Wedlock comes clean about DVD
i iwvc uecn lauung wiui for
mer WSSU football player
Jonathan Wedlock via e-mail
and my space for about two
months now. I've been looking
forward to doing an interview
with him because I knew quite a
few people wanted to hear about
from him.
I ran a story (by Steven
Gaither) about his professional
football career taking off in the ,
American Indoor Football
Association and quite a few
readers hit me up about that
piece. Some wanted to know if
his "So Hard To Be A Ram"
DVD was still available. Yes,
it's still available. And he's still
willing to give out a copy or
two.
I wanted to ask him about
that infamous Youtube classic,
as well as his football career.
Wedlock is one of the leading
running backs for the Florence
(South Carolina) Phantoms. We
also discussed a number of other
things like Division I, differ
ences in arena leagues, home
coming and late night partying.
Take a look at some of the
other things I was able to get out
of Dr. Lock on Tuesday evening.
Jonfntb0ny: WhatS g?ing ?n
... Jonathan: Nothing much.
We just finished the first round
of the playoffs last night. We
beat the Huntington Heroes. I
scored two touchdowns, and we
beat them 55-9.
Anthony: (Smiles.) OK.
That s what's up. It sounds like
you re doing your thing in the
ALFA.
Jonathan: I'm doing my
thing. And my phone doesn't
stop ringing until about two in
the morning. A lot of teams want
me to come play for them, espe
cially in the AF2 League. They
want me. to play for the Florida
Firecats. The opportunity pre
sented itself, and I'm just taking
it- I gave thought to playing in
Canada. But I like playing in
front of family. I'd rather be
here.
Anthony;
What's the difference between
the the AIFA and the arena
league we see on television?
Jonathan: The main differ
ence is the wide receiver
motion. They can only put one
wide receivers in motion. We
can put two receivers in motion
in our league. The AFL is like
the NFL of the indoor game.
There s also AF2, which is like a
developmental league. The
league I am in is right in
between, as far as pay.
Anthony: What is the pay
like? No, don't put your busi
ness out there like that. Just tell
me what's the most you've
heard of someone getting paid in
your league?
Jonathan: Well, you can
get endorsements. I don't want
to put anybody out there. Put it
this way. You can make a decent
living playing in our league.
Anthony: What's the living
situation like. I read that you all
were living in hotels.
Jonathan: We were staging
in hotels in the beginning of the
season. Then my owner liked
everything, and the way the sea
son was going. So, she bought
so^ie houses in the Florence
area. Now, we have some
rooms.
Anthony: I hear that. Now,
I read that you're playing with a
big time quarterback.
Jonathan: Oh yeah. Omar
Jacobs, from Bowling Green.
He was a Heisman finalist in
2004. And, we've got Reggie
Butler. He played with both of
the Vick brothers at Virginia
Tech. Larry Thompson played at
San Diego State. It really makes
you step up your level of play.
So, I had to show them better
than I could tell them.
Anthony: No doubt.
(Smiles.) Now I've got to ask
you about your famous DVD.
You have to tell me where that
idea came about.
Jonathan: (Laughs.) Yeah.
Well, I was a mass communica
tion major and I hadn't really
done anything to that point. I
didn't intern because I had army
obligations during the summer.
So, I just used everything that I
had with mass communication
and football and made a movie
("So Hard To Be A Ram").
I wasn't going to hold any
punches or sugarcoat anything.
That's what we had to go
through. We didn't have it like
Wake Forest. They put their
team in a hotel. We just stayed
on campus. We did what we had
to do to survive.
Anthony: Did you have any
idea that you would receive so
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Wedlock
Here, former WSSU football player Jon Wedlock signs an
autograph for a young football fan in South Carolina.
much attention for the DVD?
Jonathan: I never
would've imagined that. I never
thought that DVD would make
me, I don't want to say a celebri
ty. I guess well
known. (Both laugh.)
I never would 've
imagined.
Anthony: What
did you think about
Dr. Caldwell calling
your DVD
"deplorable and dis
appointing for col
lege level students?"
Jonathan: I 1 ?
think it was
deplorable. I can see
how it's negative from his posi
tion. I could see where he was
coming from. At the end of the
day it's still what goes on. I
mean, kids are going to party
when they go off to school.
They're going to have fun.
They're going to wear revealing
clothes. Am I right for putting
all of that on youtube?
came in like a stallion. He came
in like, "I'm here." He's a good
ball player, and a great all
around person.
Anthony: Do you think it
was a good move for
Winston-Salem State
to move up to
Division I?
Jonathan: I
think it was. I really
do. It was a good
move athletically and
business wise. We
brought fans out
every where we went
Wedlock
-> in the CIAA. We
drew big crowds,
whether we won or
lost.
And we were actually losing
money because we were bring
ing in schools like Livingstone
and Johnson C. Smith. No one
was trying to pay to watch them.
They want to see FAMU,
Delaware State and teams like
that. We had three homecomings
in playing A&T, Delaware State
One-on-One
with \ m lion v llill
(Both laugh.) I don't know.
At the end of the day I guess I
got what I wanted from it. It
showed that I have other skills
than just football. I can do
videos and stuff. People just
looked at Winston-Salem State
as a nursing school. I think that
I've brought attention to our
communication department.
People see that we can do other
things too. Have you seen the
whole DVD?
v Anthony: (Smiles.) I've
only seen some of it.
Jonathan: Oh, I've got to
get you a copy. I have a copy sit
ting right here.
Anthony: No doubt. What
have you missed the most since
leaving Winston-Salem State?
Jonathan: Oh man. That's
a tough question because there's
just so much to miss. I just miss
the struggle. I appreciated the
struggle. We worked for every
thing that we got. I mean, we
weren't no slaves or nothing.
(Both laugh.) I just remember
those nights, going to
Greensboro and partying with
A&T until four in the morning
? knowing we got workouts at
six. I miss that. I miss every
thing about it.
Anthony: No doubt. Hey,
tell me what motivates you
everyday.
Jonathan: Realizing that I
have a good thing. Sometimes I
sit back and think that I'm not
supposed to be playing football
on the professional level. But
my parents continue to pray for
me everyday. One day I was like
this praying thing really works.
I've been going forward ever
since. My parents and my little
nephew really motivate me.
Anthony: Cool. How excit
ed were you to see Bill Hayes
drafted?
Jonathan: I was real happy
to see him drafted in the fourth
round by the Titans. I'm not
really one that worries about the
NFL or NBA. By the time I got
to practice on Monday every
body was telling me that a guy
from Winston-Salem State was
drafted. I was like, "OK." I like
the NFL, but I'm more into col
lege sports.
I knew he was going to get
drafted. We've known that since
he was a freshman. You know
freshman usually come in and
develop into good players. He
and Central at home. That was a
smart business move.
Anthony: OK. What are
you usually doing when you're
not balling?
Jonathan: Right now I get
up and workout everyday. I
work with kids at this high
school in- Florence, South
Carolina. I'm always on the
internet looking for grants to get
my production company off.
I'm always looking for grants.
And, I got to practice at six.
Anthony: Do you have any
nicknames? o
Jonathan: There will never
be any nicknames beside Dr.
Lock. That name came from my
dad. That was his nickname in
the army. He played quarterback
in an army league, and they used
to call him that because he
would go to work on teams. I
told B-Daht to start calling me
Dr. Lock at the football games.
(Both laugh.) And, it just stuck.
* Anthony: Who's the best
football player you've ever
seen?
Jonathan: Michael
Champagne was the best player
I saw at Winston-Salem State.
He played left tackle. I only saw
him take two plays off the entire
season our senior year. The best
player in the arena league has
probably been Omar Jacobs. But
that's a tough one. There's so
many good players.
Anthony:
What do you listen to before
games?
Jonathan: You might think
this is funny, but I like Kanye
West. I don't really like listening
to hype music. It takes me out of
my football mentality.
Anthony: I got you. Let's
close out with free association.
Uh, coach Kermit Blount.
Jonathan: Leader.
Anthony: Jon Wedlock.
Jonathan: Dr. Lock.
Anthony: Jed Bines.
Jonathan: Vision (on the
field).
Anthony: Winston-Salem.
Jonathan: Progressing.
Anthony: Dr. Chico
Caldwell.
Jonathan: Businessman.
Anthony: Winston-Salem
State Rams.
Jonathan: Homecoming. |
(Both laugh.) That's it.
Anthony: We're done.
Howard photo
David Oliver, a former star at Howard, won the 110m hurdles
to advance to the Olympics.
Howard alum
Oliver wins 110m
hurdles at trials
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
= r
Howard alum David Oliver won the 110m hurdles at the
U.S. Olympic Trials and earned a berth to the XXIX Summer
Games in Beijing. Oliver finished the race in 12.95 and set the
Hay ward Track record.
"I really don't know what happened," Oliver said. "The gun
went off and I just started running. I haven't seen the replay
even and I don't even know where I was at."
Oliver, one of the favorites to win the event, had the best
mark of the quarterfinals at 13.07 and was the top seed in the
first of two semifinals. He went 13.24 to post the best mark in
the first round.
"I just wanted to make the top-three in the finals," Oliver
added. "I am just happy that I was able to do that and get the
win."
Oliver has posted three of the world's top five times in the
event this season, including 12.95 seconds in May. That's sec
ond to the world record of 12.87 run by Dayron Robles. He also
won the U .S . indoor title in February before posting his sub- 1 3
time in Doha, Qatar.
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