CFB, Belichick, Mahomes — Oh My! Highlights From Tom Brady’s Sit-Down with Joel Klatt

“Success is where preparation meets opportunity.”

Preparation helped separate Tom Brady from the rest of the pack during his 23-year NFL career, leading him to win a record seven Super Bowl titles. Now, as a broadcaster, Brady continues to prepare at a high level, which has also made him a great interview, too. 

That was apparent in Brady’s sit-down with Joel Klatt on the most recent episode of “The Joel Klatt Show: Big Noon Conversations.” In his nearly 30-minute interview with Klatt, Brady was highly opinionated about the state of college football, while also delivering honesty and self-reflection in his first season as FOX Sports’ lead NFL game analyst. 

Here’s a look at the highlights from Brady’s conversation with Klatt, which you can watch in its entirety here. 

Brady is unsure if he would’ve finished his college football career at Michigan if he were in Ann Arbor today

With the college football landscape rapidly changing, stories like the one Brady experienced at Michigan have become rare. Brady went from a seventh-string, redshirt freshman to having to split reps with Drew Henson by the time he became the team’s starting quarterback.

When Klatt asked Brady if he would’ve stuck around at Michigan, Brady didn’t give a definitive answer. However, Brady reflected on his time at Michigan as a good period of self-growth, teaching him to overcome adversity.

“It’s such a hypothetical situation to think about,” Brady said. “The only thing I can answer is to say that, based on what my experience was, I wouldn’t want it any other way than the way that I did it. My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive. The lessons I learned in college that I referred to earlier, and certainly about competition, those traits transformed my life as a professional. 

“I was ready to compete against anybody because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence in myself that whatever it was I faced, I could overcome that.”

As the transfer portal has become more prevalent and a popular option for players when they don’t win starting jobs, Brady implored parents of student athletes to allow them to face an uphill battle.

“You can’t expect a 17 or 18-year-old to make these great decisions. They’re young. They don’t have life experience,” Brady said. “It should be the parents. Be a good parent. Teach your kid the right values. What’s going to sustain them in their careers over a period of time? 

“Whether it’s football or whether it’s business or whether it’s teaching or law school or medical school or a trade, whatever you want to do, you’re going to have to go through hard things in your life. You’re going to have to make tough choices.”

He’s also unhappy with the state of college football and QB development

As Brady shared that he enjoyed his college experience despite his hard path to becoming Michigan’s starting quarterback, he expressed an overall distaste with today’s college game. He called out those who value money above all else in the name, image and likeness (NIL) era, placing some of the blame on those who enable student athletes to think that way.

[Read more: ‘Priorities Are a Bit Messed Up’: Tom Brady Speaks on State of College Football]

“Once I was in faculty, I bought a $400 scholarship examine. It appeared like I used to be wealthy,” Brady stated. “We bought pizza playing cards to go to dinner, and we had a coaching desk, and it was an incredible expertise. We did not take into consideration the cash. These youngsters are such younger ages. Their frontal lobes aren’t even totally developed but, and now we’re tempting them with real-life, grownup conditions and their dad and mom, and now they’ve brokers. 

“I am certain it is a very complicated time, and I am certain a number of dad and mom are confused. I am certain a number of youngsters are confused, however as a result of we’re simply speaking about cash, cash, cash, cash, like, that is the one worth in faculty? Is that what we’re saying That, to me, [shows] the priorities are a bit tousled.”

Brady’s additionally a bit sad with the on-field product. He referred to as out coaches for failing to develop quarterbacks from a psychological facet, but in addition stated the NFL hasn’t been nice in that regard, both.

“Bodily, they’re developed. However the psychological studying of research the sport, studying the ways, studying watch movie, studying cope with the feelings of a aggressive program going up in opposition to a college rival, failing in entrance of 70,000 individuals — I believe we’re missing the psychological, emotional improvement,” Brady stated. “Bodily, they could look developed. Mentally, emotionally, they’re very underdeveloped. Generally, their emotional development is stunted by the truth that all people is telling them how nice they’re on a regular basis, or that it is not their fault on a regular basis.”

Brady thinks Invoice Belichick should regulate to at least one specific space of the faculty sport

Whereas Brady criticized faculty soccer in his look with Klatt, somebody who he was near in his skilled profession has made the leap to the faculty sport. Belichick, who received six Tremendous Bowls as Brady’s head coach with the Patriots, has by no means held an official teaching place in faculty soccer, however Brady thinks his gamers at North Carolina will develop to understand him. Nonetheless, he might see Belichick struggling to regulate to at least one aspect of the faculty sport.

[Read more: Tom Brady Breaks Down Bill Belichick’s Bold Leap to UNC — And What Comes Next]

“What they are going to get is, clearly, essentially the most ready, essentially the most hard-working coach that I had ever been round,” Brady stated. “In case you go to that faculty, you’ll be ready to play on the subsequent degree. He’ll train you the suitable fundamentals, the suitable strategies. He’ll have a excessive expectation for you, and you are going to develop so much. That is what I do know. 

“I believe the problem for him is he is coping with a number of most likely underdeveloped gamers, as a result of he is handled guys which are 4, 5, six years additional alongside than what he is usually needed to cope with. So I believe there’s most likely a studying curve for him, and that is simply me hypothesizing. I haven’t got a lot data of it, however I am certain it is totally different teaching a 17 or 18-year-old than even a 22 or 23-year-old.”

Brady added that whereas Belichick is a “deep thinker” of the game, he’ll have to seek out an environment friendly method to convey his ideas because of the time constraints. 

“How a lot can these younger youngsters retain? That could be an attention-grabbing problem as nicely, as a result of in some methods, they are not skilled,” Brady stated “They do not have as a lot time as we had as skilled athletes to go in there and research movie and follow and meet and all that. They do not have that period of time on the faculty degree.” 

Brady hints that Patrick Mahomes is the present NFL QB most like him

As Klatt moved the interview to give attention to at present’s NFL panorama, he puzzled which quarterback reminded Brady of himself. Brady did not present a direct reply, however he singled out Mahomes for the work he is keen to place in. 

“From afar, I can solely inform a lot, as a result of if I used to be in there day-after-day, I might see their habits,” Brady stated. “Everybody desires to win, however what are the habits and the every day habits and the actionable issues you might want to do day-after-day to place your workforce able to win?

“Patrick Mahomes is the one which does that essentially the most usually. Clearly, his bodily expertise, how he understands what he must do offensively and he brings a constant profitable angle to work each single day. Within the largest moments, you’ll be able to depend upon him essentially the most. That is clear.”

Tremendous Bowl LIX was the sport Brady was most ready to name in his rookie season as an announcer

A lot of the second half of Brady’s dialogue with Klatt centered on his younger broadcasting profession. Brady’s first season ended with him calling the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, which drew an viewers of practically 128 million on FOX. Regardless of the file viewership, Brady felt comfy going into that decision because of his wealthy success from his enjoying profession.

“I believe, mockingly, for me, I used to be very lucky that I performed in 10 [Super Bowls]. So there’s nothing concerning the emotions and feelings of making ready for a Tremendous Bowl sport that I hadn’t been by,” Brady stated. “So, truly, I felt essentially the most ready I might been all season. It was the one time that I had two weeks to arrange for a sport, so I truly felt like I used to be able to roll, and I felt nice.”

Nonetheless, being the competitor that he’s, Brady at all times seems like he is bought room to enhance.

“Once I watched the sport again once more, it wasn’t excellent,” Brady stated. “I want I might have gone deeper in some areas or laid out a number of occasions, however I am like, ‘OK, I actually was clear with the data. A number of issues had been performed nicely, and the sport type of bought out of hand on the finish of the primary half.’”

Brady admits that only a few of his passes from his enjoying profession had been excellent

Whereas Brady felt that he saved his greatest for final in his debut season as a broadcaster, he shared that he went by some rising pains alongside the best way. He stated he is nonetheless determining what the viewers desires from an announcer, including that it is the “difficult half” of broadcasting. 

[More: Preparation, Motivation and Growth: How Tom Brady Approached Year 1 in the Booth]

Nevertheless, Brady accepted the concept that the whole lot he stated may not be seen as nice when he mirrored on his enjoying profession. 

“My final three seasons in Tampa, I used to be throwing 700 passes a season, and I’d throw 20 of these passes precisely the best way I needed – with the suitable arc, the suitable tempo, the suitable place on the receiver. Twenty of 700, and I labored all yr spherical to get my throwing mechanics the best way I needed. I labored with my receivers. So you then go into broadcasting, and it is like, why would you suppose you are gonna hit 350 of the 700?”

[Read more from “Big Noon Conversations”: Marcus Freeman, Tony Petitti, Best of 2024 season]

Now, Brady’s in search of to seek out the suitable moments to be excellent as a broadcaster, one thing he perfected throughout his enjoying profession. 

“In the long run, you are most likely solely gonna hit a restricted quantity. And I believe that is what you are trying to find, these elements of the season, or these elements of the sport the place you are like, ‘I actually bought that,'” Brady stated. “You do not wish to have, you realize, these horrible moments the place you utterly miss it. And I believe possibly I used to be actually aware of that early, after which I bought to be a bit of extra freed up because the season went on.”

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