Lance Leggett, former Canes receiver and now the man behind Taste One Boiled Peanuts, joined the CanesInSight podcast earlier today to kick off FSU week.
Here's some of the highlights from the show:
DMoney: You lived through this rivalry, man. Those were some highly physical games, what are some of your memories?
Lance Leggett: Honestly, it's what everybody says. You get to play against kids you grew up playing Little League against, even some of your high school teammates. For me, I got to play against one of my high school teammates, Alex Boston. He played defensive end for Florida State. He went there and I went to Miami, so now I get to talk noise to him. I had my chance, man.
I feel like this is the best rivalry in college football, hands down. I know they had the Red River Shootout last week. But this right here? Florida State's down right now, it is what it is. It's still a big rivalry game.
Ahmmon: When you were there, what was your preparation, your mindset going into this? You know what type of war this is. What was your thought process leading up to it, and then once the ball's off the tee?
Lance Leggett: This is where you make your money. Any player on the team, this is the game. This is where the scouts are paying attention. And this is your childhood dream. If you're from Florida, you were either a Miami fan or a Florida State fan growing up.
I'll take you back to one of my memories, my first FSU week, because I didn't know they did this. During practice they play the music. Coach Coker used to have it blasting loud. You hear that chant all practice. All practice. And I'm like, so this is really how you prepare for a big game like this.
Ahmmon: That music is one of the most triggering sounds I've ever heard in my life. My first year we played Florida State at home, and Coach Richt had it blasting at practice. I didn't understand it, because we're at home.
It wasn't until 2017, going on the road, that I understood. We're in a tiny little tunnel, you hear them go crazy with the chant, and it's loud the whole game. It really does get you ready for that atmosphere.
DMoney: Let me ask you about recruiting, Lance, because you come from Polk County. Miami has gotten guys from that area, but it's highly contested. SEC country, Florida's there, FSU's there. You were committed to Florida at one time, and that was a huge flip for Miami. What does Miami need to do, as an urban program, to go into the middle of the state with all those SEC and FSU ties and get the big-time players out there?
Lance Leggett: Cristobal already knows who to come holler at. He comes and hollers at me. Everybody in the Miami fan base knows Polk County is my territory for Miami. Any player you see going to Miami from Polk County, I'm calling Cristobal.
That's one of the ways I give back to the program. If I see a great kid in Polk County, I'm pushing him. Yeah, I'm recruiting. And it's not just because it's Miami. If it was a coach I didn't rock with, I wouldn't be pushing kids down there. I love Cristobal. He was one of my favorite coaches, honestly. So I do my best to get the kids down that way.
DMoney: Let me ask about the receivers. What do you see when you look at Miami's receiving corps this year, and how do they stack up?
Lance Leggett: That receiver corps can lead us to the national championship. You've got Mali, you've got Coop, you've got Upshaw and then you've got Lofton at tight end. Come on, man.
I'd put us top three in the nation at receiver. I'll be honest. Nobody can stop Mali. Call a spade a spade. What we can do with that offense with him is unbelievable.
DMoney: The chat calls guys who make plays only in practice Greentree All-Americans. They called Elija Lofton that. Now you're watching it translate to games. Mario said it this morning: if you'd seen practice, you'd have already known what he could do. Guys who do it consistently in practice, those guys can perform.
Lance Leggett: Every player will tell you. Practice at Greentree is harder than the game. That's real. Everybody's cool in the locker room. On the field, somebody's trying to take your head off.
Ahmmon: Lance, I want to backtrack a little. What's the moment you realized you were really playing at The U? Big-time college football. When did it hit you?
Lance Leggett: Florida State. My first one. I only got six plays that game, and I'm like, man, I want more than six. But I got in early, and I'm standing on that field thinking, this is crazy. That's your childhood dream.
The moment felt unreal. Even just running out of that smoke. I can tell you some funny stories about the smoke. A lot of people think you can see in there. You can't see anything.
DMoney: You both played as true freshmen. Lance, you came in, made plays and got on the field. What do these true freshmen have to do mentally to be in a position to play?
Lance Leggett: You have to want to compete and not be scared of competition. Some freshmen come in and they're shy: 'That's the upperclassman, he was the All-American last year, I don't want to overshadow him.' No.
You have to have the attitude that it's time to eat. My dad instilled that in me. He's a legend back home and he was my track coach.
That's why I love track athletes. In football you've got ten other people on the field helping you. In track, you're by yourself. If you didn't put the work in, it's going to show. So I learned early: never shy away from competition, never be scared of the spotlight, and go out and ball. That's how I can tell if a freshman's ready to play.
DMoney: We know the football player. Talk to us about Taste One, your journey in the business world and the success you've had.
Lance Leggett: If you want the best boiled peanuts, go to tasteoneboiledpeanuts.com. I'm not asking you to buy anything. Like something on the page, share something on the page. But if you do want to order use the promo code CanesInsight for 20 percent off.
You might have seen the picture of Cristobal and D-Train holding them up.
DMoney: What was the transition like for you, going from athlete to the business world? A lot of people watching just finished their athletic careers or are in the middle of them. How did you make that jump successfully?
Lance Leggett: I used the same structure I had in college. I wake up at 4 o'clock every morning, Monday through Friday. And you have to know it's not going to be easy, just like college wasn't. And as a CEO, everything comes back on you. If something's not working, you have to figure out the problem. Having that responsibility is fun to me. I just took what I learned in my college career and translated it to business.
DMoney: Before you get out of here, what's your prediction?
Lance Leggett: I say 50–21.
I went and scouted Florida State two weeks ago when they played Virginia. They really couldn't establish a run game. And No. 0, Duce Robinson, he's okay. He's a big kid, but he's not that fast and he can't get separation. I think our DBs can handle him. JJ Dunnigan's going to take his head off going across the middle. That's a little scouting report. I don't want to give away the whole thing.
If you want to hear the whole conversation, including the smoke-tunnel stories and the full Polk County debate, it's all on the CanesInsight YouTube channel. Subscribe, and we'll see you at the tailgate Saturday.
Here's some of the highlights from the show:
DMoney: You lived through this rivalry, man. Those were some highly physical games, what are some of your memories?
Lance Leggett: Honestly, it's what everybody says. You get to play against kids you grew up playing Little League against, even some of your high school teammates. For me, I got to play against one of my high school teammates, Alex Boston. He played defensive end for Florida State. He went there and I went to Miami, so now I get to talk noise to him. I had my chance, man.
I feel like this is the best rivalry in college football, hands down. I know they had the Red River Shootout last week. But this right here? Florida State's down right now, it is what it is. It's still a big rivalry game.
Ahmmon: When you were there, what was your preparation, your mindset going into this? You know what type of war this is. What was your thought process leading up to it, and then once the ball's off the tee?
Lance Leggett: This is where you make your money. Any player on the team, this is the game. This is where the scouts are paying attention. And this is your childhood dream. If you're from Florida, you were either a Miami fan or a Florida State fan growing up.
I'll take you back to one of my memories, my first FSU week, because I didn't know they did this. During practice they play the music. Coach Coker used to have it blasting loud. You hear that chant all practice. All practice. And I'm like, so this is really how you prepare for a big game like this.
Ahmmon: That music is one of the most triggering sounds I've ever heard in my life. My first year we played Florida State at home, and Coach Richt had it blasting at practice. I didn't understand it, because we're at home.
It wasn't until 2017, going on the road, that I understood. We're in a tiny little tunnel, you hear them go crazy with the chant, and it's loud the whole game. It really does get you ready for that atmosphere.
DMoney: Let me ask you about recruiting, Lance, because you come from Polk County. Miami has gotten guys from that area, but it's highly contested. SEC country, Florida's there, FSU's there. You were committed to Florida at one time, and that was a huge flip for Miami. What does Miami need to do, as an urban program, to go into the middle of the state with all those SEC and FSU ties and get the big-time players out there?
Lance Leggett: Cristobal already knows who to come holler at. He comes and hollers at me. Everybody in the Miami fan base knows Polk County is my territory for Miami. Any player you see going to Miami from Polk County, I'm calling Cristobal.
That's one of the ways I give back to the program. If I see a great kid in Polk County, I'm pushing him. Yeah, I'm recruiting. And it's not just because it's Miami. If it was a coach I didn't rock with, I wouldn't be pushing kids down there. I love Cristobal. He was one of my favorite coaches, honestly. So I do my best to get the kids down that way.
DMoney: Let me ask about the receivers. What do you see when you look at Miami's receiving corps this year, and how do they stack up?
Lance Leggett: That receiver corps can lead us to the national championship. You've got Mali, you've got Coop, you've got Upshaw and then you've got Lofton at tight end. Come on, man.
I'd put us top three in the nation at receiver. I'll be honest. Nobody can stop Mali. Call a spade a spade. What we can do with that offense with him is unbelievable.
DMoney: The chat calls guys who make plays only in practice Greentree All-Americans. They called Elija Lofton that. Now you're watching it translate to games. Mario said it this morning: if you'd seen practice, you'd have already known what he could do. Guys who do it consistently in practice, those guys can perform.
Lance Leggett: Every player will tell you. Practice at Greentree is harder than the game. That's real. Everybody's cool in the locker room. On the field, somebody's trying to take your head off.
Ahmmon: Lance, I want to backtrack a little. What's the moment you realized you were really playing at The U? Big-time college football. When did it hit you?
Lance Leggett: Florida State. My first one. I only got six plays that game, and I'm like, man, I want more than six. But I got in early, and I'm standing on that field thinking, this is crazy. That's your childhood dream.
The moment felt unreal. Even just running out of that smoke. I can tell you some funny stories about the smoke. A lot of people think you can see in there. You can't see anything.
DMoney: You both played as true freshmen. Lance, you came in, made plays and got on the field. What do these true freshmen have to do mentally to be in a position to play?
Lance Leggett: You have to want to compete and not be scared of competition. Some freshmen come in and they're shy: 'That's the upperclassman, he was the All-American last year, I don't want to overshadow him.' No.
You have to have the attitude that it's time to eat. My dad instilled that in me. He's a legend back home and he was my track coach.
That's why I love track athletes. In football you've got ten other people on the field helping you. In track, you're by yourself. If you didn't put the work in, it's going to show. So I learned early: never shy away from competition, never be scared of the spotlight, and go out and ball. That's how I can tell if a freshman's ready to play.
DMoney: We know the football player. Talk to us about Taste One, your journey in the business world and the success you've had.
Lance Leggett: If you want the best boiled peanuts, go to tasteoneboiledpeanuts.com. I'm not asking you to buy anything. Like something on the page, share something on the page. But if you do want to order use the promo code CanesInsight for 20 percent off.
You might have seen the picture of Cristobal and D-Train holding them up.
DMoney: What was the transition like for you, going from athlete to the business world? A lot of people watching just finished their athletic careers or are in the middle of them. How did you make that jump successfully?
Lance Leggett: I used the same structure I had in college. I wake up at 4 o'clock every morning, Monday through Friday. And you have to know it's not going to be easy, just like college wasn't. And as a CEO, everything comes back on you. If something's not working, you have to figure out the problem. Having that responsibility is fun to me. I just took what I learned in my college career and translated it to business.
DMoney: Before you get out of here, what's your prediction?
Lance Leggett: I say 50–21.
I went and scouted Florida State two weeks ago when they played Virginia. They really couldn't establish a run game. And No. 0, Duce Robinson, he's okay. He's a big kid, but he's not that fast and he can't get separation. I think our DBs can handle him. JJ Dunnigan's going to take his head off going across the middle. That's a little scouting report. I don't want to give away the whole thing.
If you want to hear the whole conversation, including the smoke-tunnel stories and the full Polk County debate, it's all on the CanesInsight YouTube channel. Subscribe, and we'll see you at the tailgate Saturday.
