Story time… (Long) When he was at UGA (a few years, back
) I went to a coaching clinic there with my staff. I ended up being his “test dummy OL”. We were sitting up front pencil and paper in hand, during his DL presentation…and some dumbass from the back, asks about release moves that he teaches his DL. Well, I’m making eye contact cause I’m listening. He scans the crowd, sees me sitting there and calls me up to the podium. Garner is a big dude! Looks like he could press 400lbs right now, probably. Well I’m a pretty big guy myself (not tall). More fat now, but I was more muscular then (270lbs) He tells me to grab his shirt like an OL would. Remember this is just for demonstration. I grab his shirt where an OL would grab, under his “pads” (sides of his chest) I wasn’t bracing myself cause he was just sposed to be going slowly with the demonstration, right? WRONG! He swiped my **** arms so fuccin hard, up and down, side to side. I thought he’d broken my shyts
. I couldn’t yell out in pain because the room was chock full of other DL coaches and my defensive staff is sitting there watching. Bruh, I felt like i had been hit across the arms with a **** bat. Dude had some of the heaviest hands I’d ever felt. They hit me even harder cause I wasn’t even trying to protect myself. Then he goes, “ The next thing I like to teach ‘em….” I’m like, “Next?! Shiddd!” I went to step by him cause my seat was on the other side of where he’s standing. I was going back to my seat. He thinks I’m coming back for more. So he grabs me and puts me in the position he wants me in. “Now against a reach (reach block). Reach me!” I’m saying to myself, “Ny99a I’m trying to reach my **** seat.” This time I brace myself and push back, even though I couldn’t feel my arms. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much. He defeats my “reach” by pressing and then ripping under my outside arm. I knew what was coming, so I tried to brace against it. Still hurt like **** though, when he hit my elbow. Again, I don’t make a sound. Took it like a man
. I am looking to the heavens for help, now. I just wanna go to my seat. Then he goes,”Now against a down block….we like to destroy the puller”. This is pre spread craze. He then grabs some big fat older white dude that’s standing on the wall. I’m thinking, “this is gonna be good”. I’m the OT in this scenario, so I down block and this other guy is playing the part of the pulling guard. So I go to the imaginary LB, and this gentleman is slowly jogging at Gardner, he hits this guy in the v of the neck with one hand, and under his right man boob with the other hand. Dude let’s out a painful, “Oh God!” as he’s falling backwards. He stayed on his feet though, but his fat *** got staggered
The room burst out in muffled laughter. I ain’t gonna lie, I’m laughing my *** off at this point. RG: “You alright, man? I didn’t mean to hit u that hard.” Dude clutching his chest and throat: “Yea, yea man, I’m good.” We finished the presentation and my arms was hurting for the day. Like I could still feel his hands on specific parts of my arms for hours. From that point on, I never sat anywhere near the front row at any coaching clinic that I attended. Edit…. One more thing… if you ever get in a fight with Rodney Garner, you’d be smart to have a bat or a pistol, maybe both. If you don’t have said weaponry, prepare to take an *** whippin.