It’s not every day that Tom Brady lands his helicopter on a college campus. But this summer, the NFL legend did just that—touching down at Fordham’s Jack Coffey Field.
Brady’s dramatic landing was featured in “Speed Goes Pro,” a new series premiering on YouTube on Oct. 1.
The five-part series stars Darren Jason Watkins Jr.—better known as Speed—a YouTuber and online streamer with more than 44 million subscribers. In the show, Watkins trains with several well-known athletes, including Brady, basketball player Kevin Durant, gymnast Suni Lee, and wrestler Randy Orton. For the episode filmed at Rose Hill, NFL stars Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Danny Amendola joined Brady for the training sessions. One episode even goes beyond traditional sports, featuring competitive eater Joey Chestnut.
Watkins not only got a workout at Fordham, but also a taste of school spirit: When filming was completed, head football coach Joe Conlin presented him with a custom Fordham jersey. In a later episode, Watkins works out with Durant in Manhattan and meets with members of the Fordham women’s basketball team.
Below, Watkins shares his thoughts on competing with the pros and what sport he hopes to cover next.
What was it like playing with guys like Tom Brady and Kevin Durant?
Man, it was crazy. You grow up watching those guys, hearing everybody call them legends, and then all of a sudden, you’re out there on the same field or court with them. At first, you’re like, “dang, that’s really Tom Brady, that’s really KD!” But once you get out there, it feels natural, and your instincts just take over. You just want to compete and prove you can keep up.
Were there any drills that were harder than you expected them to be?
Yeah, for sure. Some of the conditioning stuff and technique drills—they can look kinda easy when you’re watching, but when you’re the one doing it, it hits different. Those little details matter so much, and the best of the best, like Tom and KD, never cut corners. That was probably the craziest part, just realizing how much focus they put into every single rep.
Now that you’ve had a chance to work with all these world-class athletes, do you have a favorite sport?
This season was wild because I got to try so many different things, between football, basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, and competitive eating. And honestly, I thought about just going pro in eating after that one, because I was kinda built for it [laughs]. But honestly, all those experiences gave me a new respect for how hard each sport is. At the end of the day, though, everybody knows soccer is my favorite. We didn’t get to it in season one, but that just means you’ll have to check out next season to see if I finally hit the pitch.
