Name, Image & MicNess
Name, Image & MicNess dives into the dynamic world of college athletics, exploring the evolving landscape of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Presented by Krewe Allons, this podcast ensures that Louisiana Athletics remains at the forefront of competitiveness while offering fans exclusive access to players, coaches, and staff. It's also a unique platform for Acadiana businesses to connect directly with student athletes, fostering stronger community ties.
Name, Image & MicNess
The Art of Business and Football with K.C. Ossai
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Have you ever wondered what it takes to balance the life of a top collegiate athlete and a dedicated student? Join us as we sit down with K.C. Ossai, the standout senior linebacker for the Ragin' Cajuns, who shares his incredible journey from Nigerian immigrant to Louisiana leading tackler. K.C. reflects on his excitement about his player rating in the latest college football video game and the pride he takes in being known as a "run stopper." He also shares personal stories of playing as himself in the game, showing how childhood dreams can transform into reality.
Beyond the gridiron, K.C. delves into the importance of team culture and community service. From friendly rivalries with high school friends to the thrill of upcoming games, K.C. reveals how the camaraderie and support system within the team drive their success. Hear about his impactful volunteer work at Belle's Tower and his meaningful connections with community leaders like John Williams and Todd Citron. K.C. opens up about the challenges of balancing sports, academics, and business interests, shedding light on his aspirations of going pro and preparing for life after football.
Get an insider's look into a day in the life of a student-athlete during fall camp, where consistency and mental preparation are key. K.C. emphasizes how little efforts, like extra training and stress-relieving activities such as ping pong, contribute to overall success. We wrap up with exciting news about things to come with "Name, Image & MicNess". Stay tuned and follow along as we celebrate the inspiring stories and promising future of the Cajun Nation.
To support the collective and join the Krewe, visit Krewe Allons' website today!
To learn more about ULEDF and the Art of Business, visit Upper Lafayette's website.
This podcast is part of the AcadianaCasts Network. Send an email to info@acadianacasts.com to start or enhance your podcast journey!
Welcome to another episode of Name, Image and Mikeness. I'm your host, Carter Semino, the founder of the Acadiana Cast Network. Now, if this is the first one you're tuning into, you've missed three great ones so far. This one, of course, is great as well in my opinion, but the first three we had some great conversations, learned a lot about NIL and the inner workings of college athletics as we currently stand through Dr Brian Maggard. We also kind of got the perspective of football and how they're dealing with NIL and the retention and how the program is looking and team looking this upcoming season with head coach Michael Desermo. And then we also learned a little bit more about the business community of Lafayette and Acadiana and how they're playing a role in this whole thing through the Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation's program called the Art of Business. Some great episodes, great insights, had some fun along the way.
Speaker 1:But to wrap up this first run of episodes, we're talking with a young athlete with a bright future, Last season's leading tackler for the Raging Cajuns, the Nigerian nightmare himself, senior linebacker Casey Osai. Now, I can't say enough good things about this young dude. A great player, but a better human being. There were a couple of, just so you guys know a couple of technical difficulties. This was actually our first episode that we recorded our first conversation in the indoor practice facility for the Raging Cajuns and I think there was just like a faulty wire, maybe a couple of quick false cuts, but we got it all kind of figured out by the time we got around to Coach Dez and Dr Maggard and I believe we fixed most of it in post-production. So it shouldn't be that big of a deal. But if you do notice it, just lay off me in the comments, will you? I'd appreciate that. But I don't think it's going to take away from our amazing conversation with Casey, and I think you're going to see that.
Speaker 1:But before we get to that conversation, I need to talk to you first about our title sponsor of today's episode. That's right, it's once again the Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation and the Art of Business. Are you a local business looking to make a meaningful impact in your community? Welcome to the Art of Business folks, A personal and professional development program brought to you by Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation, where creativity meets commerce and where your business can be more than just a name. It's a cornerstone of community and economic growth.
Speaker 1:Upper Lafayette isn't just about networking. It's about building a stronger, more vibrant community where businesses like yours thrive. By joining, you're not just getting a seat at the table. You're becoming a vital part of a movement that supports local art, culture and economic growth of our area. Now what's in it for you? I'll tell you. Imagine your business gaining visibility, all while contributing to the cultural fabric of Lafayette. Plus, with our strong network of like-minded businesses and community leaders, you'll have endless opportunities to connect, collaborate and grow alongside creatives, student-athletes and vetted members of our community Ready to take your business to the next level.
Speaker 1:Join Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation today and be a part of the Art of Business program. Big stuff's happening, guys. You want to be a part of it, especially if you are a supporter of the Raging Cajuns and a business owner here in Acadiana. Visit the website at upperlafayettecom or follow us on social media to learn more. Together, let's create a community where business is an art. Now, with all that being said, let's get to the man of the hour, linebacker, casey osai. All righty here with my man, casey osai. Casey, uh, been getting to know you the past couple months, you know, through this whole Art of Business program, through the NIL and crew along and all that. But before we get into kind of the NIL and the Art of Business and those type of things, I want to have a little fun with you. You said in a video recently that I saw that you weren't too happy about your player rating in the new college football video game. Now I expect that number to be higher as the season progresses and they update that live.
Speaker 1:But I got to ask man, you were a kid the last time the video game came out, like 2014 or so what's it like to play as yourself in a video game?
Speaker 2:It's amazing. I remember as a kid I begged my mom, my mom and dad. We're Nigerians so they were very strict on like playing video games Sure School all the time. So I begged my mom and dad, I always begged my mom. I said, if I get all A's this school year, the whole school year, will I get a game? Can I get a game please? Mom and dad said yes. My dad said yes, like thinking, oh, he's going to forget about it. I did not forget about it. So by the time I got the game, got the new game out of it, I came out of it. I started playing man. It was just amazing. And then being able to fast forward 10, 12 years later to be able to play the game as you're being in the game is amazing. It just brings back that little me that had to fight pretty much to get the game.
Speaker 1:Well, hey, you led the season in tackles for me in my dynasty, so I appreciate you for that. You're labeled as a run stopper. Yeah, would you qualify yourself as that?
Speaker 2:absolutely. I think I probably myself I'm able to stop the run. I think the biggest thing as a defensive player, as a defense, as a linebacker, is to stop the run first, because if our offense is running the ball well, they can do anything, yeah. So well.
Speaker 1:I appreciate you for your service on the field for me. Unfortunately, that I was. I was able to win a couple national championships down the line, but that first year all I could get was to the college football playoff. We lost to Ohio State in the shoe. It was a hard-fought loss, but you played valiantly.
Speaker 2:Steady progress is always progress, man. It's still progress.
Speaker 1:I'm glad we made it to the college football playoffs the first year, man, yeah, I appreciate it and you know, speaking of on the field, you were involved in over 90 tackles last season combined. You're always around the ball, you're kind of a ball hawk, see ball, get ball right, yeah. So like explain to me, like I'm a five-year-old, like the mindset that you have after making a tackle. I'll be like whew, I'm good, but like reset, do it again. Like what's that mindset going through?
Speaker 2:It's always a one-play mentality. You know, as a defensive player, whether you have a big play, a run stop or you miss a tackle, you know you have to have that one-play mentality. To where you reset the last play doesn't matter, no matter what the play was so like. For me, just making a tackle is always like, okay, no one cares, casey, that's literally my job, like that's what I'm supposed to do. So now I do the same thing over again. The next play. You're always as good as the next play. That's what my old coaches always say You're always as good as the next play. So boom, that play is over, let's go play, we'll make another tackle.
Speaker 1:In the era of this current era of college football, you know I mean your team you're able to kind of practice against a lot of that RPO-style offense. What is uniquely difficult about the RPO from your position?
Speaker 2:I would say you have to be able to be patient. You have to be able to see with your eyes, I think, as a linebacker, the RPO it tests us. You know you able to be patient. You have to be able to see with your eyes, I think, as a linebacker, the rpo it tests us. You know you have to check your run first, like that's the most important thing, like I said, making sure they're not running the ball. So you have to check the run first and then, when they throw the ball, you have to be able to run to the sideline. And run to the sideline it's not like a god-given talent, it's really not. Let's just hustle into the ball. Who wants to get to the ball first? I'd like to say like I need that, like we call it, assist tackles. I need that 0.5, because a 0.5 is a full tackle still. So like I'm running to the ball trying to get in on the tackle, I need that. So it's gonna boot my. He's only gonna boost my stats up, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah for sure yeah so if you have that mindset, just running to the ball, checking, checking your gap first, doing your 111 first, and then run to the ball, you'll be fine that's all you have to do.
Speaker 1:The season's going to be a little different, uh, for occasions, fans and for players, you know, with the stadium rebuild uh are. Are you preparing for that?
Speaker 2:just like just I know that's probably a dumb question like you're focused on the game, but those outside things that they affect you ever going on and with the fans being a different part of the stadium no, they've never like they've never affected me, even when I did uh, I used to do summer track back in fourth grade and my mom, my teammates on the same track team as me, they used to yell my name while I was running. I can never, like I've always been, just be able to block everybody else out and just focus on one thing, and I don't think it would be much of a difference for me this year. I mean, of course I'll notice it walking in and it would be a little different just walking in and not being able to. I don't even know where we're going to walk in for Cajun Walk, but once the game starts, I'm fully immersed in the game. I'm not worried about anything else. That probably plays well for you playing on the road, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now, speaking of road games, I'm talking to you before this. I know you're looking forward. A lot of the team is looking forward to going to Wake Forest this year. What are some other games that you're really looking forward to this season?
Speaker 2:The Tulane game should be good. It's not a road game, but Tulane game should be good. I think honestly, I think a lot of our games on our schedules is going to be a good game just because of, like, we have Grambling Tulane, they can travel here, travel here, they travel well. So that should be fun. Like atmosphere wise, it should be fun, yeah for sure. Like I said, wake Forest. The reason why I want to go to Wake Forest is because I have a friend that plays linebacker there as well, so that would just be nice to see him play against him. We always played against each other in high school. It was always a good.
Speaker 1:Full circle moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good little rivalry full circle moment. So that should be. I haven't even looked down the schedule for real, but I guess I would say Southern Miss. Oh yeah, Southern Miss, Southern Miss is always fun on the road.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Always fun on the road. I don't know when we play them, but last time we played them on the road they played on Thursday and they were packed. Surprised me, Thursday game packed like that, yeah, so that should be fun.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Yeah, every game has some sort of built-in rivalry the past few years, absolutely. Finally going to Coastal after the 2020 drop.
Speaker 2:Yes, I haven't played Coastal since I've been here, so I'm excited for that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, it's going to be an exciting season. I'm excited to see you on the field living up to the best of your potential that you got I know you're excited.
Speaker 1:Appreciate that that you got. I know you're excited, and to be able to rep your number this year and get to know you, it's super exciting. Well, dude, you're a leader both on and off the field, and you and some of your teammates recently have been volunteering this past summer at a day space for people with dementia called Bell's Tower, doing yard work, cleaning up the interior of the house, sweating as much as you probably do on the football field.
Speaker 2:It was hot, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what's that experience been like for you and your teammates and kind of give me a little background of like the whole culture team element of it as well.
Speaker 2:So the culture teams is like our way of creating our own little team in our big team. So I think Coach Des has like leaders, the leaders on the team we have maybe 16, and he splits us all up into uh groups of two and pick our teams, pick who we want, and it's kind of like just competition in the summer, you know, competition not just for uh, uh on the field, but off the field, academics as well. Like you're always competing every single week to see who has the most points, whoever has the most points wins. It's a shirt. I don't really care about the shirt, I just like winning, so I always want to win that.
Speaker 2:But, um, so with that is like I pick the people that you kind of pick the people that you can trust and have the you can, you can mold into onto your team. You know, I'm saying like I pick people that I can mold, I, I can influence in the right way, in the right direction. So, with that being said, like the community service was just a way of like I feel like it's a way of thinking. As an athlete, you're always thinking the world revolves around you, so it's a way of like pushing back and looking into other people's, you know lives.
Speaker 1:Unmoving yourself a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and seeing how you can help, you know, give back. So I always enjoy doing that stuff. I don't care if I have to do labor work. I don't mind doing labor work. I don't care if I have to sit out there and just talk to people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the owner of Bell's Tower, john Williams, is the executive director of Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation as well Lafayette Economic Development Foundation as well, and I know you two have been talking a lot the past few months. What's been your experience interacting kind of with Upper Lafayette and its whole Art of Business program?
Speaker 2:It's a very like genuine experience, you know, for most people that are in charge of a lot of money like that or are in charge of making a lot of money like that. I'm always really good at reading people so you can sense the non-genuine side of them. Especially with business people, they're always trying to backdoor you. So with him it was always genuine though. So our conversation has always been genuine. It's never been about what he can get out of me and what I can get out of him. It's always just been how can we make each other better? How?
Speaker 1:can we make?
Speaker 2:each other grow, so that's what I've always enjoyed about talking to him and being around him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean you have aspirations of going pro.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:I mean your brother's killing it in the pros. That's been well documented. But you know, a lot of this Art of Business program is to prepare folks for life after ball and you know we're not ready for that just yet. We've got a lot of ball to play, we've got this season to play and then you've got aspirations for pro ball as well. But you know, just having something that from the outside that is incentivizing businesses and student athletes to kind of think about it a little bit more, do you think it's going to help players down the line or even this season?
Speaker 2:Absolutely you know, as an athlete, you're so immersed in going to that next level, playing at that next level, that you don't want to think of a plan B. I don't even want to say it's a plan B. It's just like playing in the leagues. It will get me wealth, it will get me a lot of money, but I want to create wealth, generational wealth, for my family, and the best way to do that is, uh, own my own business, be incorporated in business, in the business life. So just imagine my own money that I, that I will make is one of the biggest things that you can do to generate wealth.
Speaker 1:So well, how do you manage that as a student athlete? You know you've got your school work, you've got the stuff off the field um, you've. Now you're also trying to think about this other business adventure. How are you balancing all that?
Speaker 2:it's. It's all about time management. For me, like I learned that early on my freshman year, like in high school I used to I was smart enough to just not do any work. You know, any school work and I'll just take the test and I'll be fine, make A's still. But once you get to college, like you have to be able to manage your time, you have to be able to say ah, I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do, so now I have to allocate what is more important. So it's all about that, you know. And there will be sacrifices, sacrifices have to be made, you know. So some things have to go.
Speaker 1:But once you do that and figure out what's really important to you, what you really want to do, you'll be all right we'll get right back to our conversation with Casey Osai in just a minute, but first do you want to know how you can make a direct impact on the lives of UL student-athletes like a Casey Osai? Well, support crew along the NIL collective for Louisiana athletics crew Crew Along provides Raging Cajun student-athletes opportunities to build their personal brands while engaging with our community. For as little as $10 a month $10 a month you can help Louisiana athletics separate itself from the competition. Invite your friends and family to join the crew and support Raging Cajun student-athletes. Visit crewalongcom today to get started. That's K-R-E-W-E-A-L-L-O-N-Scom to get started. Together we will make a difference.
Speaker 1:All right, let's get back to it. You were like the first student-athlete to be put through this art of business curriculum and early on you were tied in with todd citron, owner of hub city ford, and you were the first recipient of hub city ford's calvin james man of the year award for your work on and specifically off the field. What does it mean to be recognized for that? And, most importantly, how proud was your?
Speaker 2:mom, my mom and dad were extremely proud. It's amazing. You know I don't do anything I do for recognition, but it's amazing just to get the recognition. It's amazing to see that the work that you're putting in is being shown to the light. So it was amazing just to get that recognition.
Speaker 1:That's awesome man. It was well-deserved and it's been cool to kind of see you interact with Todd Todd's, a big fan of you. You went on his, his, uh, cajun Catholic show as well.
Speaker 2:I'm a big fan of Todd.
Speaker 1:He's a good guy to know he is Um. So, going back to the work that you guys were doing with your culture team um at Bell's Tower, uh, is there a teammate of yours that you were not expecting? I mean, you picked these guys off of some of their characters, but you know you got some freshmen with you right, so it's hard to kind of know those guys, right off the bat. But is there anyone that, like surprised you with what they put into this?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Brady and Gilbo. He was a freshman punter. Yeah, I wasn't really sure what to expect from him.
Speaker 1:I mean he's a punter, so you're already looking down on him Exactly.
Speaker 2:But no, he was like the first one to respond. Every single time I sent a text, he was the first one to volunteer. So it just like my respect, like shot through the roof with him just being able not even like sometimes when he wasn't able to go, he was like the first one to respond. I'm just like, yes, yes, that's how it's supposed to be. Like, take action now, even if you can't go, let me know. That's. That's the communication skills was just on point. So I just I really appreciate him having him on my team. I'm glad I found a diamond in the rough right there yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Uh, great kid from youngsville, good family, yeah, um. So I'm going to learn a little bit more about kc the man, uh, and talking to you off air and from Todd's show, um, learned a little bit about your life and your upbringing and whatnot. Uh, which work ethic was instilled early on from from your dad? Can you talk a little bit about your background and where you come from and how your dad helped instill that work ethic in you and your family?
Speaker 2:absolutely so. You know, I was born and born and raised in Nigeria. I lived there for about seven to eight years and just have watched my mom and dad. But my dad, let's say this, he uh moved to london to go work when I was two. He stayed there for like five years, wow yeah.
Speaker 2:So I didn't really like I remember vividly him leaving that day. I wanted, I wanted to go with him so badly. I was like begging and crying. He's like just go put on your shoes. You know, go put on your shoes and come right back and I'll be ready for you. So I ran in the room, got my shoes. As soon as I came out he's already at the front door, at the gate, leaving. I'm like what the fudge? Like why are you leaving me? But he left for five years, you know, worked. I used to call him all the time. You know, just talk to him, just him being able to make that sacrifice, leaving all his family at home, going overseas to go find work and provide for the family, that was just a big thing for me. That's always been in the back of my mind. Like that takes a lot of sacrifice to leave your family and go find work.
Speaker 1:It can be easy to, when you're a kid, resent him for that right, absolutely.
Speaker 2:But like I always admired my dad I don't know why I just always did he was just like he always looked seven foot in my eyes when I was a kid, like he was just so big, so tall. So you know, that's as a kid, you always do that.
Speaker 2:But yeah you know, just being able to go there for five years, not come back one time and just continue work, sacrifice was just a big thing for him, for me, and then my mom taking care of us and also work and also traveling, like just watching them like try and scrape and fight, for us was a big thing. And then when they came here, the more they worked, like it's amazing. Like I always say every time I post, I'm blessing Heidi and Fabian. I fully believe that just because of like, I've seen what God has put us through. I've seen what God has brought us out of you know.
Speaker 2:So us coming here as a family was truly a blessing. And then watching my dad work the ninth shift, like work, the ninth shift at a gas station, come back home, take us to school, tired, sleeping on the road, like just that, that aspect of continual work, continual just pushed me. It was like, yeah, I'm at a young age, I think fifth grade. I was like, yeah, I'm not a woman that are not paying fifth grade. I was like, yeah, I'm not. My mom and dad are not paying for college. I don't know how I'm going to do it, because at that point still, I was like, yeah, academics, or I wasn't really fully immersed into sports, but I was like I can, I can, I know I'm smart enough to get an academic scholarship. I don't care how I do it, they're constantly as a kid, it still drives me. So it's just all about repaying them. You know, I always tell myself like they've been selfish for so long, they've been selfless for so long, it's time for me to allow them to be selfish for once.
Speaker 2:So that's what I'm pushing to get to.
Speaker 1:That's awesome man. So how old were you when you moved to Conroe, texas?
Speaker 2:I think we moved to Houston when we first got to America for like a year and a half, so I was probably like nine and a half ten. Wow, yeah, what was that adjustment like? It wasn't bad. You know, houston had a lot of our family members. My uncle on my dad's side was there with my cousin, so you had a lot of familiarity in an unfamiliar place.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that was kind of tough to move away from because they lived like 20 minutes away from us at the time in Houston. You know, houston is big. When we moved to Conroe they lived like an hour away. So it was like it was tough at first but I always had my siblings, like we all were always together. We're close in age so we always leaned on each other. So it was fine, I was, I was all right.
Speaker 2:And then, I think six months later, my brother, my little brother, was born and I wasn't a baby anymore. That's something I was crying about for about eight years. I was telling my mom, begging my mom to have a kid, not knowing that my dad is not even at home, like how is she going to? I couldn't comprehend it. I was like, mom, please, I don't want to be the little last boy anymore. My dad's not at home. I don't want to be the little last boy anymore, my dad's not at home. So I don't know how I was begging her to have a kid when my dad wasn't at home. But you know, yeah. So yeah, once that happened, I was happy. I was happy to be a big brother.
Speaker 1:Well, man, like you certainly deserve everything that you've worked hard for in your young career, I want to give a little some fans and people who are watching a little more behind the athlete right. Can you break down for me the day in the life of KCOSI, especially now during fall camp?
Speaker 2:Okay, we can do a fall camp day. So, boom, I wake up around 545, 6. My first alarm is 545. Usually snooze that one. That's the come on. Kc, get up. And then the 6 o'clock is get up. Kc, getting up. Get up. Casey Getting up, get up. Usually turn the rosary on on my phone, get ready. 6.30, I'm shooting out to Morning Mass at. I forgot the name, but it's the one right by Red's Gym. Oh okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, shoot out there 7, 7.30. Come down here. Come meet Ben Woolridge, watch a film with him, eat breakfast. I really don't like to eat breakfast, though, to be honest.
Speaker 1:It upsets my stomach.
Speaker 2:It's too early in the morning to eat, so I'll just go. Usually you go weigh in or sign in, and then, after that, fall camp starts his day. You know the life of the day of fall camp.
Speaker 1:It's fun though I can't complain because like what does the average day in camp look like?
Speaker 2:We have like special teams meeting at 9.30, from 9.30 to 10 o'clock, 10, 15, and then we have team meeting from then until 10.45. Defensive meeting, offense lift flip. After that we have a walkthrough at 11.45. And then after walkthrough we have lunch. I usually eat lunch, that's usually my first meal of the day, lunch. And then when do the pads come on? Pads come on around 6, so it's a long way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have all day to get your mind right for practice, pretty much so. Nah, but we have a break in between after lunch and then come back. I usually don't leave, I don't go home, because, like, if I go home and I lay in bed, yeah done, yeah, you might not see Casey for practice. So I'll usually stay up here and just like, do a little treatment, get my body right, get my mind right, get my ankle taped and then just roll into it. I play ping pong too. Yeah, absolutely Play ping pong in between that just to release some stress because, like I said, I'm extremely hard on myself. So you know that's my time to relax, get rid of everything.
Speaker 1:And then, once after I get done playing ping pong, we go back to meetings, and then after that is picking up, practice time so, as we've been developing this art of business program and kind of pitching it to the folks around acadiana, um, I made like a a little mock-up uh electronic press kit for for you, like a little like digital resume. Yeah, and I was interviewing you before just over the phone and I'm asking you some generic questions. You know, like, what you want to do in life and you know some of your interests and I asked you what are you, what are you good at, like, what are you best at outside of football? And you're like I don't know, man, everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, honestly.
Speaker 1:But it was not a cocky answer. Tell me the reason why.
Speaker 2:I just fully believe that anything that I truly want to be good at I can be good at. Like ping pong, I remember my dad used to beat me like in the summer we used to be in the summer every single day, ping pong table down just playing ping pong. He used to beat me so bad and after like two weeks I got really good and I finally started beating him. So, like anything, I put my mind to bowling. I'm good at bowling. Anything I put my mind to I can just do. I don't know. As long as it can give me a month at least to train for it, I'll be good.
Speaker 1:So you always show up for those little team activities where you're able to go to a bowling alley or something like that Absolutely.
Speaker 2:We usually go to rock and ball. I love rock and ball, but the lanes are too skinny. I've been working on like I started. I used to bowl straight. Didn't really like it, I didn't like how it felt on my wrist, so then I started spinning the ball curving the ball in. You got a curve now, yeah, so now the lanes are too skinny for me to get my curve and I'm not, you know, it's not consistent enough for me.
Speaker 1:So I don't really like the time that you've given me today and all the time that you've given us through engaging with this Art of Business program the past few months. Can't wait to watch you on the field. What would be a message? You have this platform now. The average fan out there, the average Cajuns fan, or any sort of sports fan what would be your message to them about the work that student athletes do that they don't see?
Speaker 2:I would say the work that you do that people don't see is what separates you. It separates you from the pack and it's not more of like, oh, doing the work here and there it's about consistency, like how consistent can you be? It could be 10 minutes every single day of doing extra work, 10 minutes of doing extra drills, 10 minutes of trying to be better at your craft, and those 10 minutes will add up at the end. Because my coaches always say, like if you skip a rep every single day, if you're lifting weights, you skip a rep every single day, at the end of the year that's 365 reps. You Now imagine, if you did an extra rep every single day, how much that separates you from the guys that are skipping a rep, because there's surely guys skipping a rep every single day. So you just keep that in mind and it's not necessarily like you, it can't be, it's not an immediate effect, like you have to continue just consistently putting in the work and it will show up.
Speaker 1:I'm ready to run through a brick wall. Casey, I appreciate it. Just a little quick. Some fast-action, Acadiana-type questions for you. Oh wow, How's your dance skills? Are you two stepping on the dance floor to some Zydeco?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah. I learned from my good bud Wesley Mays. He was here with us my freshman sophomore year. He taught me one day at his house and I honestly haven't done it in a while. But like I said, you put your mind to it, you can do it.
Speaker 1:You feel me. Ladies, come find KC on the dance floor. Please don't um please don't.
Speaker 2:I'm good by myself right now.
Speaker 1:Please don don't Gumbo or etouffee.
Speaker 2:I'm a foodie, I'm a big foodie, oh man.
Speaker 1:Okay, instead of that one, what's been your favorite Louisiana dish? It could be something boiled.
Speaker 2:It could be like a gumbo or an etouffee or jambalaya. You can't beat a good gumbo yeah. I don't think you can. Personally, you can't beat a good gumbo. Yeah, I don't think you can. Personally, you can't beat a good gumbo man.
Speaker 1:It's a little hot for a gumbo.
Speaker 2:right now it is. That's the problem, though. I would eat gumbo at any time of the year. You can't. People are always like oh, it got cold, let's make your gumbo.
Speaker 1:I've tried it?
Speaker 2:No, I've tried it. Hit me up, it's not bad. But would I do it without the potato? I asked for potato salad. When they gave me a gumbo, no, but when they put it in I wouldn't complain. It's not bad.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of like that too, like I'm hit or miss, like if it's already in there I'm not gonna complain but I probably am not putting it on my own, yeah no, no, no, for sure I'm not putting on my own you know, um, and what's your least favorite street to drive on in lafayette?
Speaker 2:see it was a thruway, because I didn't like I used to drive it and I I used to feel like my car was like breaking down, but they fixed it now, so I think it's it's got to be johnson johnson, around one, 12 to three. Huh, yeah, I just, I just don't understand why you're driving five to seven miles under the speed limit in the left lane.
Speaker 2:Like please get in the right lane so I can pass you up. I got to go to practice, man. Yeah, that's my only pet peeve. Yeah, I'm going to stop there.
Speaker 1:Oh man, Well, once again, dude, you're great. Looking forward to watching you this season. The mothership has you listed at 6'2", 241.
Speaker 2:You still sitting at 241? No, that's usually my off-season weight, okay. So, right now I'm at 233. So that's like around my playing weight now, okay.
Speaker 1:Well, looking forward to you guys playing this season and to see you dominate on the field, like you did for my dynasty team in college football 25. Yeah, and I appreciate you sitting down with us Of course man in college football 25. Yeah, and I appreciate you sitting down with us and getting to know you man. You're a great young man and I can't wait to the sky's the limit for you, brother, so appreciate that man.
Speaker 1:Absolutely All right man. I love that dude. Can't wait to see him ball out on the field this season so excited. We talked about it kind of in episode two, maybe glossed over it slightly with Casey, but if you want to learn more I know we have a large faith-based community here in Acadiana or if you just want to learn a little bit more about Casey and his background and upbringing, check out Todd Citrin's podcast. Of course, todd is the owner of Hub City Ford. He was in episode two with Upper Lafayette joining John Williams for that great conversation. But he's got a podcast called Cajun Catholics Cajuns Catholics. You can check that out on Apple podcasts and episode just came out with Casey Osai this week. So make sure you go check out that conversation as well to learn more about Casey the man and his faith-based journey.
Speaker 1:Our next episode will be announced soon, during the show's brief hiatus, but we've got some great guests lined up that I promise you'll want to hear from. I'm really excited about the people that we're going to be able to talk to and highlight and showcase, especially some of those athletes and coaches and staff who maybe don't get as much shine as they deserve or that they should, but we want to once again thank our sponsor of today's show, upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation and their Art of Business program. Once again, if you're a business owner in Acadiana, head to UpperLafayettecom to learn more about how to get involved. We also want to remind fans to support Krulon's Win With 10 campaign, as Dr Maggard put it so eloquently. If we don't, we won't Now visit Kruloncom to get started on that. We've got so much great content coming down the pipe in the coming weeks and months, but, guys, we need your support.
Speaker 1:The easiest way to help is to subscribe. You can subscribe if you like watching the show to the Upper Lafayette YouTube page. Name, image and mic-ness will be there, but you can also check it out on audio podcast streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Make sure to leave us a five-star review. Do all that. But most importantly, I want you guys to not only subscribe, but I want you guys to comment on YouTube especially. It's a great comment section. We'd love to hear from you guys. What do you want to hear? Who do you want to hear from? What are the type of topics and questions that you would like asked of these athletes? Coaches, student athletes Said athletes twice. I don't care. We're rolling, we're moving. But, guys, that's the easiest way for us to grow is by subscribing, engaging with us. You can also follow along on the clips Maybe that's how you found out about the show through the Acadiana Cast and Upper Lafayette social media channels.
Speaker 1:Crew Along is also doing a great job of sharing our stuff, but we're not going to just be sharing content from the show. We also have some behind-the-scenes content and some other things that we're working on around tailgates, highlighting some of the fans and people who make up the great Cajun Nation that we're going to be having on the Upper Lafayette YouTube channel. Like I said, we'll be taking a bit of a hiatus from the show for a few weeks, but while we get into the swing of things. That's why we're promoting the show and getting into the swing of things, but I promise we'll be back very shortly and when we are back. That's why you got to subscribe to the show, because the show is going to come out once a week.
Speaker 1:We'll have a new episode every single week, coming out on Wednesdays, and I'm excited to get into that and, just you know, not to beat a dead horse here, but just to showcase some of these athletes and bring you guys the type of content that Cajuns fans deserve. It's been a long ride for Cajuns fans and I think the future is bright, especially with things like Kuralom and the Art of Business being tapped in to our Acadiana community. But that'll do it for the first four episodes. We'll be back very shortly. Make sure you're following along, subscribing so you can be notified when the next episodes are coming out. Leave us comments, all that like we just talked about. But that is a wrap on this episode. For now, enjoy the ride and go, cajuns.
