Q&A with ex-Falcon Roddy White: Business, coaching, Calvin Ridley, and his quarantine hobby

Ever wonder what Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor member Roddy White is doing now that he’s no longer playing football? White joined AtlantaFalcons.com reporter Kelsey Conway to catch up about a number of topics, including his new business ventures and how he’s staying in top shape. White, 38, officially retired in April of 2017 after spending 11 seasons with the Falcons. During his time in Atlanta, he became the one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He caught 808 passes for 10,863 yards 63 touchdowns. White finished his career as the franchise’s leader in receiving yards and catches. Julio Jones broke White’s record for receiving yards in the 2019 season and recently tied his record for receptions. The four-time Pro Bowler was inducted into Atlanta’s Ring of Honor during the 2019 season and was recently named one of the 130 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Q: What is a day in the life like for Roddy White these days? Roddy White: I wake up and count my blessings and then it all depends what I have going on. I’m turning myself into businessman; it can be frustrating at times. Q: What are some of your business ventures? RW: I have a construction company that I’ve been trying to get off the ground. We’ve been doing work in Georgia and South Carolina. I’ve been doing this for two and a half years now, everything we do is commercial construction. My uncle has been in construction for about 45 years. He’s the one that brought it to me. I kind of grew up around him doing little carpentry work. I’m familiar with the work but hadn’t dived into it personally. It’s a totally different thing from football. It’s a brand new learn and I’m trying to build something that my family can hold onto and grow. Q: What else are you doing? RW: I’m at Johns Creek High School coaching football. We practice all week. I’m the quality control guy. Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to help do it. I love it. Working with young people and getting the opportunity to watch them go out and make plays, I kind of get that itch again when I’m out there on Friday nights. It brings back the locker room mentality that I got away from when I stopped playing. Q: What was your quarantine hobby? RW: I became a teacher during quarantine, I just didn’t get my certification. But other than that, I thought I did a helluva job. I taught my kids new sports. We played a lot of tennis; I took them to the golf range. We played a little soccer. The things that we could during quarantine and still stay in some sort of shape we did. After I taught, I went into the house, grab the clubs and hit the range Q: What are your thoughts on how Calvin Ridley is playing? RW: Awesome. I knew this was going to happen this year. I spent some time with him in Los Angeles when him and Julio were working out. Just talking to him about getting ready for the season and his mentality and how aggressive he was going to be. We just expect him to do that because he’s been in that position his whole life. He’s just getting the opportunity to go out there and be a No. 1. We still have Julio who is still the most gifted wide receiver in the league, he’s been learning for the last two years. He’s playing at a very high level; I’m loving everything I see from Calvin right now. I told everybody this was going to be the year he comes out and explodes all over the league.

Q&A with ex-Falcon Roddy White: Business, coaching, Calvin Ridley, and his quarantine hobby

Catching up with Ring of Honor member Roddy White on what life looks like in retirement and more

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