what I did. That's how I got back to Princeton. Once I got back to Princeton as a coach, I fell in love with coaching. It's the next best thing to play in. And after seven years at Princeton, I spent seven years coaching college football, Central State, Miami of Ohio, my alma mater, Indiana University for one year, and then University of Central Arkansas. And that that that University of Central Arc Arkansas was the last time that I coached in college because we moved here to Indianapolis. My wife took a job with at that time Angie's list, and eventually she moved over to Salesforce. And I knew she was not going to leave Indianapolis because she loves Salesforce. And in order for me to continue my coaching, college coaching career, every two years we probably would have to move around. So I committed to just stop coaching and and be here with my family. so it was
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: like starting all over again. Okay, you now you're in Indianapolis. What you gonna do? Let me hop back into the school system. So I I got into the school system again, became a high school math teacher, and after three years, they asked me to be dean of students. so for the past the past four years, five, four, five, going on five years, I've been the Dean of Students, Dean of Culture at a high school, a charter high school here in Indianapolis. Again, whatever it is, whatever the situation, making the best out of, finding my avenue, finding my lane, and flourishing and making it work. And my my hard work, no matter what the field, dean of students, math teacher. when I first moved here, I didn't have the opportunity, so I said, Let me get to learn the city. you know, I did okay money wise, so let me get to learn the city. Let me drive this Uber for a minute so I can learn the city. So for about a month, I drove Uber just to make a little bit of cash until I found something and to learn the city. I always got five stars, you know what I'm saying? I always had
Kool Ken: No. I'm not a
Ron Carpenter: candy and breath mints in there. You know, I I had a
Kool Ken: Yeah,
Ron Carpenter: my truck, I always had a movie playing on my my video screen in the car. You know, just different stuff like that. I would s always smell like grown man cologne up in there. You what I mean? So So you know, I just learned how to how to fit in and and and do what you're supposed to do. Never been super overconfident. I'm I'm confident, but I'm not arrogant. I'm not I don't think I'm better than anybody else. I'm I'm down to earth. And now all that My my my three younger sons, fifteen year old sophomore, Aiden Carpenter. My twins are eleven, going on twelve, Auburn Dawson Carpenter. They've been playing football for four years. They're going into their fifth year. And I teach them how to be level headed, how how to be confident but not arrogant, how to be hardworking, never give up. they all they all are learning from me. I've coached them from third grade for the twins, sixth grade for my My older son all way up to now. And right now I'm the varsity high school safeties coach. My son is a wide receiver. look for that name, Aiden Carpenter. He's next. you know. He's going to stay. He's gonna be he's gonna
Kool Ken: Hey big shout out Aiden, man. We're gonna be watching you, brother. Yeah, hey, listen your daddy, boy. Make sure you listen to your daddy. You know what he's talking about.
Ron Carpenter: be busy to me size wise. He's he's fifteen years old, sophomore. He'll be sixteen in December. Wears a size 13 shoe, hundred and eighty hundred and eighty pounds, six feet tall. Faster than I was when I was his age. He's gonna be a monster.
Kool Ken: Yeah. Wow.
Ron Carpenter: And then the twins are coming up right behind him, so for sure.
Kool Ken: Wands coming up right behind man, I'm glad you letting them play football because I know it initially you were kinda on the fence about it.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, yeah.
Kool Ken: what what made you go ahead and say y'all can play?
Ron Carpenter: They weren't playing. The real talk, they weren't my wife didn't want him to play. And
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: the movie Concussion had just come out. And after watching that c that movie concussion, I realized how much the NFL kinda kept things from us. and it i it w I was emotional when I watched the movie, especially that scene when the the one player drove head first into a semi truck on the expressway to commit suicide, 'cause he said the voices were telling him to to kill his family. So that that really got to me and I was like We were in the airport watching. I was my kids aren't gonna play. My wife is like good, I don't want to play. And honestly, it wasn't me. My wife bought them a John Madden football on PlayStation six years ago. And they played it, they fell in love with the game, and that spring they were like, Daddy, we want to play football, mommy, we want to play football. I was like, so she said, Well, let's play flag football first. They played flag football, we want to play football. So the deal was, she said, if we let them play. You gotta coach them. You gotta teach them how to tackle the right way. You gotta teach them how to avoid getting hurt if they're offensive players, how to protect themselves if they're getting tackled. She said, if you can't do that, they can't play. So started coaching them. And that's that's how we got them to play. So it worked out. And it's it's I'm glad I'm doing that because had they started playing, and if I was coaching college football, I couldn't imagine not watching them play, let alone coaching them, but just watching them play, being there in person. I couldn't imagine not being there. So, you know, God does things for a reason. I had a great time coaching college ball, but I'm loving coaching my boys. I got seven more seasons and when the twins graduate, it's a wrap. I'm done coaching.
Kool Ken: I know that's right, man. Hey, I gotta give you your flowers to clap it up for you. So before we get out of here, man, first I want to thank you first of all for
Ron Carpenter: Appreciate it.
Kool Ken: taking the time out of your busy schedule, man, and being on my podcast.
Ron Carpenter: Actually.
Kool Ken: but I have to ask you this. So the title of the podcast is Get Your Mind Right. When did you get your mind right?
Ron Carpenter: Honestly, I got my mind right. at the end of our senior season. After we won the state championship, I said to myself, I can still play ball. I'm gonna heal this knee. I didn't play basketball. my junior year, I was the most improved basketball player. I I I got that award. And the head coach, what was our head basketball coach's name? Black guy. Coach Andrews.
Kool Ken: co Drew Andrews, Coach Andrews.
Ron Carpenter: I I went to him and told him, I said, Coach Andrews, I'm not gonna play basketball. I wasn't gonna be a starter, but I I would have been sixth man off the bench, seventh man off the bench. He said, Why not? I said, I gotta literally, I gotta get my mentor together. I gotta rehab this knee because I'm gonna walk on somewhere and play football. And football is my future. And from that point on, I rehabbed, got good, ran track, had a a really good track season, totally rehabbed my knee. And that's that's what that's what propelled me. to success at at Miami when I walked on. So literally, after we had that little our banquet, our football banquet, I got academic athlete award for that year. And that whole that whole basketball season, all I did was strengthen my knee. didn't really have anyone telling me what to do. I did squats, leg extension, leg curls. That's all I did. coach Coach Cox had me in there. I was still a
Kool Ken: Yeah. Coach Cox had you in there working out, bro. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: Small up top, but my legs were getting
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: my legs were getting right. And and that's what it
Kool Ken: Shaw.
Ron Carpenter: that's that's when I made up my mind, you know, I I wanna do this, I wanna play football, don't play basketball, rehab your knee. And that that set me on the path.
Kool Ken: And one final question. What would you tell someone that feels like they want to give up? They just want to quit? What would you tell them to keep them going?
Ron Carpenter: As human beings on this planet, God gave us the ability to do whatever we set our mind to do, flat out. And I'm not overly religious. I am spiritual. We can do whatever we want to do. So I would say whatever somebody's going through, if it's something taxing your mental, get your mind right. I love I love the name of your podcast because it's so poignant. Get your mind right, set your mind on what you want, and then go do it. You you can do whatever you set your mind to, you can do whatever you want to, but you gotta work at it. It ain't gonna come free. Nobody's gonna give you a handout. but the good go the good Lord gave you the capacity to set your mind to whatever it is you want and the ability to go do it. You just gotta go do it. You gotta want it bad enough and you gotta sacrifice to go do it.
Kool Ken: That brother, that's beautiful. this this has been a great honor, a great show. I'm I'm glad I got to spend some time with my good brother.
Ron Carpenter: Likewise.
Kool Ken: yeah, you you you're a part of zone fifteen productions, you already know. That's for life. Yeah, when this shit blow up
Ron Carpenter: No doubt. I just had I just had I had my jacket on earlier earlier this spring 'cause it was still a little chilly over here. I was on my way out the door. I said, Let me rock this jacket. So I had my jacket on. I still be rocking it.
Kool Ken: There, me too. Hey, cause cause we can't give up. You know what I mean? I don't know how to give up.
Ron Carpenter: Well down.
Kool Ken: and it's gonna blow up. You know what I mean? We we
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: have so so many opportunities. and all it takes is the right person, the right
Ron Carpenter: That's right.
Kool Ken: situation, and then boom, and we're ready. You know what mean?
Ron Carpenter: No doubt.
Kool Ken: So again, thank you. Thank you, thank you so much. peace, love,
Ron Carpenter: As a month, yeah.
Kool Ken: and blessings to you and your family. good luck to Aiden this year and and the twins.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: yeah, I'll be watching. You know, I I appreciate when you you put up the clips and so forth. tell
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, yeah.
Kool Ken: the people where they can find you at.
Ron Carpenter: So you can find me. I'm I'm a little bit everywhere, but my handle is at coach carp21. So you can find me on the some of the different social medias at at coach carp21. you know, I'm old head. I'm on Facebook most times. But all the youngsters
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: be on Snapchat and Instagram and all that. But most of my stuff I'll I'll post on Facebook. Things that that that have to do with my family. That's and that's all I post. Things about my kids and my my wife and all that. as we're saying goodbye, I I want to say to you, appreciate you. Love you, brother. proud of you. You've been grinding from day one. don't care if it's a podcast, the record company, I don't care what it is, concerts, doing events for for everybody in in the zone, woodline. So keep doing what you're doing, brother. We we gon we're gonna do this thing till the wheels fall off. No doubt.
Kool Ken: Little wheels fall off. Hey
Ron Carpenter: No grab.
Kool Ken: Carp, we signing out for Carp. I'm cool, Ken. Get your mind right. Hey y'all, y'all have a great evening. We appreciate you all tuning in. We got some great guests coming up next. So hey, we love y'all. Y'all have a great night. How at your boy?
Ron Carpenter: Thank you for
Kool Ken: Peace.
Ron Carpenter: Good, my brother. Pleasure being out here with you, man. Miss seeing you. I love being here.
Kool Ken: Yeah, man. Hey, this is beautiful. Technology is wonderful. I I remember some years ago, you you were selling something similar to this. You remember those little the the TV phone things? Hey
Ron Carpenter: Yes, sir.
Kool Ken: man, that that was what 20-something years ago now? How long ago was that?
Ron Carpenter: It was a big old clunky phone that had a video
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: screen on it. Now we got it in the palm of our hands with this little cell phone. So
Kool Ken: Facts. You know what I'm saying? where where you living at now?
Ron Carpenter: I'm in Indianapolis, Indiana. Actually more specifically
Kool Ken: Cool, cool, cool. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: more specifically, Carmel, Indiana is the surgeon. Yes. Yes,
Kool Ken: Carmeland, yeah. That's a football town, ain't it? It's a little football down there, right?
Ron Carpenter: sir, Carmel Greyhounds, check us out.
Kool Ken: Let's go. Let's go. Speaking of football, man. I I mentioned hit on a little bit, Super Bowl champion. Let's talk about a little bit football. Give give give some of your stats, brother. Get let let them know who you are.
Ron Carpenter: So I was a walk on at Miami of Ohio. We'll we'll we'll go straight to that part and maybe come back to the high school stuff a little bit later. But
Kool Ken: Okay, okay.
Ron Carpenter: my successful stuff, I was a walk on at Miami of Ohio, red shirted in the spring of that freshman year. Terry Hepner was a DB coach. He said, Hey, they're not gonna use your receiver receiver, but I think you're a great athlete. Come over here. If you're getting it too deep by the end of spring ball, you can earn a scholarship. Did that, walked on, became the starter. turned became the all time leading past interceptor with sixteen interceptions in Miami history. had a couple other records too and then was actually undrafted. So it was like being a walk on again, undrafted to the NFL, made the Vikings. from there, moved around to a couple teams but won a Super Bowl with the the ninety nine Rams, greatest show on turf, Super Bowl thirty four. And then again from there, you know, by the time I hit thirty the Super Bowl year, I was thirty. So they kinda weed you out of the NFL. if you're not a dominant starter or something like that. So played arena ball in the arena league. We went to the championship two years in a row, didn't win it, but got close, played in the XFL, won the Super Bowl with the LA extreme, led the league in interceptions in in one of those years. and then also I I finished up With what I didn't finish up with, but I played in NFL Europe in between one of my stints in the NFL when we went to the championship game. Again, I led the NFL Europe in interceptions that season. I was over there. So had a lot of success. continued to play, even though I couldn't stand the NFL, still wanted to play, still had some things to prove. So I ended up playing 13 years total. but six, six in the NFL and the rest in NFL Europe, XFL in the arena league.
Kool Ken: Man, we're gonna give it up to you on that for real. Those accolades that you just rattled off, phenomenal.
Ron Carpenter: Logic.
Kool Ken: I I I I'm I'm fortunate, right? I'm fortunate to know you personally, fortunate enough to see you grow. You know what I mean? I I I've seen you play from little league to high school to college. To seeing you, man, overseas playing, man, NFL, arena football, you know what I mean? I I've supported you along the way. and
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: I say this wholeheartedly. I'm I'm extremely proud of you, man.
Ron Carpenter: Thank you, Brent.
Kool Ken: not not just because of the accomplishments. I'm proud because I was able to witness you overcome adversity. how how are you over How are you able to walk on? You know what I mean? Not being the star initially, but forcing it on them, man, turning yourself into a star, making them recognize and respect you, man. How'd you do that?
Ron Carpenter: So and I'll say I left out one thing. I am also in the Hall of Fame at Miami, Ohio. class
Kool Ken: That's right.
Ron Carpenter: of twenty sixteen or seventeen, something like that. So forgot about that. But what
Kool Ken: I got a cap on that too again.
Ron Carpenter: the the the actual It all came from literally I I I from the from fifth grade, ten years old. That's when started spending the majority majority of my time in Lincoln Heights, Zone 15. Prior to that, my grand one of my grandparents, my father's side, they lived in Mount Healthy. And when I first got into sports prior to 10 years old in zone fifteen, I was in Mount Healthy a lot. So I ended up playing football for the Northside KFC Rebels. My gr my other grandmother's house was right around the corner when I was six years old. hadn't met y'all yet. So when I
Kool Ken: Right.
Ron Carpenter: was when I was six years old, I was playing ball over there. And over there, I was one of the best players. so I was good, but I wasn't I wasn't learning anything. I wasn't developing drive, determination, and all that. It came pretty easy. But then at ten years old, we moved out to Lincoln Heights with my grandmother on my mother's side. And that's when I met y'all. That's when I started
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: playing basketball with the Lincoln Heights Tigers with with All the little league teams there. So basketball, baseball. and I wasn't the best when I came over and played with y'all. There were there were there were countless number of players that were better than me, faster than me, stronger than me. but I never gave up. Like y'all were my boys. I went to I ended up going to fifth grade, Robert D. Lucas. I went to school with y'all. we played toss up tackle, what we call Kill the Man. Other places around the country they call it. A lot of my development. I got just from starting to play ball with y'all in in the it recess at Robert D. Lucas. down down down in in in the heights at the bottom of the hill. Just all my drive and all that came from playing with y'all. I was the last man, I was the the the last man off the bench in basketball. I was a pinch runner. I was fast, but I couldn't hit. But I couldn't hit. So I was a pinch runner in baseball. You know what I mean? We
Kool Ken: Right.
Ron Carpenter: we go to the Little League World Series. I wouldn't go see the plate. I got in to still first still go from first base to second.
Kool Ken: Exactly.
Ron Carpenter: and I learned, I went from being the the best player in Mount Healthy to just an average player. And with the way we grew up, you don't want to be average. You better get your mind right, you better get your game right, get your skills intact. So I watched y'all, I learned from y'all, I got my toughness from playing ball with y'all, whether it was basketball court or the baseball field. I didn't play football with y'all. Because I've been playing football since I was six with Northside and my mom didn't want me to switch. So so imagine going to school with y'all, playing baseball, baseball and basketball, but during football
Kool Ken: Yeah, we come are you?
Ron Carpenter: season, I'm in class with y'all, and then I get
Kool Ken: You're right.
Ron Carpenter: a football practice, I gotta go with them. And then when we play on Saturday, y'all give me the business at the weigh-in. You know what I mean? So
Kool Ken: Right, right, right, right, right, right.
Ron Carpenter: a a lot of my determin I had something to prove because I'm going to school with and I'm interacting on a daily basis. With guys who are better than me. So my drive was it was like it was like the little brother and the big brothers. I'm I'm gonna get to that level at some point in time. I progressively got better and better. the summer before our senior year, I'm slated to be one in the starting outside, you know, down safety, the the rover, whatever you wanna call us. And we're playing basketball somewhere in Wyoming. We would go around playing older guys on the basketball court, five on five, whatever. And I last play the game, going for a layup. I make the layup, we win the game, but somebody pushed me, I come down, I tear my meniscus. Two weeks. Yeah, yeah. And two weeks before,
Kool Ken: And I wasn't there. I heard about it, man. Yeah. Terrible.
Ron Carpenter: well, three weeks before two of days start. I show
Kool Ken: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: up on crutches, and Coach Mancuso goes off. Right? But we tried to get me ready. I get ready by the first game against Centerville. but I still couldn't move without pain. So I wasn't as as fluid as I needed to be. Mancuso didn't play. He saw that. All right, get him out of there. Put Lamont Calhoun in. Lamont starts the rest of the season and Man Cuso puts me back on the offensive side at wide receiver. It devastated me, but it taught me something. It taught me resilience because I didn't play. I got in maybe the last drive of a game at wide receiver. Coachman Crusoe told Billy Leach, hey, don't put him in, know all that. But Billy Leach would sneak me in every now and again towards the end of game. So I knew I could play. I had a chip on my shoulder to prove I could play. So when it came time, no scholarship offers, when it came time to walk on, Ali Smith, one of our counselors, Ollie Smith told me, said, Hey, you can walk on up there. you'll have you might have some success. You got the academics. I took his word, I went up there. And I bought that drive and that grit that I learned from my my classmates and my my guys in Lincoln Heights. I took that with me to Miami Miami of Ohio and it worked out. It worked out and I became the all time leading pass interceptor up there. So you guys you guys helped me. I learned from you guys.
Kool Ken: Right. All all I know, Ron, like I said, all of that stuff was I witnessed it. And the one thing that that really, really stood out, still stands out to this day, is that you were one of the first people I knew who had knee surgery in high school. back then the technology wasn't what it is today. You could have probably been out a couple of weeks now, you know, the the technology, they're going in, they scope you up and and and you're done. But I remember you walking around with that fat knee.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: how how was you how was your mental, your mentality at that moment, knowing that your knee was injured and and you couldn't play?
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, you well, you know, we come from a a culture where, you know, black people don't get counseling and seek therapy. So so my mental was not right. Depression, not full blown depression. I was a happy dude. I just wasn't happy on Friday nights because I wasn't playing. So, you know, we we went in, we only lose one game, everybody's celebrating, but I'm still sad because I didn't get to play. And my knee ain't right yet. My knee didn't really get right until week seven. You know, I mean, we play a 10-game regular season. Week seven, it was right, but it was by that time it was too late. Lamar Calhoun was killing it at the rover spot. Defense was killing it. And the
Kool Ken: Yeah, master. Master.
Ron Carpenter: the defense was killing it, offense was killing it. So there was no space. So that led me to to becoming depressed. and you know, just everybody yucking it up, we having a great season. You know, I'm like, Yeah, yeah, but it but when I get home, you know, I'm I'm depressed and sad about it. So so I enjoyed it because we won the state championship our senior year. But I didn't feel like I was a part of it. so so that that also motivated me. It pissed me off, right? and what I learned from my mom was if you know you can do it, no matter what everybody else says, go out and prove it. Don't ask for it, go take it. So
Kool Ken: Yeah. Go take.
Ron Carpenter: when my opportunity came, you know, I walked on, I had the academics to get there. I knew I was gonna make the team as a walk-on because I wasn't gonna quit. The first We could practice. We didn't practice with the team. They ran us. It was it was like seventy-five walk-os. They were only gonna keep twenty-five. So they ran us until fifty quit. Fifty of them
Kool Ken: One quit. Yeah, wow.
Ron Carpenter: quit. And then by the time I graduated, my fifth year, there were only three of us remaining from that original twenty-five that they kept. So Yeah,
Kool Ken: I I didn't know that. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: yeah. So it and and all three of us ended up on scholarship. I got on scholarship first. and then the other two ended up getting on scholarship. one or two years later. So you know, it's it's it's been an uphill battle from that time that I was smaller, 10 years old, coming to Lincoln Heights, all the way through proving myself in college. And then, you know, I started to peak and do well. But then it was an uphill battle again because I didn't get drafted and I was a free agent for the NFL. But I knew how to make a team. I knew how to go in, focus, lock in, and I did the same thing when I was a free agent. I locked in. I wasn't gonna tell, I wasn't gonna let anybody tell me that I wasn't good enough. And I went out there and took a job. and that that was my mindset, my goal. I wasn't up late playing video games, I went to sleep, studied my playbook, go out that morning, lock in. Was always first in drills, sprints, all that. I made sure they noticed who I was and did the same thing at Miami.
Kool Ken: What was your first team, NFL team that you played for?
Ron Carpenter: my first year of the Minnesota Vikings. So I was a free agent signing to the Vikings. made the team and loved it, man. I was up there with Chris Chris Carter. Chris Carter, he knew I was. I was tripping. I went up to him, hey, Mr. Chris Carter, I'm Ron Carpenter. I went to Princeton High School, our schools were rivals. Man, Carp, I know who you are. He addressed me. And he called me Carp, you know what mean? And and all only
Kool Ken: Death for thought, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: people who I grew up with called me carp. So so it
Kool Ken: Next.
Ron Carpenter: was real cool. He was real welcoming. and that was my first squad. Denny Green, head coach, Tony Dungey, defensive coordinator. It was a blast.
Kool Ken: And how how long were you with Minnesota? And then what was your second team after that?
Ron Carpenter: I was Minnesota for a season. and my second team was the Cincinnati Bengals. I came back home. and we weren't very good, but I was back home. I was at the crib. I was playing with the
Kool Ken: Yeah, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: Bengals. I saw my mom, my my my sisters, my family, my boys. You know, yeah, I I bought a place out in Fairfield. and you know, I was got showing up at Fat Tuesdays out there at Forest Fair Mall when they were
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: still doing that. It was great. We weren't very good at all. Milk was on that team, Milt Steagle.
Kool Ken: Yeah. Shout out. No.
Ron Carpenter: he had shut out the milk. He had come out of Miami a year before me. So he had already been on the team for a year. So it was heavy, man. Like I said, the only thing was we didn't win. I think we were like three and thirteen. But it was great coming back playing for the hometown Bengals. And people ask me to this day, you play for four different teams, who was your favorite team? I was like, Well, my favorite time was with the Rams because we won Super Bowl. But my favorite team is the Bengals. Still my favorite team to this day.
Kool Ken: Yeah. You had teammates, home hometown teammates on that squad with you.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: was it who was your favorite teammate to play with?
Ron Carpenter: that's a good one. Probably Probably Marshall Falk. And here's why with the Raiders.
Kool Ken: Man. That's dope. Talk about it.
Ron Carpenter: Here here's the reason why. Hit we his nickname is Rush. just because he was such a great running back. It's probably Marshall Falk because with the Rams, you couldn't as on the on the defensive side of the ball, you couldn't touch Marshall Falk. You couldn't touch Kurt Warner. You couldn't touch Isaac Bruce, Osakeen, Tory Holt, Tony Horn, Ricky Pro. You couldn't touch him. And if you knock him down or something, just by accidentally tripping him up, you was about to you was about to catch it from the offensive coordinator. Well, Marshall, he went a hundred percent. Mar Marshall was a quiet dude. He ain't he ain't braggadocious. He ain't pointing to himself, Tom Baham the man. He was just gonna shake you out your draws, get to the end zone, turn around, run back, do it again. what I realized when I was playing with him, like I'm playing against one of the greatest. foot running backs to ever play the game. Hence, he's in the Hall of Fame now. and if you think about it, that whole offense, we were playing against some of the greatest receivers in the league. so I enjoyed that, but especially him because it made me better. I figured if I could it wasn't no tackle on him in practice, you had to tag off. I figured if I got into a position, a football position where I could tag him off and be there, if we were tackling, actually be close to being able to make the tackle, I'm making myself better. So So Marshall Falk was my favorite player to play with 'cause he challenged me 'cause he was the best. You know what I mean? I got to
Kool Ken: yeah that
Ron Carpenter: go I got to get to the goal just the best every day.
Kool Ken: st stories like that, they make me smile, like, genuinely, because to hear you Say those words that you played football with Marshall Falk. You know what I mean? You were in a locker room with these guys, training with these guys.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: And yeah, it's awesome to know that like we live through you. You know what mean?
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, yeah.
Kool Ken: you through your stories and stuff like that. So we definitely appreciate you sharing that.
Ron Carpenter: Thank brother.
Kool Ken: I appreciate you, man. Big time. School-wise, give give me your one of your most memorable high school moments, college moments, and then a memorable NFL moment. Your three favorites.
Ron Carpenter: high school. This is gonna sound funny, and it's gonna bring up one of our brothers who's this deceased. But Shane Curry. Two a day.
Kool Ken: Yeah. Rest.
Ron Carpenter: Two a days. You know, we go, we go, we go into gymnasium, take a nap in between that first and second practice. And we're gonna bring up another brother, Skip Hun, right?
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: So the the juniors and seniors are sleeping. you know, on on their co on the mats or whatever at one end of the state of the of the gymnasium.
Kool Ken: Was he in the gym or the or the cafeteria?
Ron Carpenter: I think we were in the gym this day.
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: And I'm walking down. I'm just walking next to Skip. Just walking. I ain't said nothing to the upperclassman. Skip joking around, talking to him a little bit, you know, out of pocket, playing with him. And I turned my head, I didn't look. Shame two other people. I can't remember who they are, but they were all big. They they were all big defensive linemen type builds. All I know is I I felt myself levitate. see the roof of the of the gymnasium and then laying down lay down laying down on the mat. Somebody has scooped me up, slammed me because Skip was talking trash to the upperclassmen as they was trying to take a nap. So that's what it's yeah, loose enough. Yeah. Yeah. When I'm dumped, I don't know
Kool Ken: Probably Lucius Lucius and them, Lucius, Shane.
Ron Carpenter: who it was, but once I got dumped, I got up and ran to the other end of the gymnasium. So that's one of my favorite moments, because at that point, you know, I think we're freshly or sophomore, probably sophomores, sophomores
Kool Ken: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was freshman that year, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. So, you know, I'm like that was my that was my introduction. Like, number one, person high school football is serious. Number two, don't mess with them dudes. They the real deal. And number three, notice who you walking with when you when you're going down in the dungeon down there being board.
Kool Ken: That they ain't officially initiate you then. You did you get initiated? That was it. That was it.
Ron Carpenter: That was my initiation. I knew not to go back down. That was it. It was a wrap. They didn't get they didn't hear nothing else from me. So so that's my high school memory. yes, winning the state championship was great. That's a memory, but again, I kind of depressed. I didn't feel like I was really a part of it. But that that part right there, that was that was my initial introduction to to the class of eighty five, the class of eighty six, and what they was all about. So so that was awesome. college. have two, but I'll talk about the last memory. once I got through my first two years as a starter, I was two interceptions away from breaking the record. so my my first year as a starter, I didn't have any picks up with Miami. My second year I had seven. My third year I had seven fourteen picks. The the record was fifteen. I need to pick one more to tie and two to break it. My fifth year I got the first interception, the second game of the season. So I'm at, I'm tired with the record at 15. I'm like, I got 10 more games, 11 more games, whatever it is, to break the record. I got it. Didn't get another interception for the rest of the year. People started throwing away from me. I was I was first team all league two years in a row, so they stopped throwing my direction. We're the last game of the season. we're not playoff bound, we're not bowl bound. 'Cause back then you had to win the Mac to make it to the to a bowl game. It wasn't all these other the Big Daddy Bowl or whatever they are. We didn't we didn't have little teachers bowl we didn't have all that. We're we're playing Western Michigan. It is fourth quarter, and I'm on the sideline talking to my other safety, my teammates. I gotta get this pick. I gotta break this record. I I I ain't gonna know what to do with myself if I don't break this record. We're in cover two. I tell Coach Epp, I Coach Epp, go to cover two. He's like, Why? We were winning the game. We were Winning the game wasn't the issue. It was how long I was gonna be in the game before he pulled me out or before the clock ran out. I said, Coach, don't take me out. I gotta break this record. So I asked him to put us in cover two. Most of my picks came in cover two. And in cover two, I knew if they sent a tight end down the middle of the field, I always played to the opposite side of the tight end. I was in the boundary. Tight end normally goes to the field. So if they did it, I knew I was gonna be able to sneak in and get a pick. And sure enough, they tried to s to get that right down the seam. I read it. I vacated my half of the field, ran over, jumped in front of him, got the pick, caught it. the referee was like, Here you go, hand me the ball. I ran off the field with the ball in both hands, like this, like I was carrying the football, ran to the bench,
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: ran to the bench, sat there with it, turned around, showed the ball to my mom in the stands, and that was it. I still got it to this day. it's not down here.
Kool Ken: Down.
Ron Carpenter: It's we moved not too long ago and it's still in storage. I gotta get out with my trophies, but I still have that ball in my trophy case to this day.
Kool Ken: That's dope, man, right there.
Ron Carpenter: Okay. I've had the record for I'm still the all time leading passer, and so I had it I've had it for thirty two years now.
Kool Ken: That's dope.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: And tell us your favorite NFL moment.
Ron Carpenter: hands down winning the Super Bowl. Greatest next next
Kool Ken: How was that experience? How was that experience?
Ron Carpenter: next to having my my four sons and being married the first time to our classmate Sherry and then being married the second time. Next to those events, winning the Super Bowl was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had in my life. Imagine being a football player from the age of six, playing with some of the the greatest little league, playing against some of the greatest little league competition and then playing with those guys in high school going undefeated as eighth graders going undefeated as ninth graders as freshmen j v ball I think we went undefeated we may have lost one I can't remember and then when we get to our senior year we lose one game and win a state championship. That was awesome. Now imagine doing it against the greatest talent on the earth in the NFL, getting paid to do what you're doing, having fun, playing a game that you've been playing since you were six. That you would probably do for free if you had to. and then going from three and thirteen the previous year to thirteen and three in the regular season and then sixteen and three and winning the Super Bowl. One of the greatest feelings of ever. Cry like a baby. Cry like a baby. All the champagne and all that, cry like a baby. So yeah, it w it was awesome.
Kool Ken: Hey, we we watched that game. I remember cause you you ran a couple got some punt returns, correct? Did you get
Ron Carpenter: Good job, yeah.
Kool Ken: did you score any any punt returns for touchdowns in the NFL?
Ron Carpenter: No, I never made it to the end zone. I had some long returns, kickoff returns, very few point returns, but kickoff returns. I think my longest was maybe 57. got caught from a guy. Guy ran out of bounds. He got forced out of bounds. He ran
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: down the sideline and then came back on the field and caught me from a blind side. I ain't seen. one my mo my greatest achievement other than winning the Super Bowl, individual record-wise, in '95 with the Jets, I led the NFL. in average yards per kickoff return. my average was twenty seven point seven yards per return. so didn't make it to the house, but I was getting twenty seven to thirty yards a clip. So but yeah man, just that Super Bowl man, just the way we did it, how bad we were the year before, and then to come together as a team and dominate the league the way we did, it was it was awesome. It was awesome.
Kool Ken: Yeah, it was awesome, man. What what was your your number height? You were number fourteen, right?
Ron Carpenter: Fortunately in high school, yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: And fourteen and baseball, right?
Ron Carpenter: Four fourteen in baseball, yeah. I think I was even fourteen in basketball. Yeah. Yep.
Kool Ken: Fourteen in basketball. Yeah, I I remember fourteen. When when did you change the twenty four?
Ron Carpenter: well, first I changed to twenty-one when I went to college. So
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: no none of the the senior who had twenty-one, he was the senior safety. He had twenty-one. He graduated. They gave me twenty-one. As soon as I earned a starting job, they said, Well what what number you want? I said, Primetime. Deion Sanders, I want twenty-one. No. So they they gave me twenty
Kool Ken: right, right, right, right. Yeah, there
Ron Carpenter: one. So I was twenty one all through college. I was only twenty-one. I made it to the hula bow. I was hula bow hula bow defensive MVP. I wore twenty-one there. I'm looking at my jerseys. in NFL
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: Europe and Amsterdam, I wore 21. And when I got to the realms, somebody had 21. Dexter McLeon. He was a starting corner
Kool Ken: Okay.
Ron Carpenter: of 21. So they gave me 24. And I think I was 36 with the 36 with the Vikings and 32 with the Bengals.
Kool Ken: So with all that you've accomplished over the years, all the blood, sweat, and tears, where has that led you to now?
Ron Carpenter: so all that it taught me perseverance, it taught me to be tough, it taught me to never give up, don't quit. have confidence in yourself, believe you can do whatever you set your mind to, right? that's allowed me to transition from playing football. I stopped playing at 35, and now at 35, what you gonna do next? Got into the school system. You know, I was like, look, I'm a people person, I want to coach. So maybe I'll go back to Princeton, coach, and then get into the school building and try to mentor, you know, help help some of the younger guys, talk to them about some of the things that I've experienced, some of the things that I've been through, how to persevere, you know, be a be an example, be a mentor. That's what I did. That's how I got back to Princeton. Once I got back to Princeton as a coach, I fell in love with coaching. It's the next best thing to play in. And after seven years at Princeton, I spent seven years coaching college football, Central State, Miami of Ohio, my alma mater, Indiana University for one year, and then University of Central Arkansas. And that that that University of Central Arc Arkansas was the last time that I coached in college because we moved here to Indianapolis. My wife took a job with at that time Angie's list, and eventually she moved over to Salesforce. And I knew she was not going to leave Indianapolis because she loves Salesforce. And in order for me to continue my coaching, college coaching career, every two years we probably would have to move around. So I committed to just stop coaching and and be here with my family. so it was
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: like starting all over again. Okay, you now you're in Indianapolis. What you gonna do? Let me hop back into the school system. So I I got into the school system again, became a high school math teacher, and after three years, they asked me to be dean of students. so for the past the past four years, five, four, five, going on five years, I've been the Dean of Students, Dean of Culture at a high school, a charter high school here in Indianapolis. Again, whatever it is, whatever the situation, making the best out of, finding my avenue, finding my lane, and flourishing and making it work. And my my hard work, no matter what the field, dean of students, math teacher. when I first moved here, I didn't have the opportunity, so I said, Let me get to learn the city. you know, I did okay money wise, so let me get to learn the city. Let me drive this Uber for a minute so I can learn the city. So for about a month, I drove Uber just to make a little bit of cash until I found something and to learn the city. I always got five stars, you know what I'm saying? I always had
Kool Ken: No. I'm not a
Ron Carpenter: candy and breath mints in there. You know, I I had a
Kool Ken: Yeah,
Ron Carpenter: my truck, I always had a movie playing on my my video screen in the car. You know, just different stuff like that. I would s always smell like grown man cologne up in there. You what I mean? So So you know, I just learned how to how to fit in and and and do what you're supposed to do. Never been super overconfident. I'm I'm confident, but I'm not arrogant. I'm not I don't think I'm better than anybody else. I'm I'm down to earth. And now all that My my my three younger sons, fifteen year old sophomore, Aiden Carpenter. My twins are eleven, going on twelve, Auburn Dawson Carpenter. They've been playing football for four years. They're going into their fifth year. And I teach them how to be level headed, how how to be confident but not arrogant, how to be hardworking, never give up. they all they all are learning from me. I've coached them from third grade for the twins, sixth grade for my My older son all way up to now. And right now I'm the varsity high school safeties coach. My son is a wide receiver. look for that name, Aiden Carpenter. He's next. you know. He's going to stay. He's gonna be he's gonna
Kool Ken: Hey big shout out Aiden, man. We're gonna be watching you, brother. Yeah, hey, listen your daddy, boy. Make sure you listen to your daddy. You know what he's talking about.
Ron Carpenter: be busy to me size wise. He's he's fifteen years old, sophomore. He'll be sixteen in December. Wears a size 13 shoe, hundred and eighty hundred and eighty pounds, six feet tall. Faster than I was when I was his age. He's gonna be a monster.
Kool Ken: Yeah. Wow.
Ron Carpenter: And then the twins are coming up right behind him, so for sure.
Kool Ken: Wands coming up right behind man, I'm glad you letting them play football because I know it initially you were kinda on the fence about it.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, yeah.
Kool Ken: what what made you go ahead and say y'all can play?
Ron Carpenter: They weren't playing. The real talk, they weren't my wife didn't want him to play. And
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: the movie Concussion had just come out. And after watching that c that movie concussion, I realized how much the NFL kinda kept things from us. and it i it w I was emotional when I watched the movie, especially that scene when the the one player drove head first into a semi truck on the expressway to commit suicide, 'cause he said the voices were telling him to to kill his family. So that that really got to me and I was like We were in the airport watching. I was my kids aren't gonna play. My wife is like good, I don't want to play. And honestly, it wasn't me. My wife bought them a John Madden football on PlayStation six years ago. And they played it, they fell in love with the game, and that spring they were like, Daddy, we want to play football, mommy, we want to play football. I was like, so she said, Well, let's play flag football first. They played flag football, we want to play football. So the deal was, she said, if we let them play. You gotta coach them. You gotta teach them how to tackle the right way. You gotta teach them how to avoid getting hurt if they're offensive players, how to protect themselves if they're getting tackled. She said, if you can't do that, they can't play. So started coaching them. And that's that's how we got them to play. So it worked out. And it's it's I'm glad I'm doing that because had they started playing, and if I was coaching college football, I couldn't imagine not watching them play, let alone coaching them, but just watching them play, being there in person. I couldn't imagine not being there. So, you know, God does things for a reason. I had a great time coaching college ball, but I'm loving coaching my boys. I got seven more seasons and when the twins graduate, it's a wrap. I'm done coaching.
Kool Ken: I know that's right, man. Hey, I gotta give you your flowers to clap it up for you. So before we get out of here, man, first I want to thank you first of all for
Ron Carpenter: Appreciate it.
Kool Ken: taking the time out of your busy schedule, man, and being on my podcast.
Ron Carpenter: Actually.
Kool Ken: but I have to ask you this. So the title of the podcast is Get Your Mind Right. When did you get your mind right?
Ron Carpenter: Honestly, I got my mind right. at the end of our senior season. After we won the state championship, I said to myself, I can still play ball. I'm gonna heal this knee. I didn't play basketball. my junior year, I was the most improved basketball player. I I I got that award. And the head coach, what was our head basketball coach's name? Black guy. Coach Andrews.
Kool Ken: co Drew Andrews, Coach Andrews.
Ron Carpenter: I I went to him and told him, I said, Coach Andrews, I'm not gonna play basketball. I wasn't gonna be a starter, but I I would have been sixth man off the bench, seventh man off the bench. He said, Why not? I said, I gotta literally, I gotta get my mentor together. I gotta rehab this knee because I'm gonna walk on somewhere and play football. And football is my future. And from that point on, I rehabbed, got good, ran track, had a a really good track season, totally rehabbed my knee. And that's that's what that's what propelled me. to success at at Miami when I walked on. So literally, after we had that little our banquet, our football banquet, I got academic athlete award for that year. And that whole that whole basketball season, all I did was strengthen my knee. didn't really have anyone telling me what to do. I did squats, leg extension, leg curls. That's all I did. coach Coach Cox had me in there. I was still a
Kool Ken: Yeah. Coach Cox had you in there working out, bro. Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: Small up top, but my legs were getting
Kool Ken: Yeah.
Ron Carpenter: my legs were getting right. And and that's what it
Kool Ken: Shaw.
Ron Carpenter: that's that's when I made up my mind, you know, I I wanna do this, I wanna play football, don't play basketball, rehab your knee. And that that set me on the path.
Kool Ken: And one final question. What would you tell someone that feels like they want to give up? They just want to quit? What would you tell them to keep them going?
Ron Carpenter: As human beings on this planet, God gave us the ability to do whatever we set our mind to do, flat out. And I'm not overly religious. I am spiritual. We can do whatever we want to do. So I would say whatever somebody's going through, if it's something taxing your mental, get your mind right. I love I love the name of your podcast because it's so poignant. Get your mind right, set your mind on what you want, and then go do it. You you can do whatever you set your mind to, you can do whatever you want to, but you gotta work at it. It ain't gonna come free. Nobody's gonna give you a handout. but the good go the good Lord gave you the capacity to set your mind to whatever it is you want and the ability to go do it. You just gotta go do it. You gotta want it bad enough and you gotta sacrifice to go do it.
Kool Ken: That brother, that's beautiful. this this has been a great honor, a great show. I'm I'm glad I got to spend some time with my good brother.
Ron Carpenter: Likewise.
Kool Ken: yeah, you you you're a part of zone fifteen productions, you already know. That's for life. Yeah, when this shit blow up
Ron Carpenter: No doubt. I just had I just had I had my jacket on earlier earlier this spring 'cause it was still a little chilly over here. I was on my way out the door. I said, Let me rock this jacket. So I had my jacket on. I still be rocking it.
Kool Ken: There, me too. Hey, cause cause we can't give up. You know what I mean? I don't know how to give up.
Ron Carpenter: Well down.
Kool Ken: and it's gonna blow up. You know what I mean? We we
Ron Carpenter: Yeah.
Kool Ken: have so so many opportunities. and all it takes is the right person, the right
Ron Carpenter: That's right.
Kool Ken: situation, and then boom, and we're ready. You know what mean?
Ron Carpenter: No doubt.
Kool Ken: So again, thank you. Thank you, thank you so much. peace, love,
Ron Carpenter: As a month, yeah.
Kool Ken: and blessings to you and your family. good luck to Aiden this year and and the twins.
Ron Carpenter: Yeah. Yeah.
Kool Ken: yeah, I'll be watching. You know, I I appreciate when you you put up the clips and so forth. tell
Ron Carpenter: Yeah, yeah.
Kool Ken: the people where they can find you at.
Ron Carpenter: So you can find me. I'm I'm a little bit everywhere, but my handle is at coach carp21. So you can find me on the some of the different social medias at at coach carp21. you know, I'm old head. I'm on Facebook most times. But all the youngsters
Kool Ken: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Ron Carpenter: be on Snapchat and Instagram and all that. But most of my stuff I'll I'll post on Facebook. Things that that that have to do with my family. That's and that's all I post. Things about my kids and my my wife and all that. as we're saying goodbye, I I want to say to you, appreciate you. Love you, brother. proud of you. You've been grinding from day one. don't care if it's a podcast, the record company, I don't care what it is, concerts, doing events for for everybody in in the zone, woodline. So keep doing what you're doing, brother. We we gon we're gonna do this thing till the wheels fall off. No doubt.
Kool Ken: Little wheels fall off. Hey
Ron Carpenter: No grab.
Kool Ken: Carp, we signing out for Carp. I'm cool, Ken. Get your mind right. Hey y'all, y'all have a great evening. We appreciate you all tuning in. We got some great guests coming up next. So hey, we love y'all. Y'all have a great night. How at your boy?
Ron Carpenter: Thank you for
Kool Ken: Peace.
