In this episode of Spinning It, Chris and Nippy catch up with Coach Adam Austin, the quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator for Tarleton. 

Austin came to Tarleton with a rich history of coaching success, including eight seasons spent at Tarleton’s former Lone Star Conference rival Midwestern State and one season at NCAA Division I Eastern Kentucky. Prior to his coaching career, Austin was a signal caller for the University of Arizona where as a senior starter he helped Arizona become bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.

Tarleton's passing attack was a major reason why the Texans finished with a winning record in 2022, going 6-5. The Texans finished third in the Western Athletic Conference with 20 passing touchdowns, throwing for 2,640 yards across 11 games, averaging 240.0 passing yards per contest. 

Links: 

Tarleton Sports

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In today’s episode, Chris and Nippy sit down with top recruits DJ Lagway and Marcos Davila. Chris met DJ and Marcos at QB Universe and has been working with them ever since. 

DJ Lagway is a high school quarterback who has a verbal commitment to play for the Florida Gators. At 6 foot 2 and 225 pounds, Lagway is a dual-threat quarterback who is also a standout defensive player. 

From Midland, TX, Marcos Davila is a 3-star recruit and the No. 9 recruit in the Lone Star state. Davila is a dual-threat quarterback and has been clocked at 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. As of March 2023, Marcos has a verbal commitment with Purdue. 

Links:

DJ Lagway: https://www.on3.com/db/dj-lagway-34744/

Marcos Davila: https://247sports.com/player/marcos-davila-46102317/

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We’re back for Part 2 of Meet the Hosts. In this episode, the guys talk about their shared vision and mutual connections that form a network of athletes and dream guests who can share life lessons to young football players in America. So they rallied earlier this year to get Spinning It off the ground. 

A little more background on Coach Chris Hixson and Kyle Rowley. 

A Collegiate Hall of Famer from the University of Rhode Island with over 35 years of football experience and leading expert in quarterback bio mechanics and mental preparedness, Coach Hixson began his QB message with The Passing Academy in 2007 teaching QB Students all over Georgia. Having coached hundred’s of QB’s and studying their habits, he created QBTV: Quarterback Technique Video, wrote 4 books, brought THE EXPERIENCE camp to the national scene, and created QBIQ. 

Kyle Rowley has 20+ years experience training the quarterback position. He has worked with players of all levels. NFL, AFL, CFL, NCAA, HS and YTH. He is a co-founder of QBUniverse, Trent Dilfer's QBIQ Shootout and the Blackmon/Rowley Combine Camp. Rowley played 15 years professionally in the Arena Football League. He was a two-time national champion & MVP and is the holder of many all-time passing records, including the AFL's all-time record for touchdown passes in a single game (12TDs) and all-time record for touchdowns in an Arena Bowl (10TDs). During his college career at Brown University he led the Ivy League in every statistical passing category as a starter, broke all-time passing records & was an Ivy League Champion.

Links:

Chris Hixson

RowleyQBs

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In Part 1 of Meet the Hosts, Nippy, Kyle and Chris sit down to talk about their shared history and how Spinning It got started. 

Nippy and Kyle played together as quarterbacks for Brown University and reconnected later in life following Nippy’s role in the HBO documentary, The Vow. A little while later, Kyle introduced Nippy to Chris in an effort to get him involved at Quarterback Universe, where Kyle and Chris worked together. Over time, the three friends began planning and forming the concept behind Spinning It. 

This episode explores both Nippy’s experience as a former member of the NXIVM cult and being a college athlete. The life lessons he learned from football: dealing with adversity, protecting your team, and confronting the highs and lows of each day gave him the tools he needed to exit the organization. He also played an instrumental leadership role in taking down the cult’s founder and other key NXIVM members.

Links:

HBO Series: The Vow

A Little Bit Culty

Quarterback Universe

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In this episode of Spinning It, Nippy and Chris sit down with Pro Style Quarterback, Jeremy Hecklinski, and his mother, Amy Hecklinski, to discuss their journey from grade school football to a Wake Forest scholarship. From Marietta, Georgia, at 6'0" 170 lbs, Jeremy is Wake Forest's first commit for their 2024 recruiting class, and held offers from UCF, Georgia Southern and Eastern Kentucky. Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Duke and Cincinnati were also interested in the young recruit. 

In his junior season for Walton High School, Hecklinski passed for 3,520 yards and 37 touchdowns, while adding five rushing scores, on his way to earning a 5-7A Offensive Player of the Year honors and 11 Alive Sports' Quarterback of the Year.

Links:

https://www.si.com/college/wake-forest/football/2024-quarterback-jeremy-hecklinski-commits-to-wake-forest

https://qbhitlist.com/profile/jeremy-hecklinski-ga/

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Coach Brandon Corbin is presently a quarterback trainer for the nationwide Jenkins Elite training company and is the Kansas City QB Director.  Additionally, he is a part-time analyst for Pro Football Focus (PFF). Encompassing NFL, FBS, and FCS football programs, he provides team grade analysis, player position/role data, Quarterback and Coverage (QBC) data, and All Coverage (AC) analytics for the NFL. By becoming a recent addition to the PFF Analysis Team, Coach Corbin represents the highest 10% of employees within the company.

Prior to joining Jenkins Elite, Coach Corbin was the Senior Analyst on the offensive side of the ball at McNeese State University from 2020 to 2022, where he also assisted with the quarterbacks. McNeese State was Coach Corbin's third consecutive FCS stop.  In 2019, Corbin coached in the defensive secondary at Bucknell University (PA) and was also heavily involved in Special Teams.  The 2018 season was spent at Murray State University (KY) in an off-field role, where he handled football operation duties, equipment management, camp director duties, and other special projects for the program. 

Links: 

https://loyaltyandeffort.com/

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From the OC and QB coach at the University of North Texas, to QB Coach at the University of Tennessee and stints at University of South Florida, and OC at UTEP, coach Canales has seen quarterbacks.  We sat down with him at the coaching convention in Charlotte for the first of 3 interviews diving into what makes a good QB, and what coaches look for in the recruiting process.

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SPINNING IT is a podcast about the road from high school football to the NCAA, the NFL, and Canton…and anywhere in between. 

What does it take to raise a healthy, grounded player in this day and age? 

What lessons in leadership are mission-critical for helping players thrive on and off the field? 

Each week, Anthony “Nippy” Ames, Chris Hixson and Kyle Rowley chat with experts, athletes, and coaches from all levels of the game, and take your calls on everything from college recruiting to striking that ideal sports/life balance. 

We’ll also hear from former players who have been there and have wisdom and stories to share. A football podcast about life, leadership, and the pursuit of excellence, SPINNING IT is a must-listen for players, parents, and coaches alike.

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