Hoo-rizons: Nostalgia at the Heart of Former Cavalier Football Players’ Podcast

“Cut the Check” was the catchy name of the podcast started by former University of Virginia football players Chase Minnifield and Dom Joseph three years ago.

Ironically, it didn’t have anything to do with money. It was all about paying the Cavaliers the respect they felt was due.

“When we were at UVA, [Joseph] would always say, ‘Cut the check,’” Minnifield explained. “And that meant, ‘Give us some respect.’ We always had that underdog mentality at UVA.

“So when we would say, ‘Cut the check,’ that means give us our respect. It was just like an internal thing we did.”

Initially, the focus of the “Cut the Check” podcast was on helping athletes transition to the business world. But over time, Minnifield, Joseph and former teammate Max Milien, who joined the podcast later, said the project evolved into a way for UVA alumni to stay in touch with one another.

With that in mind, the podcast was eventually renamed the “HoosWhere Podcast.”

Today, the show is closing in on its 150^th episode.

Serving as hosts, the 2012 alumni interview former teammates and athletes from other sports about their time at UVA and what they are up to now. Guests have included former basketball star Monica Wright, tennis standout Jarmere Jenkins and current NFL players Anthony Harris and Rodney McLeod.

In April, Minnifield, Joseph and Milien hosted a roundtable discussion about the challenges student-athletes face – in college and after their sports’ careers are over – with a group that included former UVA football players LaRoy Reynolds and Eli Harold and former basketball player Jontel Evans.

Last week, Olympic gold medal swimmer Lauren Perdue joined the podcast.

While the subject matter runs the gamut, the show often reverts to its business roots.

Former UVA swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Lauren Perdue was the podcast’s most recent guest. (Contributed photo)

After graduating from UVA, Minnifield – a member of Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” in 2019 – played for the NFL’s Washington’s franchise for parts of three seasons before a series of injuries led to him focusing on a business he created called Helping Hands.

The company provides moving, cleaning and apartment turnover services for college dormitories and student housing complexes. Championing minority entrepreneurship by giving franchises and training to people of color, Helping Hands currently operates in numerous cities around the country, employing several former UVA athletes.

“I call it a soft leap into entrepreneurship,” said Minnifield, a Lexington, Kentucky, native who also has another business, EZ Turn, which enables property managers in the student housing business to more efficiently manage and communicate with contractors. “I’ve just always tried to help people that were in similar situations as myself – situations where you’re struggling to transition out of sports.”

Joseph, who lives in Philadelphia – where he and his partner welcomed a son, Justus, on Nov. 21 – works with Helping Hands, as well as in business development and construction for his family’s businesses and as a high school football coach.

After working for Stanley Martin Homes, Milien moved back to Charlottesville about a year and a half ago to start his own commercial and residential construction company, Saber Construction, and to be with his fiancée, Dr. Annesha Basu, a fellow UVA alumna now doing her medical residency at UVA Health.

UVA Today caught up with the three Hoos.

Q. What do you love most about the podcast?

CM: The camaraderie, catching up with people. We look forward to it every Sunday. I feel like this podcast allows us, as a community, to stay intact. I know we have a lot of faithful listeners because they just want to [stay in touch] because they haven’t talked to some people in a long time. They say, “Just let me turn this on.” It feels like I just get a chance to talk with you. That’s what I think that feeling is when you listen to our podcast.

Minnifield, one of the best defensive backs in the country during his time at UVA, went on to play in the NFL. (Photo by Pete Emerson, UVA Athletics)

DJ: It’s just getting our thoughts out and, you know, letting your voice be heard. It’s just fun and it’s easy. It’s like effortless. You just hop on and record and create more memories. And it’s something that we can leave for our kids to listen to – another way of teaching them about events and history stuff.

MM: I love seeing what alumni are up to and hearing their stories. Some of the people we’ve interviewed have done some pretty amazing things that you wouldn’t know about if it weren’t for the podcast.

Q. Do you have a favorite episode?

CM: My favorite would be Ausar Walcott. I always bring this episode up. ... He was one of the best athletes I ever played with the University of Virginia. It looked like he had a bright future going for him in the NFL. … Now he’s trying to find his opportunities to find his way outside of sports. It starts off with a tough story that ends with a high note.

DJ: Probably the one when we called in on the line and Max was late to the podcast. Annesha, his fiancée, answered the phone and tried to make an excuse – and we were recording. She was like, “Guys, don’t give him a hard time.”

MM: [Annesha] was waking me up and was like, “Chase and Dom are on the phone.” I was just like, “Oh, God, this isn’t going to be good.” Of course, they recorded it. … They still haven’t let me live that down [laughing].

But I love all of [the episodes]. I would have to say the ones I enjoy most are catching up with past teammates and seeing what they they’re up to, for example, Jake McGee, and then some teammates like Rodney McLeod. A couple years go by and you find that they’re doing wonderful things, which is pretty cool.

Q. Do you have any guests you’re really hoping to get in the future, any white whales so to speak?

MM:  I really want to get Malcolm Brogdon on the show. Seeing some of the great things that he’s been doing, I think he’d be a great guest.

Milien says he will never forget his touchdown run up the middle against Georgia Tech. (Photo by Jim Daves, UVA Athletics)

CM: We always said once we get Chris Long on the air, we’ll be done [laugh]. There’s a lot of cool, cool people I’m going to be reaching out to. You never know who’s going to be on.

Q. Do you have a favorite memory, play or highlight from your playing careers?

DJ: The most memorable would probably be my interception against Idaho. I had given up a slant right before, which had put them in the red zone – and this dude kept running the slant in the red zone. I caught the ball for the interception, went to the back of the end zone and [Scott Stadium] was lit. If I could have celebrated back then, I would have run up the hill with the ball and into the student section [laughing].

That’s my most memorable, but there are so many – like the time Chase was getting hyped and yelling at [Blue Devil] Coach [David] Cutcliffe during a Duke game. Whenever I would see him get hyped, that made me get hyped.

MM: It would have to be my first touchdown against Georgia Tech; it was fullback belly up the middle. Rarely do those go for 50 yards, and it went for 50 yards and a score.

The most memorable game, by far, was Florida State in 2011 when we beat them down in Florida. It had been a good amount of years since we had done that, and that was to play [Virginia] Tech for going to the ACC Championship. Unfortunately, we lost to Tech, but it was definitely one of the best years we had there.

During his time at UVA, Joseph coined the catchphrase, “Cut the Check,” which wound up being the original name of the podcast. (Photo by Matt Riley, UVA Athletics)

CM: We actually just watched the 2011 Florida State game on ESPN recently, which was great. Personally, I came back for my senior year just for the experience to try to make a bowl game – and we did. It is a life-changing experience, regardless of, you know, what happens post-career. Those are things you can’t take away – those bonds, those games down in Miami and at Florida State. Those are lifelong conversations.

Q. What are your thoughts on the season UVA has been having so far and how do you see this week’s game against Virginia Tech going?

MM:  I think we’re going to be in good shape, but it’s really hard to tell – just with the way COVID has been with some guys missing games. But the team is very resilient. One thing you can say is that Bronco [Mendenhall] has made sure the guys are resilient and are adaptable to every situation.

Coming off such a high last season, this has been such a different experience. We were supposed to play Tech the first game of the season and now we’re playing them the last game of the season again. But I think we have a great chance with the way we’ve been playing recently. I think [quarterback Brennan] Armstrong has really come into his own throughout the season. If this was the first game of the season, I might have been a little bit more worried.

DJ: The season hasn’t been going like I expected, but I’m still proud of the team and what Bronco has been able to help them accomplish. I think this week is going to be another tremendous victory for us, you know, hands down.

I think there’s a lot of great talent on the team, but nothing makes me prouder than the stuff I see them doing off the field, man. It’s a great bunch of kids. You know, like they’re not just thinking about football.

CM: Well, I just hope that we keep this [Commonwealth] Cup. You know, last year was an amazing situation, which everybody had been waiting for.

What I love about UVA football right now is that Coach has blue collar workers – they’re going to line up, they’re going to put their best foot forward, regardless of who’s out there. Whether it’s first-, second-, third-string guys, they’re going to play the same type of effort and energy into the play and the same type of physical toughness and the same type of mental toughness, no matter who the guy is out there.

I think that’s the UVA football brand. That’s what we tried to do when I was there. It was just like, no matter who’s in there, we’re all going to come with the same intensity. We all come with the same energy. And regardless of win or loss, they’re going to respect us when they leave the field.

Q. How do you think your UVA experience kind of helped shape you into the person you are today?

DJ: I think it did a lot because it was the only time that I was living around so many different cultures. Usually, in my work, I find I can relate to somebody by drawing back on my UVA experiences. It was the only time in my life where I just lived around different walks of life coming together and learned about different cultures. It’s helped me so much. That diverse culture was the biggest part that shaped me.

MM: It’s definitely shaped me a lot. UVA just taught me a lot of soft skills that I’ve found a lot of people in the business world really do appreciate. And I don’t know if it’s just a UVA thing, but anytime I’ve needed something or had a business question, alumni go out of their way, above and beyond, to give me help. Just the kind of network UVA has I think is second to none. It’s really taught me that you just have to ask the question and there are usually a lot of people out there who are willing to help you.

CM: I think [UVA] is who I am. I’m a fierce competitor who’s highly educated – that’s what UVA athletics is. You’re a fierce competitor who’s highly educated. And that will work in all aspects of life – from sports to business to whatever you want to do. I feel like everybody who comes through the UVA system is well-equipped to attack the world in all aspects.