From the gridiron to the grill, former NFL Cornerback and Next Level Chef Contestant Mark McMillian is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

During an eight year NFL career, he showed that small men can make a mighty impact.

And in retirement, he's excelled at both broadcasting and grilling.

Mark McMillian, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

(Mark McMillian) Thank you for having me.

I've watched the show since I got here, saying, how can I get on this show?

And here I am on the show.

-You manifested it.

-I manifested it.

Thank you for having me.

-Well, and you're gonna have to help me get on someone that I'm going to ask you about next.

Because when I talked with you on the phone about how long you've been in Vegas, you said, "I moved just two years ago."

And I asked why, and your first response was?

-Randall Cunningham.

He's my pastor.

He was my best man in my wedding.

So we've been knowing each other since '92, my rookie year in Philadelphia, and kind of took me under my wing.

As a young rookie, you can go left or you can go right, and I didn't go right every time.

So that's my big brother, and I lean on him a lot.

-The great running quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

I'm surprised you guys interacted a lot back then.

If you were on defense, he was on offense.

I mean, both sides, they don't come together a lot.

-Well, he was Randall Cunningham.

If you know Randall, he was in the mix for everything.

So he always came down to the defensive side of the room.

And he was a superstar back then.

He was the MVP of the league, so he can kind of maneuver himself around anything.

And I was the underdog on the roster.

So he kind of took to that, as well.

I was on defense and had opportunity to intercept some of his passes.

-Whew!

-He didn't like that, but that's my guy.

-His influence on you, what has it been?

What does it continue to be?

-He's like a big brother to me.

You know, obviously, my big brother is in California, but Randall is here.

I can pick up the phone or drive to the church, which is a two-minute drive from my house, and sit down and chop it up, have lunch and just hang out and just talk about football, talk about life.

-You mentioned California.

So your real brother is in California, where you're from, LA.

And your story, wow, it's inspirational.

But to tell it, we've got to go all the way back to when you were 10 years old.

What happened then?

-When I went out for the team, the Pop Warner team, I was actually cut from the Pop Warner team.

And you know, a lot of people don't know that.

I was the Bobby Boucher Waterboy, before the movie actually came out.

They said I was too small, you know, but I ended up being the-- on the trophy, it says "athletic trainer."

And I always use that as an inspiration.

I use that.

I put it on my mom's TV.

So every time I watch TV, I look at that trophy and just, you know, it just gave me a little extra drive to go out there and be a better person, try to be a better athlete.

I wasn't gaining any weight, so I just was the waterboy.

I probably was the best waterboy in the country back then.

[laughter] -I was still fast, making sure the guys get the water on time and everything.

So it worked out for me.

-Even back then, though, what was it that was in you that said, if I don't make it, I'm gonna still be a part of it in this role?

-My grandparents taught me, whatever you do, go 100% whether you're cleaning up or taking out trash, be the best you can be at anything that you do.

I said, if I'm going to be the waterboy or that athletic trainer, as I said, I'm going to be the best guy out there.

And it kind of fed off the players, and, you know, they got a kick out of it as well.

But it was just an opportunity for me to get off the streets of LA and still be able to be around my guys.

-How long were you the waterboy for?

-I was the waterboy the whole year.

After that they asked me to come back the next year to try out, but I didn't go and try out.

I just, just ran the streets and played tough, rough-tough football back in the day with the guys in the park.

-So then you end up playing your first real game when?

-My senior year of high school.

-That's amazing.

-Yeah.

It's a crazy story.

I didn't play in junior high, freshman, sophomore, junior in high school.

So I actually ran track my senior year, and the guy's like, Why don't you come out for the football team?

My mom was like, We don't have money to go to college, so you better figure out some way to get a scholarship so you can go to school for free.

So I ended up going out for the football team.

I was a bench rider.

I didn't expect to do anything special.

And the guy in front of me, Kenny Furnace, I still remember his name, was a really good player.

He had a ton of scholarship offers, and he actually tore his knee up in the game.

So I was the next guy up and all of 140 pounds soaking wet.

You know, I was scared.

-How tall were you back then?

-Probably the same height, you know?

I don't think I grew too much.

-Five-seven.

All right.

-I was probably like five-six maybe my senior year in high school.

And we had a really good team.

A lot of guys got scholarship offers off that team.

And, you know, I didn't get any scholarship offers or anything, but I ran track and, you know, went on to junior college from there.

-And in junior college, you played football.

Your performance there earning you a scholarship to Alabama?

-Yeah, I know.

It's crazy.

I grew up in LA, so I was a huge USC fan.

And I really wanted to go to USC.

And I was excited that they were recruiting me.

I was a Junior College All-American, so I was kind of feeling myself.

And USC came in and said, Hey, well, we're not looking for another small corner, so we're gonna go a different direction.

So I was hurt, you know.

I was real pissed off.

And University of Alabama came out and said, Hey, we want to watch some film on Mark McMillian.

And me and my coach is sitting there like, you know, these guys are like 200, 300 pounds at Alabama.

And I'm like, I'm 145.

And he's like, Yeah, Mark McMillian.

I was like, Well, I'm him.

They said, Well, we'd like to see some film and offer you a visit to come to our school in Tuscaloosa.

So I took my visit, and I was sold.

And once I got there, I said, Coach, I'm coming to the school.

It was Coach Bill Curry was the guy that recruited me.

And by the time I got there, he was fired.

It was a weird story.

He never beat Auburn.

So that's the big rivalry.

I got off the plane from LAX to land in Tuscaloosa, and everybody was crying.

I was like, What's going on?

I talked to the coach last night.

He was excited for me to come.

It was, He got fired this morning.

By the time I got there, I didn't have any coach.

-But then you got a really good head coach.

On your website, Grill'n With McMillian, you're quick to mention that you played under Gene Stallings.

What kind of impact did he have on you?

-A huge impact.

Still to this day, he invites all the guys down to his ranch in Texas.

Like I said on the phone, he had like heart attacks, strokes, but he still has like 100 cattle.

He has hundreds of acres of land.

He's cutting the grass every morning.

He's one of the toughest men I've known.

And he was a Junction Boy from the Bear Bryant days.

So he didn't play any mess.

And for him to still reach out and pick up the phone when we give him a call, it means a lot.

-And you had mentioned that he was in the NFL when you were being drafted, or prior to being drafted, and what was his message to some of the other coaches that were doubting you?

-Um, I can't say that on this interview.

-Okay.

-This is a friendly show, but he said some things that, you know, really showed me that he really cared.

He said some four-letter words to a lot of scouts and GMs that said I was too small to make the team or get drafted into the NFL.

And, you know, he coached at the Cowboys.

He was at Texas A&M.

He was the head coach for the Cardinals back in the day.

So he knew what it took to be in the NFL and playing under a coach that coached at that level.

He knew what it took, and obviously learning under him for two years helped me a lot.

-Well, and his words probably had a lot of weight, because you were drafted in the 10th round by the Eagles.

Philly and Kansas City are where you played the majority of your career.

At what point did you earn the nickname Mighty Mouse?

Who gave it to you?

-It started as Mighty Mac in Philadelphia.

Obviously, you know, short from McMillian.

And when I got to Kansas City, Andre Rison was there.

He was dubbed Spider Man.

And Derrick Thomas, God rest his soul, he was named The Falcon.

It was like, you got to have a name.

It was like, you already got the "Mighty" part.

Why don't you add a little "Mighty Mouse" to it?

And you know, obviously the Chiefs' colors kind of matches Mighty Mouse's uniform from the cartoon days.

And they, they kind of stuck with it.

The fans, you know, gravitated to it.

And seeing little kids, you know, in Mighty Mouse costumes on Sunday was like, it was crazy.

So it was it was great.

It was fun.

Now today, everybody says it's either Grill'n McMillian or Mighty Mouse.

-And at five-seven, you certainly earned that nickname.

Is there a moment from your career that you look back on and think, wow, that was awesome.

-Just being drafted.

-Really?

Not a particular play or record?

-No, because, you know, I wasn't supposed to get drafted.

And back then ESPN finally started getting the ticker underneath the TV screen.

And I saw my name go under the screen, and I was like, uhh.

Then the phone rings in my dorm, and they say, Hey, this is Philadelphia Eagles.

We want to draft you.

I thought somebody was pulling a prank, so I hung up the phone.

I looked at the ticker again, I see my name come by with the Eagles, and the guy calls back and he said, Hey, this is such and such coach.

We want to draft you for the Philadelphia Eagles.

I was like, Oh, I'm sorry.

Something happened to the phone.

My boys was playing a prank on me.

So after that, just getting off the plane and walk into the locker room with Randall Cunningham, Reggie White, Eric Allen, some of the great guys that I had an opportunity to play for, that was my highlight.

Playing football was just something I did all the time, but being drafted after everybody was saying it wasn't gonna happen, that was a highlight.

-You certainly embraced that nickname Mighty Mouse.

Was there ever a time where you thought, I just wish I wasn't short.

I don't think five-seven is short, by the way.

But for NFL standards, I guess it is.

-Yeah, it's real short.

And you know, I embrace it.

You know, it's just part of the mystique that happened while I was playing football.

And I knew kids and dads and parents where everybody was-- it was must see TV.

If I was a guy and I saw a guy five-seven playing a sport that wasn't supposed to be out there, I want to see for myself.

So I think that's what kind of gravitated a lot of kids wearing those Mighty Mouse costumes.

And some of the dads were even in the stands wearing Mighty Mouse costume.

-That's so cool.

-That was pretty cool.

-And the status that you earned for your stature, you went on to share on a TV program with Randall Cunningham.

It was called Little Big Men, and you highlighted players in the NFL and their plays if they were five-nine and shorter, right?

-Yeah.

-That's so cool.

You continue broadcasting now, working on 8 News Now.

You're about to start your second season as a Raiders analyst.

Your outlook on the Raiders this season?

-We'll see.

As long as Jimmy G stays healthy, you know.

He's been injury prone his career in New England and especially in San Francisco, but he's a winning quarterback.

He's won-- he took his team to the Super Bowl.

I know people were kind of down on him, but it's hard to get to the Super Bowl.

I never went to the Super Bowl.

So for him to get his team to the Super Bowl, it's something that guys dream about.

And as long as he stays healthy-- get Josh, you know, some money.

Get him back in camp, and I think he'll sign his deal.

You got one of the best receivers in the league with Davante Adams.

They got some really good weapons.

-You're talking all offense, no defense.

-Well, defense, you know, they picked up Marcus Peters, who came from Baltimore, who's a very good player.

He's doing really good in practice.

He's getting a lot of interceptions.

He's a veteran of the game.

You have one of the best defensive ends in the game, Maxx Crosby, who, in my opinion, is probably top three in the league.

This guy really gets after it.

Chandler Jones lost like, seemed like, 50 or 60 pounds.

So he's looking real lean and mean.

So hopefully he can add a little depth to the chart as well.

So picked up some free agents from Philadelphia as well at the safety position.

So they got some pieces around them.

It's all about if they can come together at that particular time-- -Peak at the right time.

- --because it's a tough division.

-You mentioned that you never made the Super Bowl.

But you sort of did in a weird way this last Super Bowl when you were on Next Level Chef.

It came on right after the Super Bowl, the Super Bowl in which both teams, you were on those teams, played in that Super Bowl.

When things like that come together, what do you think?

-The perfect storm.

You know, I know, like I said, when they cast us for the show, that was kind of the conversation.

It was, what if the Eagles and the Chiefs end up in the Superbowl and the show airs right after the Superbowl?

I said that will be like the perfect storm for the intro for the show.

And it actually happened!

And I know people were like, Who are you rooting for?

Of course I was rooting for the Eagles because they drafted me.

They took an opportunity on me first.

And Kansas City had a chance back when I got drafted.

They said I was too small, but it worked out really well.

And you know, hopefully they can get back here in Vegas, you know, the same two teams.

And may the best team win.

But I'm still pulling for my Eagles.

I want my Eagles to win.

-All right.

We are running out of time, unfortunately.

I want to make sure we get in your work with St. Jude's Ranch and Evel Pie.

What is that collaboration?

-It's a great partnership I have with Evel Pie.

We did one a couple months ago with the Nathan Adelson Hospice center.

We raised some money for them.

Now we have a partnership with St. Jude's Children's Ranch.

Christine was gracious enough to have me and my wife visit the ranch, and just learning about the story and what they do for these kids and these parents.

-And the slice of pizza that you made?

-The slice of pizza, it's a barbecued brisket pizza that's using my Grill'n McMillian Sweet Heat barbecue sauce that actually just sold out.

-Oh, congratulations on that!

A $7 slice, $1 goes to St. Jude's.

Mark McMillian, Grill'n McMillian, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

And to see more interviews like this, go to vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek.

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