OG Unk, the Viral Football Player, Has a Couple of Things He’d Like to Clarify

What made you join this league in the first place?

I started out in 1998, in North Carolina. I played for the North Carolina Rebels. Then I moved back to New York and I played for the St. Lawrence Valley Trailblazers. I played for Machina Red Raiders or Machina Silver and Black Raiders. I went from there to Seaweed Valley Venom. I left there, went to Plattsburgh North Stars. Then I went to the Vermont Ice Storm. I got recruited by an Ottawa team in the EFL at the time. They wanted to get me over there because I was pretty good at the time, in my prime. 

From there, I moved to Virginia in 2015, and I missed the sport. So I was like, where can I find a football team? I seen one of the guys on the team—he goes by the name of Fatts. I seen his girl at my job. I was helping her with groceries because I was doing security work. And I like, who you know, that play football? She's like, “Oh, that’s my boo.” So I was like, “Oh, word? Get me in contact with him,” not realizing I already met him and talked to him about football [a] couple weeks prior. One thing led to another three years ago, and I got in connection with Coach Ocho, also known as Adrian Stevenson. And we've been vibing for three years, and in two years, I’ve gotten four rings.

How long ago was that video shot?

The beginning of this season, like April or May.

Take me through what was going down in your mind and on the field in that actual play.

Before I even got hit, I was doing my job as an offensive guard, protecting my quarterback, protecting my running back, making a hole, and truth be told, this is my third year playing offensive guard. I never really played it; I was always a tight end, a running back, when I first started playing football as a teenager. But this is my first time playing the offensive line. It felt good, you know, the hit. It took me by surprise. I wasn't hurt. I was just in pain because it felt like something was broke. But I was back on it shortly after I got off the field.

And did you hear a pop or anything?

Nah, it was just like a shock. Like, you get hit off guard, and that's what happened, like somebody knocked the wind out you. That's basically what it felt like, but with your body.

Did you actually have an ACL tear at that moment?

It's just like I said—clickbait. And that's why I didn't care too much about it at first. When he came out to our second game, there was another video. I ain't talked to him because I was kind of pissed off about it because, like, yo, why you gonna try to play me like that, saying I'm 60 years old? I'm only 47! 

But I started reading some of the comments. My team, my coaches, my doctor, my wife, my kids, they were like, “Yo, take that and run with it!”

So what was the conversation like with the young man who posted the clip when you first saw his video? And then once you started realizing what he was doing?

I talked to him earlier, and I was like, “Look, man, I appreciate what you're doing, not just for me and my team, but for the sport. Even though you make jokes on it, you're trying to build your content level up.” A lot of people don't realize about semipro, you know what I mean? They don't realize, OK, it's adults out there that still love doing what they love. If their body still can do it, let them do it.

Talk to me about your favorite reactions to the viral moment. Who was the person who shared the video that most pleasantly surprised you?

From what I just saw today, Chad Ochocino. I'm not a Bengals fan, but he said he wants to play one game. From what I heard, Snoop Dogg started following Myles Wright. The level of football there is for adults, it is shocking to see celebrities come out and take heed to pay respect to the ones that are not famous.

You're talking about what could have been with going pro. But you're in Bleacher Report, you're in Overtime. There's some people who are pros and don't have highlights in those publications.

I look at it like this: After playing 27 years, it's not who you know, it's not what you know, it's where you at. You gotta be at the right place at the right time. And it just so happened he showed up at our game and wanted to make a clickbait video. Now he has tons of content, tons of followers, and it helps.

Talk to me a bit about how you got the nickname OG Unk.

I mean, I'm 47 years old, you know?

You're not 60.

Like the video is saying? No, no. Hell no. And I tried to get Myles to change that, but at the time, I didn't realize why he put 60 years old [in the video]. But now it's clickbait, and I get it. I rock with him. Myles, he’s building that platform up even higher for guys that can't get into the league, or [are] past their prime, or still love the game.

I don't consider myself past my prime, but I do. My body does. And that's why I retired a couple weeks ago. I'm done.

Are you making it official?

Oh, I already made it official the night of our last [team] meeting. You know, maybe.

Did you ever have a doctor try to caution you against how much you were playing or the level of physical activity you were doing?

Actually, for my age, I smoke cigarettes. At one point in time, I was 500 pounds. But me and one of my other guys on my team, this was when I first started, he used to order pizza on the sideline, eat that, and then go play, come back [at] halftime, order more pizza, and play. 

My doctor [said] my health was bad, and this was, like, my late 20s, early 30s. I dropped the weight. Within two years, I was down to 200 pounds. And my doctor said, for somebody that's been smoking as long as I do, for my age, I don't seem like I'm smoking. He said my lungs is healthy, my body's healthy.

That also comes from me having been in the Marine Corps. When I was in the Marine Corps, I knew how to get my body in shape. I knew what I needed to do. I knew I needed to hit the gym, treadmill to lose weight. I knew I needed to eat right.

In a perfect world, would you have been playing professional football?

If possible? I probably would have, if I had the right guidance through junior high school, going into college, even going into the Marine Corps. And I'm not saying I didn't. It was just the guidance that I had, it was not pushing me to that level. Don't get it twisted. I'm not, by far, stupid. I got my own business. I've had three businesses of my own—successful businesses that I started myself—and I got four culinary arts degrees.

If you'd like anyone to take something away something from your videos, what would it be?

My main reason for playing football, other than for myself, was for little kids to get off the streets. And I think that there's them coming out, seeing adults play football, having a clear head. I know there's some videos out there where there's adults fighting. Football is a heated sport, but if I could be a part of getting just one off the streets from gang banging, gun violence, school shootings, I done did my job.

It looks like you don't take the nickname OG for granted.

I’ve got to. [Flips camera to son’s football game] This is what I'm doing right here. That's my little man's football game. He's on the JV team. I'm a volunteer coach with them. I got a rec ball [league] for the juniors and seniors that I'm coaching. I done gave it up now; now I'm passing the torch. When you love something so bad, there's been a lot of days, a lot of nights that my family was there for my support. You know, I put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the years.