LONGVIEW, Texas — The countdown is on, Super Bowl 56 is Sunday and the city of Longview is behind Travin Howard.
After that game winning interception seen by the masses, if you are not rooting for the Rams, are you really from East Texas?
We know Travin and the guys on the field, but how about the people behind the scenes? His superstar agent and former Longview Lobo, Vincent Taylor has represented the likes of future hall of famer, Trent Williams and Jason Peters. I sat down with him to talk about his humble beginnings.
Ashley – “You were at the game. I saw a picture with you and training after the game. I mean, can we talk about that final play?"
Vincent – “Before the game, I had a chance to see him. And he told me he said, 'Hey, I'm gonna make a play tonight, man. Why are we gonna win?'; He told me that and so when that play actually happened? It was like a sense of pride. And, he was just like him telling me I told you, I told you, man.”
V- “Do you remember Bobby Taylor?”
A - “I do remember Bobby Taylor. I was wondering whether there was a relation?”
V – “Yeah, yeah, we're actually relatives. And so Bobby, at one point, he fired his agent. And I just got my Master's at A&M commerce. He was like, 'Yo, man, you should come up and help me out and it was a financial advisor that just said, you will make a great agent'. I said, like, hey, what do agents do? He said, they babysit. Okay. Do a lot of that.”
V- “I represented over a dozen East Texas natives that play the NFL. And, you know, from there, I started my own company called Elite Loyalty in 2007 and been blessed since.”
“Early on in my life, and I grew up in Longview, right by the old bus barn on Young Street, Bellaire apartments, humble beginnings single mother. She wanted me to earn a scholarship, so I earned a scholarship. So I actually became a walk on and (ended) at Trinity Valley starting my first semester, I earned a division one scholarship to Northeast Louisiana, which is now Louisiana Monroe. And while I was playing ball, I realized you know so many people (and how you can) make an impact from playing but think about having someone in your corner is looking out for you.”
A – “Trent Williams, one of the highest paid less tackles in the history of the NFL. I mean with that on your repertoire. What else do you need? How did you feel after you know, knowing that one of your players is the highest paid in the position in the history of the league?”
V - "Well, you know that I think about that all the time. His second negotiation when I made him the highest paid, he pulled me back, he told me beat us far enough. But this time he said man take it as far as you can. And we were able to set a record.”
A – “What message if any do you have for training as he's going into the big game?”
V – “The advice I've given him is to stay in a moment, prepare like you're going to be out there every play. Don't take a moment for granted. You know, beat everyone to bed at night. You know do extra study and just give it all you got and from there, just be a great teammate and support everyone. And you got what it takes man is for you guys. Go out and win.”