Oklahoma State University Athletics
Randle Visits ESPN Studios For
July 28, 2012 | Cowboy Football
July 28, 2012
STILLWATER, Okla. - On his July 27 trip to the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., Oklahoma State junior running back Joseph Randle was a guest on The Worldwide Leader in Sports' "car wash" - a battery of interviews and appearances on a variety of ESPN's numerous shows and platforms.
But it was what happened before Randle even arrived at the sprawling ESPN campus that generated the most excited response of the day from the Cowboy back.
While Randle was eating breakfast by the front desk at his nearby hotel that morning, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith stopped in to grab a bite of his own before rushing into the studio for work. Having spotted Smith in the parking lot, Randle sprung out of his chair and intercepted the ESPN analyst before he even made it in the door.
"Stephen A. is my favorite out of all of them," Randle said. "I agree with a lot of what he says - especially about LeBron James. If I had to pick only one ESPN person who I wanted to see, it would have probably been him."
Good thing the chance hotel meeting happened, because Randle and Smith never crossed paths again during the course of the day.
"I'm actually glad I saw him first thing when I didn't expect it because that helped me get some of the nervousness out before we got to the studio," Randle said.
Randle was one of four Big 12 football players participating in the car wash, joining Texas defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith and Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown - who Randle grew up with and ran track alongside as a youth in their shared hometown of Wichita, Kan.
"I loved being there as part of a group because there was always somebody to talk to during the times when we were waiting," Randle said. "Even better having somebody like Arthur Brown there who I've already known for a long time."
Upon arriving at ESPN's campus, the Big 12 players were immediately welcomed and checked in by their two guides for the day, talent producer Lisa Stokes and her summer intern - and Notre Dame women's basketball All-American - Skylar Diggins.
The players were taken to a waiting room and were rotated in one at a time for college football podcasts with ESPN writer Ivan Maisel. Just minutes after the players got into the room, popular ESPN Radio host Mike Golic came in for a short visit. He saw Randle wearing his bright Orange Oklahoma State polo shirt and said "The Big 12 champs. I'm not sure I'm cool enough to be able to pull off wearing that bright of a shirt."
After posing for a quick picture with Golic, Randle reported for his podcast with Maisel, where he was asked how Oklahoma State plans to defend its Big 12 crown without Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, freshman quarterback Wes Lunt and Randle's childhood bond with Arthur Brown.
After more pictures in the waiting room , the group marched through the labyrinth that is ESPN's campus - "It was huge. You would never think it was this big, but we got to see where it all happens," Randle said - to a small studio where the players were paired in twos to participate in an interview for ESPN's Digital Magazine.
All of the questions were personality-related as opposed to being about football. Randle happened to be partnered with Brown for the piece with rave results.
"We're going to keep those two together for the rest of the day - they have a natural rapport and it looks great on camera," Whispered Stokes quietly out of the side of her mouth to someone behind the cameras as the interview was being taped.
It was during that interview that one of the recurring themes for the day emerged for Randle. He was asked what his hidden talent is and he answered that he can salsa dance and does it casually as a hobby. That answer immediately caught the attention of those and ESPN and word quickly spread because in every ensuing interview, Randle was either asked about salsa dancing or asked to get up and show off his moves.
Questions revolving around salsa dancing, Weeden, Blackmon, Lunt, growing up with K-State's Brown and being a standout Oklahoma State running back from the same hometown as Barry Sanders were the most commonly-asked questions for Randle throughout the day.
From the Digital Magazine shoot, Randle and Brown sat in chairs and hosted an ESPN.com live chat with fans. For those wondering what an ESPN.com chat looks like, it's simply an ESPN staffer with a laptop reading the submitted questions to the players and typing in their answers as the reply.
Up next was lunch in ESPN's large, modern, high-end cafeteria. The players chose from hot or cold sandwiches, pizza, pasta, salad, burgers, wraps or sushi - which the ESPN staffers said they view as a treat. Randle and the players were told that only on Fridays, ESPN brings in a chef who hand-makes the sushi and that it is a hot commodity among their personnel. The players were told that they were fortunate to be there on a Friday sushi day.
None of the four players chose to eat the sushi.
The scene in the cafeteria was one of ESPN on-camera talent mixed in with behind-the-scenes producers and college-age interns. Among the recognizable figures in the cafeteria at the same time as Randle and the Big 12 players were "SportsCenter" anchors Sage Steele, Linda Cohn and Sara Walsh.
The players grouped up after eating and headed out of the cafeteria, where Stokes and Diggins showed them to the ESPN campus fitness center, where a handful of ESPN employees were getting a lunch-hour workout in under the supervision of the campus's full-time personal trainer.
Walking in just at that moment for a workout of his own was ESPN Radio's popular host Colin Cowherd. He spotted the Big 12 players and shared a pleasant visit , talking about everything from the addition of West Virginia and TCU to the league to the 2011 season and his quick outlook on the 2012 season.
"Alright, I've gotta go and try to get a few miles in," Cowherd said before shaking everyone's hand and getting in for his workout.
From there, the players taped interviews with ESPN college football writer Brad Edwards for the ESPN mobile app before being shuttled to the studio of the network's popular "College Football Live" show, where host Steve Weissman had them on the set in pairs. Randle with Brown and Jeffcoat with Smith.
The "College Football Live" set was the first that was truly impressive from a lighting and visual standpoint. Helmets from several teams adorn the set with Oklahoma State's placed strategically where it could be seen over Randle's shoulder as he appeared on camera.
Prior to "College Football Live", all of Randle's interviews took place in smallish rooms with no real distinguishing features.
After "College Football Live", Stokes and Diggins led the group on a long walk to the next set and as the group entered a stretching hallway adorned with helmets from college football teams all over the country, a figure came sprinting from the opposite end and right in the direction of the players. He wasn't identifiable until he bellowed "Oklahoma State in the house!!!" upon seeing Randle and never broke stride as he ran past the Big 12 group.
It was former Cowboy point guard and current ESPN Radio show host Doug Gottlieb - clearly in a hurry to get to his next destination.
Randle and the other players continued on their way to tape a piece for the upcoming ESPN show, "UNITE". The taping of this segment involved the players playing the popular children's game Hungry Hungry Hippos and what started as a simple taping evolved into a full-fledged competitive contest between the four players.
Randle led his hippo to victory by collecting the most marbles on the table and immediately sat back and gave a silent, satisfied smile as if to say to the rival players "Oklahoma State wins again."
A quick hit for ESPN's social media platforms was followed by visits to the impressive sets of ESPN's popular "SportsNation" and "Baseball Tonight" shows. Both sets were empty at the time the Big 12 players arrived, so they took advantage by posing for pictures in the "SportsNation" host chairs and by posing for pictures with the baseball gloves and bats that adorn the "Baseball Tonight" set.
The last stop of the day was for live hits on "SportsCenter" - which Randle called the highlight of his car wash experience.
Again, the players were broken into pairs - Randle with Brown and Jeffcoat with Smith. Stokes reminded the players to turn off their cell phones and it was a good thing, because after Randle finished his part on the show, Stokes handed him his phone and it was flooded with text messages and screen captures sent by friends, teammates and family celebrating the fact that they saw Randle on ESPN's flagship show.
"See, THAT's why we tell you to turn your phones off," Stokes said to Randle with a knowing glare.
As part of his time on "SportsCenter", Randle was asked by host Todd Grisham to watch one of the nearby monitors and analyze NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz as he performed an endzone salsa dance after scoring a touchdown. Not really knowing what to say, Randle just said "He's doing well. It's good."
"It's all in the hips, isn't it?" Grisham asked.
"Actually the knees," Randle said. "If you keep your knees good, then you'll be alright."
"But Shakira said `Hips Don't Lie'," Grisham said.
"Well, for the girl, yes." Randle quickly replied.
And with that, the interview ended on a light note and the players' responsibilities at ESPN were done.
Stokes and Diggins brought the group back to the original welcome spot and the players all signed miniature foam giveaway footballs for each other, wished each other luck and went on their way.
"It was a lot of fun, we did a lot of interviews and met a lot of people who we watch on ESPN every day," Randle said. "It was also a lot of fun getting to interact with the other players from the other teams."
