Quincy Avery is known as the “QB Whisperer,” shaping the next generation of NFL stars and redefining the quarterback position both on and off the field. Starting his journey with nothing but a dream, a car, and an unshakeable belief in building greatness from scratch, Quincy’s story is one of relentless perseverance through adversity, including nights of homelessness and countless setbacks. As the founder of QB Takeover and subject of the new documentary The Quincy Avery Effect (streaming on Hulu), Quincy is dedicated not just to developing elite athletes, but to building better men through authentic mentorship, leadership, and community impact. His influence reaches far beyond the gridiron, empowering young men at every level to overcome obstacles, embrace leadership, and live life “like a quarterback.” Takeaways: Leadership is a Mindset, Not Just a Role: Quincy believes the attributes of a great quarterback—resilience, adaptability, and uplifting those around you—are essential to leadership in business, life, and beyond. Adversity Builds Strength: True greatness comes not from talent alone, but from persevering through setbacks, learning from failure, and refusing to give up when faced with challenges. Create Your Own Impact: Quincy’s mission extends past football; he seeks to transform lives by instilling character, providing opportunity, and building ecosystems where everyone can grow and win. Sound Bites: “I want people to live their life like a quarterback, because the way quarterbacks move and operate—they bring people along, they galvanize a team—and those are things we all can do every single day.” “The journey that I went on was crazy. I’ve had a thousand nights of homelessness... but my ability to work hard despite the initial outcome is what separated me.” “The first things I want to do is have a conversation with the parents. The biggest determining factor in the kids who I see are successful and the kids who I see aren’t—is their parents.” Quote by Mick: "You’ve got to take yourself serious because most people aren’t going to.” Connect & Discover Quincy: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quincyavery/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quincy-avery-293ab036/ QB Takeover: https://www.qbtakeover.com/ The Avery Effect Foundation: https://www.qbtakeover.com/the-avery-effect-foundation Documentary: The Quincy Avery Effect (Hulu) FOLLOW MICK ON:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickunplugged/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mickunplugged LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickhunt/Website: https://www.mickhuntofficial.com Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mick-unplugged/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: Who is Quincy Avery and why is he called the QB Whisperer?
The world calls him the QB Whisperer. I call him unstoppable. Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming the guy called the GOAT, Mr. Quincy Avery. Quincy, how you doing today, brother?
I'm amazing. I really appreciate you having me on. So I'm excited to get to have a conversation.
Brother, I'm the excited one, man. You know, I know the new documentary, the Quincy Avery Effect from Anscape and Religion of Sports is streaming on Hulu right now. I got a sneak peek of it. I learned some things that I didn't know. And I thought I knew you very well, man. I learned some things, man.
Like, I'd love to just start with this question right here, Q. You know, I like to ask people about their because, that thing that's deeper than your why, right? Like that real purpose. And I know for you and the journey that you've had, man, you've had an amazing because. So for the world, what's Quincy Avery's because, man?
I've never even heard that caution phrase that way. They're because instead of the why. So that's interesting. You know, I've been in some really difficult situations throughout my life, whether it be home, family situations, sports, or trying to figure out how to get started in a profession and then trying to forge a career in essentially a new industry.
Um, but I've always done it with a few things in mind and really it is, uh, taking care of those around me because that has been so important. Right. And being able to be there in moments when I feel like they need me, because oftentimes I feel like there's many opportunities for like other people to be there for me that they just weren't.
And I knew that, um, not only can I have an impact in training young men and helping them achieve their goals, which is amazing. But there's so many young men who we won't see in this documentary or people won't talk about who aren't in the NFL. Maybe not even college, maybe just played in high school. But those are young men that I still have relationships with to this day.
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Chapter 2: What is Quincy Avery’s personal 'because' and journey to success?
You know, I can help out and they can call on me when they need anything. I'm here to support them and care about them in a way that I truly feel is unique and authentic.
And you do it amazingly, brother. You do it amazingly. You know, and talking about that journey, man. So for people that don't know and not to give away everything in the documentary, but talk about a little bit of that journey. Right. Because everybody looks at today and they see success today.
And I tell people a lot of times the people that you see that are crushing it right now, the people that are really doing it right now. They're doing it because they appreciate the journey that they had to go through. And that fruit tastes so much sweeter because they've had to go through it, man. So talk to us a little bit about that journey that you're referencing.
Yeah, I think I agree with you so much. We live in like an instant gratification society where people expect to have the fruits of their labor immediately. But the journey that I went on was crazy. In order to get here, I've had a thousand nights of homelessness, right? Where I was unhoused.
whether I was sleeping in the locker room or my car, just trying to figure out where I was going to lay my head. And it was just a grind because the thing that I think separates me from a lot of people is the ability to work hard despite the initial outcome. I heard no when I was trying to start training people so many times and It is crazy.
And I just look back, I could go look at my Facebook and just see like, no, unrespond, no. And those are some young men that I probably could have helped out, like do some things if their parents would have responded. Like I knew that I had a purpose and I knew that there was something that I thought that I could do at a very high level.
And when I say that I'm committed to something, I want my actions and my words to be congruent. I want people I want not to only be able to say these things, but I want people to be able to look at the actions that I have and say it for me, right? So I don't need to verbalize everything that I wanna do. I want people to see in my actions who I say I am and the goals that I say that I have.
I love that, dude. I love that. So when did you realize that you had, I'm gonna say the gift, Right. Like, when did you realize you had that gift, brother?
Because, again, the way that you communicate with the I'm going to call them the students, the students that you're coaching, the way that you're able to get people that are making millions of dollars to say, all right, I'm going to hire Quincy. Right. Like, when did you know you had that gift?
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Chapter 3: How did Quincy Avery discover his gift for coaching quarterbacks?
I was going to say your name pretty much had to start with a J for Quincy to work with. But these are all the next-gen quarterbacks that are under your tutelage, man. Like from from the words of the guru, from the words of you, you know, a lot of people think that it's talent and that's what they see on Sundays.
But I want to know from you, man, what do you believe separates a good quarterback from what most people want that franchise quarterback?
The future of Harlem rests in my hands.
The MGM Plus original series Godfather of Harlem returns. Starring Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker. There's a new kid in town. And Rome Flynn as Frank Lucas. I'm the boss of me. Critics rave about the rare gangster epic.
My father's planning a war.
Praising it as a great prestige drama. Nobody plays Frank Lucas. We will go to war. Godfather of Harlem. Watch now only on MGM Plus.
We are Teresa and Nemo. And that's why we switched to Shopify.
The platform we used before Shopify needed regular updates, which sometimes led to the shop not working.
Finally, our Nemo Boards shop also makes a good figure on mobile devices. And the illustrations on the boards are now much, much clearer, which is also important to us and what also makes our brand.
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Chapter 4: When and how did Quincy Avery turn his coaching into a business?
I got to press buttons. Those are things that we all can do every single day. And it's that ability to work through difficult situations is what allows these top-tier quarterbacks to be the best quarterbacks in the world. Because you're going to go through something difficult. You're going to throw an interception. You're going to cost your team a game. But it's not just that moment.
It's how do you respond. Because that interception you throw in week two, You could learn a lesson then, and you come back and win the Super Bowl because we saw that same defense. Now I knew how to respond. So was that interception in week one or week two? Was that really a loss, or did we win because of that? And that's what I want people to understand.
There's so many lessons that life is going to provide us, and it's how we respond each and every time that is going to shape us and define who we are as people.
I totally believe that and agree with that, man. You know, I do leadership consulting, and one of the things that I tell all leaders, and this is going to be for leaders, period, whether you're the leader in your household, the leader in your community, the leader of your business, the leader of a team, right? Learning lessons, being a motivator, being an inspiration, right?
And then I'm going to say this, too. A lot of people say, don't take yourself too serious. I'm going to say the complete opposite. You've got to take yourself serious because most people aren't going to. And I see that from you in the coaching that you're doing with quarterbacks. Right. And you were just articulating that very well.
You've got to be able as a leader to know that all eyes are on you. Right. How do you respond to situations, good or bad? Because situations can be good and you can respond negatively to a good situation, too. Right. What's that body language like when you're walking to the sideline or when you're having a team meeting? Are you showing up first to the team meetings? Right.
100%.
I think that the folks on my team would talk about how I respond to adversity in a very positive way. Because as a business owner, it's always going to be something. But I never shake. I never get sad. I never get flustered. It's simply, how are we going to find a solution to the issue that we have at hand? And that's the only thing that matters.
Because everybody's going to go through these things. It's just, what is the next step that is going to allow us to be successful? It's not... about the actual, like, situation you're in. It's about how do we move forward from this difficulty? Like, how do we get better and move the needle so that when people look at us, they're like, hey, that happened, but they fixed it.
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Chapter 5: What qualities separate a good quarterback from a franchise quarterback?
I love it. What are some of the traits that you're looking for before you and your team say yes? Right. Because I'm sure now it's a little bit different than it was for you several years ago. Right. When it's like, all right, I got Tyrod. Now I'm sure you're getting hit up all the time. Right. And I've seen your camps and I see how packed they are in the lessons that you all are doing out there.
What are some traits you're looking for before you say yes now?
The future of Harlem rests in my hands.
The MGM Plus original series Godfather of Harlem returns. Starring Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker. There's a new kid in town. And Rome Flynn as Frank Lucas. I'm the boss of me. Critics rave about the rare gangster epic.
My father's planning a war.
Praising it as a great prestige drama. Nobody plays Frank Lucas. We will go to war. Godfather of Harlem. Watch now only on MGM Plus.
You know, it's crazy. It's going to sound wild. More so than who the person is, a football player, more so than how talented they are. Those things don't matter. First things I want to do is have a conversation with the parents. Because the parents have been, it's been the biggest determining factor in the kids who I see are successful and the kids who I see aren't.
And it's not really what we think. A lot of times people think, It's the parents who are like there all the time. They do everything for their kids. Those are the people who become the best sports parents. Those are actually the worst because those are the people who remove all adversity. from the kid's life. They don't let them go through things. They don't let them struggle.
They don't let them build that muscle, right? And it's a muscle, right? You gotta work it. You gotta flex it. You gotta be able to see yourself in a difficult situation and see you make it out on the other side. Then you gotta see how you can learn from these situations. And then you get to control them a little bit better and act.
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Chapter 6: How does Quincy Avery approach leadership and adversity on and off the field?
You get to act in a way that you're more proud of the next time you go through a difficult situation. But they don't get these opportunities. They don't get the time to work on these things when they're in seventh, eighth grade. They don't have a difficult conversation with their high school coach. They don't have a difficult conversation with the teacher when they're failing a class.
They miss out on all these pivotal life opportunities because our parents think that they need to be the ones to step in our place and fix it for us. Those are the people who I really don't want my program. And that sounds crazy to say, but that is who I try to keep out. And that's what I try to keep away because I don't know anybody else.
I agree a thousand percent, brother. I was that dad that during, you know, Little League and JV in high school, I was literally a fan because I know as a business owner, as a business leader, the last thing I could do
whether it's the head coach, a position coach, a hired coach like you that's working, the last thing I can do or should do is give my insight or try to correct because now I'm not helping the child. I'm not helping my sons become men, like you're saying, because it's those things where I know Quincy's going to push my son. I shouldn't be a buffer. My son's not going to like this workout today.
Quincy's going to give it to him. Quincy's going to tell him the 15 things you're doing wrong. He's going to tell you what you're doing good too. But Quincy wants to see, are you going to come back tomorrow to work on the things that we just talked about today? And I think there are a lot of parents I shouldn't say a lot.
I've just seen those parents that, oh, well, you don't know what you're talking about. Let me go hire someone else or I'm going to move to this other school. Right. And you're just making it easier on your kid. And then one day life is going to slap that child. Or I shouldn't say slap. Life is going to be right in front of that child's face. And what's the child going to do?
And that's why I appreciate everything you said, man, because that's what life is about.
Yeah, it is. It's crazy to see, and I've seen a lot of different families come through our system, and I've seen some of the most talented kids not make it because their parents, honestly. That's just the root of it. Their parents made things so easy on them all throughout life that college got a little bit hard, and they couldn't handle it.
Yep, totally agree. So when you are looking at film, and you're looking at your students, right? What are some of the things that you're looking at from them when you're reviewing film, when you're reviewing tapes?
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Chapter 7: Why was the documentary 'The Quincy Avery Effect' made and what does it highlight?
been wanting to tell you for a long time so this is why i'm glad that we've got this this podcast and and we're able to do this because i definitely wanted to look quincy avery in his eye and just say bro i i know you you know now like how much influence you've had on the good for the quarterback position
And just seeing how I'm going to say the quarterback position is being respected as an athlete, right? I wanted to thank you just for giving visibility into what black quarterbacks can do in the NFL because a lot of folks are going to go back and name, oh, well, you know, there was Mike Vick. There was Doug Williams. There was Randall Cunningham.
Yeah, but that was like one or two per team or like for the whole league, right? Like there was one or two for the whole league. Now we've gotten to a point where some of the stigmatism of black athletes, in particular, black quarterbacks are going away. And I just wanted to let you know, man, like.
how much impact you had on that because you're giving the tutelage you're showing that you know we are accurate we can read defenses we're not all run first quarterbacks man like I just wanted to thank you for from me just for for making that impact bro no uh that means a lot I truly appreciate it that's a goal that I always had and it's
It's fun to see all these young men just getting opportunities, right? And it's never that we weren't talented enough. It was that at each step of the way, there'd be somebody who'd be like a little roadblock who'd get in our way. Hey, how about you switch positions or how about you do this or do that?
And they finally allowed us to be ourselves, to be authentically ourselves at the quarterback position in terms of the way that we play the game. I hope that they continue to not only let us do that, but be ourselves authentically off the field and be who we are and express ourselves in the way we want to express.
And we could live a life that we hope to live and like of the culture that we grew up in. But it feels, I'm truly thankful that I get an opportunity with so many quarterbacks who look like me, because I wish that there was a me for me growing up.
And I hope that I can be that not only for these, I was never talented enough to play in the NFL like these guys, but I hope that I can be there for not only the guys in the NFL, but a bunch of college guys growing up underneath them so that they know that there's going to be somewhere in there for them to, uh, take to the next level. I used to do a, uh,
Black Quarterback Club, where I brought together a bunch of black NFL quarterbacks, college and high school quarterbacks. And that's something I haven't been able to do the last few years just because life's been lifin'. But it's something I hope to be able to do again because I think that it's important.
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Chapter 8: What traits does Quincy Avery look for before taking on new quarterbacks?
I'm going to say a name that no one's going to have ever heard of.
Okay. Okay.
His name is Austin Smith. He's at Austin Peay right now. And the reason I say that is because I'm always very honest with parents and players. And I told his dad in seventh grade, I don't know if this is for him. He's struggling to pick up these concepts. I don't know if this is for him. I don't know if he's going to be able to do it. His dad said, okay, let's figure it out.
And he must have told his son. And his ability to respond. A lot of times people could hear that and they would just fold. Oh, this person doesn't believe in me. But I saw him turn it up a notch. And he went on to get a college scholarship. He's been a starter. He's going to have an opportunity to go to the NFL next year. He just worked. And he worked. He heard bad news and he didn't.
get, like, soft. No, he said, I'm going to work harder. Oh, he doesn't know if I can do it, but watch me show him that. Like, that? Yeah. That's not just someone who's going to be a good quarterback. That's going to be somebody who's going to be a good father, who's going to be a good husband, who's going to be good for the community. He just does things the right way.
And that, to me, is why he's one of my most rewarding players to coach.
Ironically, my oldest son coaches football and he was a GA at Austin Peay. Cool stuff. Small world. Last question. If it were not football, because I know Quincy Avery was an athlete. I want the world to know. If it wasn't football, what sport would you have dominated in?
I would want to say basketball because that's my favorite sport, but I was probably better at baseball than I was at any other sport. I just got too bored. So I would have just been a baseball player.
Good stuff. Good stuff. Q, I know you're busy. Honored you took some time for the listeners and viewers of Make Unplugged, man. Any last words you want to leave for the listeners and viewers?
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