Uncorked: Episode 15 – Adam Taliaferro’s Unbelievable Comeback from Paralysis to Purpose

Show Notes

In Episode 15 of Uncorked: Wine, Business, and Life, we sit down with South Jersey legend Adam Taliaferro — whose inspiring comeback from a career-ending spinal injury as a Penn State freshman became one of the most powerful stories in college football history.

After being paralyzed during a game at Ohio State, Adam was told he’d never walk again. Less than a year later, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions out of the tunnel — walking on his own. His journey didn’t stop there.

Today, he’s a lawyer, lobbyist, former NJ Assemblyman, philanthropist, and the founder of the Adam Taliaferro Foundation, which has helped thousands of spinal injury patients rebuild their lives.

🎙️ In this emotional and powerful conversation, we cover:

His injury and 8-month road to walking again

The moment he took his first steps

Support from Coach Joe Paterno & Christopher Reeve

Starting the Adam Taliaferro Foundation

His career as a lawyer, lobbyist & public servant

Lessons on resilience, family, and staying positive in the darkest moments

His love story, family life, and favorite (sweet!) wines at Saddlehill 🍷

#AdamTaliaferro #UncorkedPodcast #PennStateFootball #SpinalCordInjury #Inspiration #ComebackStory #SweetWine #SaddlehillWinery #JoePaterno #NJPolitics #TaliaferroFoundation

What is Uncorked: Wine, Business, and Life with Bill Green & Co-Host Jerrold Colton?

Uncorked: Wine, Business, and Life with Bill Green & Co-Host Jerrold Colton

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Language: en

Welcome to Uncorked Wine, Business and 
Life with Bill Green. I'm Gerald Colton,  

co-host and we are here at beautiful Saddle Hill 
Winery. And it is always spectacular here, Bill.  

And we are joined as always by a wonderful guest. 
For me, it's really special, near and dear to my  

my heart, someone I knew since he was a teenager 
growing up right around here in Saddle Hill. 

Well, I got to tell you, sound a little corny. I'm 
a little starruck here, tell you the truth. I I  

gotta tell you, I grew up here. I know your story. 
I raised my family between Vor and Cherry Hill. We  

were heartbroken for you when that happened.
But you know what they say, strong survive. 

Yes, sir.
Strong gets stronger. And man,  

you are the picturesesque individual that 
that that should that saying. You should be 

your picture should be right next to that 
saying. and I just want to commend you 

for your career and what you've done 
and how you've overcome this. But 

we have some cool stuff to talk about.
I'm excited to be here. 

I mean, we have with us
because you went we went right in in  

case people don't know or didn't see this the type 
before. We have Vorhees legend Adam Talifero. Now,  

he's transitioned down a little bit south in South 
Jersey, but really a legend here, a legend in the  

state that neighbors us in spent five years at 
State College and grew up here as just somebody  

that was loved, a beloved athlete and person that 
anyone got to know. And I got to know him, Bill,  

because I had young children who I would take to 
high school football games where Adam was a star,  

and they would wait for him at the locker 
room and carry his helmet across to the field.  

So we go way back. He is still the same wonderful 
upbeat down to earth person he always was but his  

journey has been quite interesting. So 
thanks for joining us on quirked Adam. 

Uh Gerald Bill thank you for having me. It's a 
it's an absolute honor privilege for me to be here  

today and it's feels like I'm back at home. So 
I couldn't thank you guys enough. Really excited 

you are. Well let's just start how close to home 
you are because you grew up really a stone throw  

away just a few miles down the road because we 
are here in Vorhees. where he's has some some  

space to it, but not that much. And you knew of 
this farm way before it was Saddle Hill. Yeah,  

Bill. I I remember vividly just driving past 
this place all the time as I grew I was as  

I was I grew up 10 minutes from here in a small 
neighborhood called Stirbridge Lakes and this has  

always been a beautiful property and see what it 
is today is is Bill, it's amazing. It really is. 

Thank you.
And your kids wound up  

going to the same or your kids went to the same as 
schools, middle schools. So there's a lot there's  

a lot of history. Of course, our producer Tyler 
Constantino went there as well. His brother was  

friends with your younger brother and it's 
there's a there's a lot of connection here. 

You know, that's the really cool thing about 
growing up in Vorhees Cherry Hill. Everyone  

kind of knows everybody and it's a big just family 
type community and I I said I miss it. That's why  

I'm so excited to be back here today.
Before we get to your real sport,  

you played basketball at Eastern High for Cherry 
Hilly's long Cherry Hill long time really great  

coach Dave Allen, but you had him as a young 
coach when he was about 26 years old. Uh Dave,  

it was his first head coaching job. And Dave was 
only 10 years older than us players at the time.  

And I I tell people all the time, Dave Allen 
was someone who taught me so much about life  

through basketball. And I I appreciate all 
the just the life lessons that he instilled  

in us at an early age that at that time you're 
like, "What the heck is he talking about?" But  

as we grew into adulthood, you realize a lot of 
the stuff he said applied to to to being a good  

person and a good man. He's done it with my kids 
and so many of our friends kids. It's just been  

he's really been an incredible presence here 
in Cherry Hill now. Um as well as what he was  

in Vorhees before and somewhat if you ever knew 
him or played for him, he's your guy for life. 

Oh, that that's the coolest thing about 
DA we call him is that doesn't matter if  

you play for him at Easter at Cherry Hollis, 
every guy that's played for Dave always comes  

back. He just got inducted into the Hall of 
Fame, South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame,  

uh probably about three or four months ago.
And he's a young guy. He's a young guy,  

but the room was filled with Dave Allen 
supporters. I mean, guys played for him,  

guys he played with. And it was just uh you 
know, Dave doesn't like to be recognized. So,  

just really neat to see him have his night.
And the connection of course with Leon Rose  

also who is our good friend and the president of 
the New York Knicks and a Terry Hist Hall of Famer  

himself, his son Sam. He played for Dave Allen. 
There's just so many connections and you know,  

and you mentioned just what he meant to you as a 
coach, as a mentor. We're going to get into your  

story completely. I I promise. I feel like a a 
youth coach can make such an imprint on young  

people's lives. Now women are playing much more 
sports. So you both young girls and boys and have  

a permanent impact that just changes and makes 
them who they are. Uh Gerald, I I I think you you  

couldn't be more true with your statement. And you 
know, I was fortunate. I had two great parents,  

but you know, I have friends that didn't have 
parents or didn't have a father figure in their  

life. And and DA would just, you know, even just 
having early practices, learning how to get up,  

be responsible, be on time. Little things that at 
that moment like, you know, why are we doing this?  

But as we all grew up and had to work jobs, get 
up early, you realize, you know, he was teaching  

us the point. You got to get up, you got to get 
going and and and work whatever job you're doing.  

So, like I said, DA is a guy that I I learned more 
about him even more so when I had after my injury.  

I know we'll talk a little bit more about it, but 
he was by my side for the eight months that I was  

in the hospital. He was he was there every day.
Life lessons through sports. There's so much we  

both love about sports, but it really 
is the relationships, the connections,  

and all those things that make you who you are. 
Well, you know, I I always say in business,  

I mean, I've had thousands of employees over 
my number of businesses that I've built. 

Yeah. And I always say if you get 
an opportunity to hire someone  

that excelled in team sports, Yes. Y
that's going to be a better employee  

because they understand the word team. I 
don't want that tennis player. I want the  

football player, the basketball player
that they have mutual respect. But 

Adam, let let's talk about, you know, you have 
this great career, multiple sports in high school. 

Um you started your freshman year. Mhm.
You're a corner now. You're playing corner. Yep. 

And it's You're at Ohio State.
Mhm. You're going to make a hit. 

Yep.
I'm sure you remember it vividly. 

Sure.
Your head goes down. 

Yep.
Pick it up. 

You know, I just remember this September will 
be 25 years since that injury, but I I I vividly  

remember it like it just happened yesterday. 
We, you know, I was playing defensive back and  

as a freshman, you're just at we were getting 
blown out. Ohio State was being us 45 to6,  

but you just want to come in there and make an 
impact and I wanted to make a tackle. Tackle I've  

made hundreds if not thousands of times before and 
I made the cardinal mistake. You know, when you're  

playing football, the first thing you are taught 
is to hit hit with your head up. Unfortunately,  

I had my head down, went in to make the tackle 
and I just remember waking up on the ground and  

I tried to roll over to get up and I said, "Oh 
my god, I broke my arm cuz I couldn't move my  

arms." And I went to just gather my legs and I 
couldn't move my legs. So I started panicking  

and I remember coach Paterno and our team 
doctors coming out and they say, you know,  

can you move? And I said, I can't move. But the 
thought of being paralyzed never went through  

my head because I never had a stinger before. 
And I've heard of guys getting stingers where  

you lose sensation and within 20 minutes you're 
you're fine. So although I couldn't move anything,  

the thought of being paralyzed at that moment 
never went through my mind. But the one thing  

that did was ever since the age of seven, my 
mom and dad had been at every one of my games,  

even through college. And this was the first 
game we were playing on TV. And my parents say,  

you know, we'll stay in Vorhees. We'll watch 
the game on TV. And my mom, as you can see,  

I'm not the biggest guy in the world. So my mom 
never liked football from day one cuz she was  

always worried about me getting hurt. So when I'm 
laying there on the field, I'm like, "Oh my god,  

my my mom is going crazy right now cuz she's 
watching this on TV." So, I just wanted to try  

to give a thumbs up while I was laying there just 
to let her know I was okay. And when I couldn't  

give the thumbs up, that's when I realized you 
recall the video. You're you did move your arm. Y 

and the announcer said he moved his 
you know, he just moved his arm. 

Yeah.
And then, you know,  

next thing you know, the stretchers out and um
so talk about what the Ohio State med team did  

that was really saving for you. You know, I I 
will tell you, I said the injury was horrible, but  

everything that happened after it was a blessing. 
I got injured at Ohio State where right across the  

street from the stadium, they have a nationally 
recognized spinal cord center at the hospital. So,  

literally, they just had to take me across the 
street. And when I got there, I don't remember  

much about it, but my my parents flew in that 
evening and they took the CAT scans and X-rays  

and they said he severely bruised his spinal cord. 
And my dad was there and they said, you know,  

he's not going to walk again due to the severity 
of his injury, but we're going to do surgery.  

I got injured on Saturday, said we're going to 
have we're going to let him rest on Sunday, then  

we're going to have surgery on Monday. And they 
took me in for surgery and I had a worldrenowned  

spine surgeon, Dr. Ray at in Columbus, who did 
a fantastic job and gave me the best chance for  

recovery. But where my recovery began was on the 
football field. our team trainers, our Ohio State  

trainers, it was textbook. They did everything 
perfectly. They didn't move me. Like if you look,  

my teammate comes to like reach and pick me up, 
then he he backs off. If he would have picked  

me up, I would have been done because they would 
have moved. I would have done more damage to my  

neck. So, he stopped. They got me stabilized. If 
this injury would have happened in a car accident,  

I' i'd be in a wheelchair or I would have passed 
away. But I got injured in the best spot. They got  

me across the street and I had my surgery there. 
Then they airlifted me back to Thomas Jefferson  

Hospital with Dr. Alex Vicaro who's one of the 
best docs in the world. Uh I was under his care  

and they took me over to I was there for three 
weeks in intensive care. Then they got take took  

me to a place called McGee rehab place I had 
driven by a million times before. Never knew  

what the hell it was. And when I get in there I'm 
looking around and I see people with halos on and  

breathing machines. cuz I'm like, "Oh my, I can't 
believe I'm around all these disabled people,  

not realizing that's me. I'm one of these disabled 
folks." And I get there and they take me to the  

top floor. And that's the first time it really 
hit me that I was injured. And I I remember  

just breaking down saying, "Why me? Why did this 
happen?" And my dad, he he told me, he said, "You  

know, I was waiting for you to cry because you 
hadn't shown any emotion." And I just let it out.  

And he said, "From this point forward, we're going 
to do everything we can to get better." Adam. Oh, 

jeez. Adam, wait a minute. I I need to
No, it's it's take your time with it.  

It's it's an un unbelievable story. And 
um you were in Columbus for how long? 

I was in Columbus for a week.
Okay. So, in that point, obviously,  

you're you're in bed and you're not able to move 
at this point. And it's funny how you still didn't  

look at yourself as being injured or disabled yet. 
And one of the things that I believe has always  

helped get you through all that was just your 
total positivity. You are one of the most upbeat,  

positive, glowing people I've ever known. You 
have had an R since I met you as a as a young  

teenager. And you never let that that negative 
thought process enter your head, did you? 

You know, Gerald, I it's hard for me to take that 
credit because I remember there were times when I  

was just like, I can't believe this happened. And 
as soon as my parents got there, they're like,  

"You're going to walk again." They they knew how 
bleak the prognosis was. They made the decision  

not to tell me that. So the doctors told them, 
"Hey, he's not going to walk. He may have a 3 to  

5% chance of ever walking again." They made the 
decision not to share that news with me. So they  

knew how bad things were, but they would walk in 
the room and they'd be smiling. Hey, you're going  

to be all right. And when you see your parents 
there telling you're going to be okay, you're  

like, you know what? I'm gonna be all right. And 
my dad would say every day, you know, we're just  

we're going to take it one day at a time and every 
day we're going to try to get a little bit better.  

And my mom, she was like the drill sergeant. 
She was like, no one's coming in this room and  

telling him he's not going to walk again or you 
have to deal with me. So anyone like my friends,  

you know, when they airlift me back to Philly, 
all my friends from around here were coming to  

visit me. And she she would tell them before they 
came in the room, no one's going to cry. No one's  

going to be upset. Adam's still still the same 
person. So when you go in there, treat him like  

he's fine. Let him know he's going to be okay. So 
my entire time, I'm sitting there like, I'm going  

to be all right. Like my girlfriend's there, 
my best buddies that we're joking around. So  

the thought of the negative side of things never 
crossed my mind because I always had such positive  

energy throughout the entire experience. And 
one of those people who was a frequent visitor,  

a weekly visitor, you made reference to before. 
You went to play for a legendary coach at Penn  

State and coach Joe Pno who has since passed, but 
I know you were very close with me and his family. 

Talk about what he did while you 
were going through this whole thing. 

Yeah, you know, the thing that really just uh 
I admire so much about Coach Paterno, you know,  

as a freshman, Coach Paterno is known for 
not really interacting with freshman. Like  

he didn't play freshman. You were just a guy 
and we couldn't talk to the media. He was like,  

you just you're to be seen and not heard. and he 
gave me the opportunity to play as a freshman,  

which I totally appreciated, but I still 
didn't have that strong relationship. I  

was just a freshman. When I got hurt, he stayed 
with me in Columbus and then he flew back to to  

State College and he would come every Thursday. 
Every Thursday, he would fly from State College  

to bring an assistant coach and three or four 
of my teammates to just come check in on me.  

And this was during the season. And every time 
he would come to the hospital, it was like a,  

you know, celebrities there. those paternals 
in the in the hospital and the thing I you  

know I appreciate him coming to see me but the 
way that he interacted with every patient that  

was there going through the same thing that I 
was going through he would take time to stop by  

every room sign every autograph and he didn't 
want to take any pictures cuz he didn't want  

it being about him so I just realized how truly 
special he was and how much he cared about not  

only me but anyone that was going through any 
type of adversity and you know we'll get to it  

but when I got back to Penn State and could 
no longer play football he became my biggest  

supporter to help me navigate what I wanted to do 
next, although I couldn't play football anymore. 

You went back um how many months 
after did you actually show back up? 

Yeah. So, I got injured in September of 2000 and I 
was back in uh State College in July. I started I  

went back for the summer session,
right? 

But let's talk about how you couldn't move.
Yeah. 

Okay. You know, full quadriplegic, no 
movement really of anything below the neck. 

Yep. So how long did that 
last and then what changed? 

So it was about two months, you know, eight 
weeks I couldn't move anything and I was at  

McGee at that time and every minute of the day I 
would try I would be in the bed and I would try  

to remember what it was like to move something. So 
my mind would say, you know, move your finger and  

I would try to think and nothing would happen and 
try to move a toe. Nothing would happen. And about  

two months in, my parents would come every day. 
they would leave um like around 10:00 when I was  

starting to go to sleep and my nurse was in the 
room with me and she says Adam your toes moving  

at the end of the bed and I said it is because 
I had become so accustomed to trying to move and  

nothing nothing was moving so she said try to do 
it again and I'm straining I'm able to move my toe  

and they call my parents back to the this is 11 
o'clock at night they call my parents back to the  

hospital and I remember my dad said Adam you know 
try to move your toe again and I'm move I'm moving  

it and we have a party and it's 11:30 at this time 
and we call coach you know coach paterno was 80  

something at the time we call coach paterno wake 
him up call Dr. is bashing a team doctor. Adam's  

moving his toe and it was a celebration in the 
room because I had gone two months without moving  

anything. But what I didn't realize and for 
those who are familiar with the medical field,  

nothing is official unless the doctor sees it. So 
the next morning, the doctor comes in. He says,  

"Adam, we heard the great news. We heard you were 
moving your toes, you know, show me what you were  

doing." So I remember looking up at the doctor. 
I'm looking down on my toe and I'm straining and  

nothing happens. And you know, so I went from like 
the highest point of my recovery back down because  

I realized the doctor didn't really believe 
that I was moving. So he kind of turned his  

back and walked out with his team. But that moment 
I said, "You know what? I I know my toe is moving.  

I'm going to do everything I can to prove this 
doctor wrong and show him that I can move." So  

that's when I kind of went into overdrive. And I 
tell people, I had these 5 foot6 women that were  

tougher than any football coach I ever had in my 
life. They pushed me. We would do two hours of  

therapy in the morning, two in the afternoon, two 
at night. six hours of therapy a day and every day  

would just be all right try to move a finger and 
then slowly my my left side was always like three  

weeks ahead of my right side. So eventually 
my fingers started to move a little bit and  

then I finally was able to get that controlled 
movement in my toe and I said we got something  

now. And we just every day tried to progress and 
I got involved in a clinical trial at that time  

where they put you on a treadmill and they put 
you in a parachute harness. So the harness holds  

your body weight over a treadmill and I had a 
therapist on this side. I had four therapists,  

one moving each leg and each arm simulating the 
walking motion before my body could even walk.  

And I feel like that really helped me the brain 
and the body connect. And after I started getting  

on that every day, that's when things started 
to progress. And now it's the standard of care.  

If you have a spinal cord injury and you go to 
McGee, you're going into parachute harness. Again,  

it was a clinical trial back then. So, I'm just 
so thankful that I've been part of that clinical  

trial because I see patients now that are having 
these tremendous recoveries and they're learning  

how to walk even before their body is allowing 
them to do it. Because I'm just trying to picture,  

Adam, 18-year-old, superstar, world class athlete, 
really had probably an NFL career ahead of you,  

and now all of a sudden you're lying motionless, 
unable to move anything. What were the things  

that went through your head over those few months 
that then you were able to stay positive through? 

Yeah. you know, and that's why I just I I'm so 
thankful for the community, especially here in  

South Jersey and and the Penn State family because 
there I I'll be lying if I didn't tell you when  

my parents went home at night and I'm laying there 
in bed and even on the weekends when Saturday when  

I'm watching my teammates play on TV, I'm watching 
the Penn State game and I'm here laying unable to  

move anything, I'll just say, you know, like what 
the heck, like what am I going to do? Like I can't  

give up because my parents are here every day 
pushing me, but like this sucks. Like uh that's  

the best I for a lack of a better word I said 
I'm just sitting here unable to move anything.  

Like my dream of playing in the NFL was done. I 
just it's hard to put into words. I just every  

day was just saying, man, this this stinks. But 
then it came a point where I was like, you know  

what? I can't change what happened. Only thing 
I could do is change my future. And when you're  

in a rehab facility, you hear all types of crazy 
stories. I had a football injury, but I'm in there  

with guys that are in gangs that got shot. I'm in 
the guy that fell out the bed that just fell out  

of the bed and broke his neck. And I and I started 
thinking about it. I said, you know, I got injured  

doing something that I loved. You know, no one 
did this to me. You know, ironically, I did it  

to myself. So, I got a lot to be thankful for and 
I'm going to try to get myself out of this. So,  

that's from once mentally once I got to the point 
where I was like, you know, this happened, I can  

change it. Now, I got to work towards changing 
my future. So, I tell people all the time,  

the mental side of it was the toughest part. Once 
I got in the mindset that all right, I'm going to  

I'm an athlete. I'mma attack my physical therapy. 
Like, it's football practice. So, every day I'm  

going to work to the best of my ability. And the 
thing that really got me was I was so used to my  

being in full control of my body. So, it was just 
it taught me a lot about patience because I used  

to, you know, you tell your body to your leg to 
move, it moves. Now, if I tell my leg to move, it  

may take 10 minutes to get any type of movement. 
But it taught me a lot about patience. It taught  

me a lot about people. I realized when I was 
playing football, it was all, you know, I thought  

it was all about me. But when I couldn't move 
anything, when I needed people to brush my teeth,  

people to help me get dressed, I realized like 
in order to get through life, you need people.  

And it really humbled me and taught me what's 
truly important. you know, you have your health,  

you have your family, you have your friends, you 
got people supporting you, you can get through a  

lot in your life. And I I it took me being injured 
to really realize that. Wow. That's that's a I'm  

really blown away at this story. But today, you 
shared with me that um you like sweet wines. 

Yeah.
So, for this episode, 

this is a sweet this is a sweet 
story. Sweet time to to come to it, 

right? I mean it's it is a sweet story. So it 
just happens to be our number one selling wine. 

Is it really happens to be 
what we call starflour? Okay. 

And it is a blend of four different white grapes.
Okay. 

Um two of these are grown in our vineyard, two 
others in Lease Vineyards um in Maloka Hill. 

But um give it a try and tell me what you think.
Cheers. 

Cheers. Cheers to you, Adam.
Thank you, Bill.

That's solid.
That's good, right? And you know,  

Bill, and Adam talked about it to us about, you 
know, he was a little embarrassed. He was saying,  

"I like sweet wines." And his his wife makes 
fun of him. And and and and I think that is  

delicious. And and you as a wine maker,
I'll tell you a little business story  

about sweet wines. when we were planting this 
place and we were talking to my consultants  

about what grapes to plant and I'm like, "Oh, I 
love, you know, I'm a dry red guy and you know,  

they're trying to say you really need sweet wines 
and you know, so I'm going to lean back on that  

and you know, sure." Um, our a large portion of 
our customer base, they want sweet wines and,  

you know, we're adapting. I feel seen today 
because I feel when I'm out, you know,  

business dinners and and friends, there's a 
stigma I feel at times around my my enjoyment  

of a of a sweet wine. I told you earlier, I'm 
a big mosscato guy. This is this is awesome. 

Isn't this great?
This is awesome. 

I mean, it it seems like everybody 
who tries this in the tasting room,  

they walk out and buy a bottle. So, we're 
we're pretty happy. What's this called again? 

Starflower. One is one is going back to Eron 
with you and she can she can try it for herself. 

So, we did. We basically said, 
"Okay, we have a white horse,  

so we have this neat little bottle and uh we 
have a lot of wild flowers on the property." So,  

that's kind of how we uh think about that. But,
Bill, I want to I want to make one final point  

on Adam's recovery before we we 
get back to Penn State. And that is 

so you're there and you can't move. And it's 
really it's really hard to even picture doing  

that, Adam. You know, um Bill has kept himself in 
great shape. He does triathlons. He's he's out was  

out running today and then he's riding the horse 
yesterday when I call whenever when you know what  

you mix it in. But the bottom line you're still 
moving and you you keep moving but to picture  

what it's like to have to go through the whole 
thing of just getting your body to move telling  

and I I can't imagine that but talk about what 
happened when you took that first step that most  

people did not think you would ever take again.
Yeah, Gerald. I I equate it to a a baby taking  

their first steps. I but I got to do it at the 
age of 18 and I had been working for that moment  

for four for four or five months where you know 
I was on the on the treadmill. We're doing all  

these strengthening exercise because you don't 
realize you know people that just get up and walk  

the amount of muscles and all the things that 
go into walking people we take it for granted.  

So when none of those muscles and all none of 
those nerves are working, you got to kind of  

start from from square one. And that's what we 
did. I told you it was six hours a day of just,  

you know, first we got to strengthen my calves. We 
got to strengthen my hamstrings, my quads, get all  

this muscles strong enough. But what people don't 
realize is when you're laying in bed for months  

just standing up, I would get dizzy standing 
up because of my body just wasn't accustomed  

to standing up. So they would put me in a standing 
frame. It's like a chair where they would it would  

crank it and they would stand you up and I could 
only stand up for for 10 seconds before I felt  

like I was gonna faint. So it just I had to get 
my body acclimated to the standing position again.  

And once I got to that and you know got to the 
treadmill, they said, "Adam, you know, they they  

and each week they would lower the the harness 
so I would have more body weight on that I was  

carrying when I was walking over the treadmill." 
And it got to the point where like, you know what,  

we think you're able to try to take some steps.
Wow. on on on on the surface and we called my  

entire family to the hospital like like again 
like I was a toddler taking his first steps  

and I remember standing up. I had a walker and I 
remember pushing myself up and like looking around  

and it was a surreal experience and I like I said 
my left side was always stronger than my left  

than my right side. So, I remember picking up my 
left leg and taking it was a the slightest step,  

but I took that step and I looked at my parents 
and I was just like, "This is it." Like, it's  

happening. And I was able to take a a small couple 
steps. And it it was probably from me to you,  

Bill. And I remember just sitting back down. I 
felt like I ran a marathon just from taking three  

steps on my own. But that's that was the point 
where I realized like I'm going to be able to walk  

again. And it was the it's hard to put into words. 
I tell people, you know, I'm I'm married. I have  

two kids. But that was probably the best moment of 
my life because, you know, my parents were there.  

Uh some of my friends that had been coming to the 
hospital every day were there to witness me uh  

take my first steps, but most importantly, it was 
my therapist who had put five months of work into  

me to get me to that point. For so for me, it was 
just a big thank you to them because without them,  

none of this happens. What's the name of your 
therapist by the way? I know you have one. 

Amy Brad. Amy Brad and Mary Grace Man 
Jean, Cheryl West. There's a whole crew. 

Yeah. So, fast forward.
Wait, before we go, there's one thing because  

we have so many Penn State fans or Penn State 
people here. We're in the Philadelphia region  

course and you've got some really high-profile 
Penn State friends because your choice of college  

is such a big one. Yeah. And you were a heavily 
recruited player. You were superstar player of  

the year in South Jersey, running back, 
superstar, cornerback. Why did you choose  

Penn State? because as it played out, you made the 
right choice in something you never anticipated. 

Yeah. Yeah.
So, tell me why Penn State. 

You know, it was it was a tough decision. Now, 
Penn State, they started recruiting me when I  

was a at the end of my sophomore year in high 
school and I went to football camp up there  

a couple summers and just something about Happy 
Valley. You get out the car, you know, my first  

I said it smells like cows like I don't know about 
this place. But coach Paterno was uh he just was a  

genuine person. And my recruiting coordinator at 
the time was Tom Bradley and Kenny Jackson. Kenny  

played for the Eagles and he recruited down here.
South Jersey guy. 

He was a South Jersey guy. And um they just I felt 
like they believed in me from the very beginning.  

They didn't BS me. They're like, "Hey, you come 
here, you may have an opportunity, but we're not  

guaranteeing you anything." But it came down to 
the end. It was either going to be Penn State or  

Tennessee. And I remember going down to Tennessee 
and you know the Nen Stadium's right on the water  

and you know SEC football is like they live and 
breathe. I remember going to my my recruiting  

trip down there and it's like everybody already 
knew my name. I'm like this is crazy. And they  

they set you up with like they set you up with a 
person a young lady that is your like your tutor  

your full-time tutor. So I was like oh this this 
could work where I have someone to help help me  

through my school. But uh you know, thank God my 
dad kind of saw that. I was like, I don't know if  

this is the place for you and I committed to Penn 
State early. So he said, you know, you got to keep  

your commitment because I was really wavering. 
I was like, you know, Tennessee and they said,  

you come here, you will play, you will play 
your freshman year, you may end up starting.  

So I remember talking to my dad like Tennessee, 
you know, I'm playing in the SEC, but my dad was  

always just a he said, "Hey, you know, football is 
a great avenue, but you got to get your education  

as well." and coach Paterno and Penn State was you 
going to play football but you're also going to go  

to class and get your education. So that really 
you know my dad was you know he said you always  

said it's your decision but um another thing that 
was really important for me was Penn State's three  

and a half hours away from
Northeast kid. 

Yeah. So I you know I want have to get on a 
plane to come home. So and when I committed  

to Penn State when I committed to them they were 
ranked number one in the country. They had Lavar  

Arrington and Courtney Brown and that whole crew 
and in 99 they were the best in the country. So I  

said, "This is going to be a amazing experience. 
I have an opportunity to play great football and  

my dream is to play professional football." And I 
thought it was going to be a great fit. And it it  

was it was that's a that's really amazing. So
So then it's the fall 

Mhm.
of that following season. 

Yep.
And you run out of the tunnel. 

Yeah.
Give me that. That I mean that  

be the second best. Let's set the stage. Okay.
I mean it. All right. So, in September of  

your freshman year, 2000, you or 2001, you have 
this tragic injury or very catastrophic injury. 

You're never going to walk again.
You beat those odds and you're back up on  

campus that spring, which is incredible.
Then 

you have to be live life no longer a football 
player, but still part of the program. So,  

what did Joe Perner do for you to keep you in 
that program? I remember the first day I got  

back to campus, he calls me into his office 
and god, I was a freshman. I never been in  

coach Patton's office when I was playing. 
It's usually for someone who's in trouble. 

Like I I was like, I don't want to that's not a 
place you want to go. And he calls me in and he's  

like, you know, one like you so happy to have you 
back. Like, you know, you you've overcome a lot,  

but now that you're here, you're going to stay 
a part of this program. You're not going to  

you're going to be here every day. He set the 
ground rules like you're still you're going  

to do everything except play on the field. 
You're going to come to all the meetings,  

you'll come to all the practices, you're going 
to be a student assistant coach for us. So you're  

going to be with Tom Bradley who is our defensive 
coordinator and you're going to do our defensive  

signals during the games. You're going to be So 
don't think you're going anywhere. I was like,  

"All right, coach." Like if Coach Pna tells you 
to do something, you're going to do it. So I just  

became like a a student assistant coach. I had 
to come in the same time the team did. I had to  

come to all the meetings. I had to work. And the 
thing that was really cool was Penn State asked  

my therapist to come up there for a few days to 
show them the exercises that I was doing when  

I was in therapy. So our our strength coach and 
our trainers knew exactly what how to handle me  

because they learned from my physical therapist. 
So just for them to take the time to do that  

when they got a hundred other guys that they've 
got to be training, but for them to specialize,  

they they took a time to create a training program 
for me. And I'm like, these people really care  

about me. So I that's what I did. I you know 
and and when I was when I was still unable to  

walk when coach Pno came down Tom Bradley I still 
couldn't walk this about a month after my injury.  

He said when you come back we want you to lead 
the team out of the tunnel. I remember laughing  

at him like you know that I appreciate it but I 
don't know if that's happening. And Tom Bradley  

was like seriously like no when you come back 
you're going to lead the team out the tunnel 

and there's 100,000 people in a stadium and 
the tunnel's in the end zone and you got to  

go all the way to the sidelines. 
So that's that's no small task. 

Yeah. And they had like September 1, we had 
just expanded our stadium. We were playing  

Miami Hurricanes. Miami that 2001 Miami Hurricanes 
team is probably one of the best college football  

teams of all time and we played them for our 
opening game. It was a night game and I remember  

like riding on, you know, Penn State, we ride 
on blue buses up to the stadium and I remember  

riding up and like Coach Paterno usually sits in 
the front seat and then the quarterback sits next  

to him and he's like, "No." I'm like, "Adam, 
you're going to sit next to me for this one."  

So I remember riding and you just seeing all these 
people like everyone has these 43 sign and my  

number was 43 and people have all these 43 signs. 
I remember like walking off the bus and there was  

just a sea of people and like this adrenaline went 
through me like because I was still like I was  

kind of walking with a cane at times and I wasn't 
too steady on my feet but I remember getting off  

that bus like this the best I ever felt and
but you hadn't done any running or anything  

like that up then? I hadn't done any running and I 
remember like my therapist like Adam like go slow 

and this is a long distance this is you know like 
50 yards that you're going to walk just take it  

easy wave let everyone know that you're okay and 
I remember like you know it's night they they all  

they're like Adam I remember being in the locker 
room and they call me out like all right Adam  

we're going to call you out so I remember walking 
and like for anyone that's been at Beaver Stadium  

like you kind of walk through but you have to walk 
through the crowd under the stadium to get to the  

tunnel And like everyone's screaming my name. I'm 
like, you know, I'm a freshman at that. You know,  

before that, no one knew the heck who who 
I was. I was just a little freshman and all  

these people are chanting my name and uh I hear 
like on a loudspeaker they're like you know now  

we're welcoming back Adam Toifer and like the 
whole I had never heard the stadium that loud  

and I remember taking a couple steps and as 
I took each step I took I felt the stadium  

getting louder and louder and uh I remember I 
got out to like the 10 yard line and I'm like  

man I'm going to try to like run a little bit and 
something went through me and I was able to like  

I ran from like the 10 to like the 20 yard line 
and I was just like oh my god I can't believe  

like that just happened and like the crowd 
like it's so hard to put into words. It was  

the most unbelievable experience going through.
You were you started skipping and almost flying  

at him and and I was in my house 
watching on TV in my living room 

and I can remember like as yesterday and 
I just stood up and started clapping,  

cheering and crying with my family. Um, it 
was one of my proudest moments I ever had  

for a friend and it was as emotional as it could 
be and it was the most triumphant thing. It had  

nothing to do with the final score or anything. 
It was a victory that could never be measured. 

I I said for me that was just my my thank you to 
to so many people because I I I think about that  

eight-month experience. There were times where 
people just come to the hospital and say, "Hey, we  

were just I work in the city. I'm on lunch break. 
just want to come over to see how you were doing.  

I get cards every day and so many people like 
prayed for me and a lot of people that focused on  

my recovery were in at that stadium. You know, all 
my therapists were there, my family, my friends,  

and for those that were watching on TV, it was 
just to say, "Hey, thank you." And like I'm okay.  

Like everything, you know, the injury happened, 
but we've overcome it. So that was the best way  

that I thought I could say thank you because 
there's no way I could write enough letters or  

say enough thank yous to individually to everyone 
that supported me throughout that process. But  

giving sharing that moment with uh you know all 
the people in the stadium that day and all the  

people watching on TV was something I'm just so 
thankful Penn State gave me the opportunity to do. 

Adam and I want Bill to to know this and I 
know he's had experiences like this. Bill,  

Bill has spent a lot of time and given a 
lot of his own money to Children's Hospital  

and watched miracle recoveries and and and 
all sorts of things that are so emotional. 

Um, I can tell you this as one of 
those people who cared dearly about you 

that anybody who visited you, anybody who talked 
to you, anybody who touched you and was lucky  

enough to have you touch their lives came away for 
it so much better. It wasn't us giving to you. You  

always were giving back to everybody else in every 
way. And the most visible of course was that run,  

but it didn't stop there. It didn't it didn't 
stop there. And there's been a whole lot since  

that time. And um and you still you still 
were only a college sophomore at that point. 

Yeah.
So 

yeah, I uh and that's where I was like, "Oh, 
you know, I still got go to school and figure  

out what I want to do with my life." And I 
had to be honest, I had no clue. Like I was I 

Well, football was a plan and it had changed. 
And then coach maternal called me back into  

his office and he said, "What do you 
want to do?" And I was like, "Coach,  

I I really don't know." And he our our team 
academics guy, guy by the name of Tyl was like,  

"Hey, we're going to give you this test and you 
like answer a bunch of random questions and it  

tells you what you may be interested in." And I 
uh mine came out with like the the law field. And  

what a mistake that as a lawyer. I'm just kidding. 
I love the law. And those that may not know,  

like Coach Paterno, before he got involved 
in coaching, when he was at Brown University,  

he was thinking about going to law school and 
his coaching career took off. But he told me that  

whole story about how he was interested in law and 
how he would connect me with whoever I wanted to  

get connected with to to pursue that career. 
And I said, "You know what? This sounds like  

this could be interesting." And for me, I wanted 
to potentially represent my teammates that were  

going to play in the NFL. And I remember coming 
back home and called this guy right here and  

um he we hung out and he let me follow in his 
footsteps and I realized like being an agent  

isn't just signing these big contracts. 
There's a lot more that goes into it. And 

the summer internship taught him.
Yeah. I it was it was that I tell  

people that was probably the best summer I had 
learning about the real world cuz I spent half  

of the summer with Gerald and then I spent the 
other half with NFL PA with uh Gene Upshaw and  

and and Doug Allen because Doug Allen was a Penn 
State guy. Uh he was the vice president of NFL  

players association and coach Patnono got me 
hooked up down there with him. And so that  

whole summer I was with Gerald and with the NFL 
PA and I was like this is like awesome but this  

is way more difficult than what I thought it was 
going to be. I was still interested in the law,  

but I decided to to go the corporate route.
And so you went 

and you went to Ruckers. So you got to Ruckers 
back in there because we give you Penn State  

a little a little props to Ohio State along the 
way. But now he came home to the State University  

of New Jersey, Ruckers Law School.
And he goes to Ruckers Law School  

and then comes out and goes to work for a very 
prestigious global law firm of Dwayne Morris. 

Yes. Yeah. I you know I've learned I I didn't 
realize it and I know you both know this much  

better than myself but it's a lot of times 
it's it's what you know but also it's who you  

know and the relationships that I made you know 
going through this injury and playing football  

there's a guy by the name of Gil Brooks and Gil 
was the head football coach at St. Jose Prep 

and a lawyer
and a lawyer and  

when I was in eighth grade they had recruited me 
to play football at St. just prep. I was like,  

you know, I I'm before he's got I want to go to 
Eastern. And but we always stayed in contact. And  

when I got out of law school, um I got in touch 
with with Gil. I had no idea. I just thought he  

was a football coach, but he was a attorney at 
a partner at Dwayne Mars. And he said, "Well, 

a really good lawyer.
Come over." And um I started  

my career at at Dwayne Mars and it was great. A 
guy by the name of Hers Kosoff who runs the uh  

Cherry Hill office. They took me in and I learned 
so much uh learning from all those guys. and uh  

I was a labor and employment attorney and uh it 
was a great experience. I I really enjoyed it and  

um did it for about five years and went in-house 
with a with a pharma company and kind of that's  

where I have been ever since. But I I realized 
I I don't want to sit in an office all day and  

write legal briefs and and be in court all day. 
I love the I have such a such a high respect  

for the legal field, but for me, I love being out 
with people and interacting and meeting with new  

people. So I I gravitated towards the the lobbyist 
side of things. So I've been working as a lobbyist  

gez for the last 12 years now.
But you also Oh god. 

Yeah. No. Uh we you had a nice 
career in in South Jersey politics. 

Um and you know you're you're one of 
our favorite Democrats in South Jersey. 

I I appreciate it. And I I tell people as we 
were talking earlier, I said Senator Beach was  

the the first person that really said, "Hey, you 
know, maybe we should try politics." I was away  

at Penn State. he was having an event and uh he 
had me speak at one of his events and he was like  

you know just think about it and I said senator 
I'm not a politician I that's not my thing and  

um my wife was from Delaware and if it was up to 
me I'd still be here in Vorhees but we kind of  

split the difference between where we both lived 
and uh we ended up in Squeezeboro Mullica Hill  

area and I just started I didn't know anyone down 
there so started just going to some of the events  

and got to know uh senator he was senate president 
at that time Steve Sweeney and we just struck up  

a friendship and we would go to lunch once a 
month and he just said, "Hey, would you ever  

consider getting involved and you know it's hard 
any politician, you know, they're politicians for  

a reason. It's hard to say no to him." And but he 
told me about his story and why he got involved.  

His daughter had had a disability and that's 
why he got involved. And for me, I know I had  

a physical disability. I wanted to be able to help 
people because I saw the struggles that folks were  

going through and um I decided to to make the job. 
So I started as a they were freeh holders back  

then and now county commissioners. I was a county 
commissioner in Gloucester County for five or six  

years. And then uh I always say I was lucky with 
timing where the assembly uh person Doug Fischer  

who uh served in the third district for many 
years, he he stepped aside and then Celeste Riley,  

who she's not a common county clerk, she retired 
and had a vacancy and Steve came to me and said,  

"Hey, would you be interested in being part of our 
team in Trenton?" And uh I was fortunate enough to  

get an opportunity to serve in the legislature 
or general assembly for for seven years and and  

now um you have to be bored. Hey, what are you 
doing, Adam? Well, Bill, I think I think what  

he's also done is very near and dear to your 
heart and that's the philanthropy. Absolutely. 

I want I want to talk about the found your 
foundation because it's awesome. But so you  

have this tragedy really and but you overcome it 
and you really turn it into as much of a positive  

as you could and obviously there was a book the 
making of a miracle by Sam Carti a local courier  

post writer and and he did a great job telling 
your story. Um and then of course there were there  

was a lot of attention on you and the recovery 
and the treatment and the you know you mentioned  

the great facility that we have of course in 
Philadelphia and all that stuff. talk about the  

start of the Adam Talifer Foundation and how we 
are almost a quarter century later and thriving. 

You know, when I was going through my injury 
early on, as I mentioned earlier, the thought  

was I would never walk again. So, people started 
donating to my high school, donating any way they  

could. I think this was before like GoFundMe and 
all that type of stuff, but they were just saying,  

you know, Adam's going to need lifetime care, so 
we want to support. And we were just getting all  

these donations. And then lo and behold, I'm able 
to walk again. We had these funds and thankfully  

I didn't need it. So we decided it was it was 
my high school football coach guy by the name  

of Larry Ginsburg and some of the other coaches 
here in South Jersey came together and said, "Hey,  

let's try to do something good for those that 
aren't as fortunate as I was to to provide some  

financial and also emotional support to people 
going through these injuries." Because what I saw  

was when I was in the hospital, I had people 
coming every day. But when I had a roommate,  

he get one visitor a month or other people 
that, you know, they mentally were going through  

some hardships because they didn't have anyone 
there. So, we decided to create the foundation  

uh to provide financial and emotional support and 
every dollar that we raise goes towards helping  

patients. So, you know, when I when you go through 
an injury, when you come home, your insurance  

doesn't cover your home being retrofitted to 
be wheelchair accessible. If you need a shower,  

you you can't just, you know, people don't realize 
when you're in a wheelchair, it's tough. I mean,  

people live lead amazing lives, but it's not easy. 
So, someone comes home and needs a van. Insurance  

isn't providing for it. So our foundation, 
if you need a van, if you need your home,  

if you need a ramp, if you need your bathroom 
remodeled so you can take a shower with dignity,  

that's we say our foundation steps in where 
insurance steps out. So we try to provide  

that financial support and also that emotional 
support. So when I was going through my injury,  

I always had someone to talk to, you know, someone 
who has gone through the injury. So my role within  

the foundation is, hey, hey man, hey, hey girl, 
like I know what you're going through. It's not  

easy, but let let's talk about it. provide that, 
you know, that that outlet that someone can talk  

to. And it's been a labor of love. Tom Micone is 
our president and we've got a wonderful board. We  

say it's a working board. Everyone that's on the 
board um is is providing and and and advancing  

the mission of our foundation. And we've been just 
so blessed over the last 25 we just celebrated 25  

years. Um we've given over, you know, $3 million 
of of of support to people and it's all because  

of the community. Without without the support of 
people here, we wouldn't be able to do what we do. 

Wow. There's a there's a very famous actor 
who got hurt in a time frame just before your  

injury and had done a lot of stuff with 
the foundation. That's Christopher Reev. 

Um Superman and
I think Superman's sitting right here 

and he fell well he is but he also fell off 
a horse and I know you love you bought this  

farm because of horses. There's a lot of 
intertanglement of things you know but for  

but the grace of God go I
well Chris was jumping. 

Okay.
I I trust keep the feet on the ground. 

Stay stay low. Bay Area.
But talk about your experience with Christopher  

Ree and his wife. I know they were really they 
were really important at that time in your life.  

It it was unbelievable. I remember sitting at 
McGee and I just got done therapy for the day and  

someone was like, "Hey, uh Christopher Reeve is 
on the phone and I'm like me." And they're like,  

"Yeah, like he wants to talk to you." And I'm 
like, "That Superman like this is like how the  

heck does he even know me or know where I'm at?" 
And I remember get on the phone with him. He's  

like, "Hey, you know I'm Christopher Reev." I'm 
like, "You don't have to tell me who you are." Um,  

he's like, "You know, I had a similar injury and 
um just I'm I'm cheering for you. I'm rooting for  

you." And to hear him say that, you know, and he 
severed his spinal cord. I I just severely bruised  

mine. So, the likelihood of Chris ever walking 
again was slim to none. But he said, you know,  

Adam, when you get out of there, I want you to 
come up and and meet me and and let's work out  

together sometimes. So when I got out of McGee, 
I would go up to Crystal Reeves house up in North  

Jersey and we would work out. And I'll tell you, 
a lot of people have inspired me along the way,  

but just watching this guy who he had been 
injured for some time when I first met him,  

but he was working out like he was going to walk 
tomorrow. And he didn't let his injury or or the  

outlook deter him in any way. And you know, here I 
am feeling bad about myself. I'm up walking and I  

look over at him and he's struggling and he's he's 
got a, you know, can't breathe on his own and he  

always had a smile on his face. I told myself, I'm 
never going to let this injury get me down because  

I saw I saw everything that he put into his 
recovery. You know, as you know, unfortunately,  

he he passed away and his wife Dana passed away. 
And both of them just to see how she cared for  

him was like, man, this is these are just great 
people. and for them to have taken the time out of  

their busy schedules to allow me to come up there 
and get to know him is um it's amazing. So, I'm  

just so thankful to have had that relationship and 
had that moment in my life to to share with him  

because he was an inspiration for me and it still 
serves as a source of inspiration to this day. 

Wow. Let's um
Yeah, I think it's a perfect time to 

drink a little more wine. There is so there's 
so much there's so many heroes in your story  

and so many amazing people that you touch and 
you know you can you can look at things as to  

how or why something happens but Adam nobody 
could have ever handled it the way you did  

and touch as many people and really turn 
what could have been a terrible negative  

into such a positive in the long run.
So proud of you and and so happy for you  

to share the story. Bill, what's the next one? 
So, this is one that we haven't tried on on Cork 

because until I opened Saddle Hill, I 
didn't really consider blueberry wine.  

But this is really popular here. Yes.
And because of our blueberries are still  

not mature, uh, these blueberry grapes are from
Hamilton, New Jersey, the blueberry capital of  

the world. The blueberry capital of the world. So, 
really should be good wine. And I I want to get  

your opinion because it's pretty sweet.
Let's go.

Yeah. Not quite as sweet as our flour. 
Go ahead, Adam. What do you think? 

I I I'm just going to keep saying it. Like 
this is up my alley. Like I I feel like I'm  

I am being seen today because every time I ask 
for a sweet wine, it's still like h that's not  

really sweet. Both of these are awesome. This 
actually has some body to it on top of it. 

It does. So, I consider this semieet. 
My wine maker dials back the amount of  

sugar he's going to put in because
Okay. He's not as sweet. And then  

there's customers that want it way sweeter.
Um but, you know, we like this and it's a  

great seller. And um is your wife is 
your wife into sweet wines as well? 

No. See, she she she's one of those that smirk 
at me when I when I say I enjoy a sweet wine. 

And what does she enjoy?
She's she's a red wine, 

okay,
person. So I I'm  

the first to admit I am be I am a beginner when it 
comes to all things wine. But I am learning today. 

You are learning.
And you're welcome Saddle Hill anytime. 

You you need to bring her back and uh 
and bring the kids and have some fun 

because I you did wind up marrying 
your girlfriend from Penn State. 

Yeah. So talk about that. It 
really is a great love story. 

Yeah. No, she um she was a swimmer at Penn State 
and she was a year behind me. So when I got  

injured, she was a senior in high school. I come 
back to Penn State the next year. I'm a freshman  

all over again. And she's coming in as a freshman. 
And like like most schools, they have these health  

class that all the athletes have to take. And um 
we got paired up to do like some type of group  

project. And her version of the story is probably 
slightly different than mine, but she asked me  

to like help her on some type of project we were 
doing. And I said, "The rest was history." Like I  

was like, "Oh, this this could be something." And 
um we started dating our sophomore years and I've  

been together ever since. So I guess 2002. Wow.
And we got married in 2011 and we've been together  

ever since
with now. 

Got two two little Well, not so little. I got a 
10-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter. And  

it's uh that's my life these days. I say you all 
know like once you have kids your life is is all 

totally
different. So here's the question.  

Your 10-year-old son or seven-year-old daughter 
know this is the question going to play football. 

I I tell people all the time like I will fully 
support him playing football. I still consider my  

accident a freak accident. Like if someone would 
have given me a magic pill and I could go back out  

there and play, I would have went back out there 
and play. I People probably think I'm crazy, but I  

just think it was a freak accident. something 
that happened. And so I would let him play,  

but his his issue is he's got my wife, my mom, 
and my mother-in-law are our three bears saying  

over our dead bodies, will you ever step foot on a 
football field. So we have he plays flag football. 

Love flag football.
He loves flag. He loves baseball. It's his  

favorite sport. So baseball is all he plays right 
now. But if he came to me when he got to middle  

school or high school and said he wanted to play, 
I'll say, "Hey man, like you he and he knows like  

he's at that age now where he understands like 
because he sees me like I still walk around with a  

limp. Like my right side is still weaker than the 
left. So he knows what happens what happened to me  

and I tell him, you know, I made a mistake when I 
played. I I hit my I had my head down. You know,  

I I was carnal sin that caused my injury. So, I I 
think football has become a you're never going to  

legislate all the injuries out of the game. But 
I think it's a much safer game than it was when  

when certainly when I played 25 years ago. And 
uh I I say football teaches you so much about  

life. You know, someone hits you, you got to you 
can't lay down, you got to get back up. And I just  

makes I I said it really made me the person I 
am today. Uh, and to your point earlier about  

learning how to work with other people, working 
within a team, uh, you know, people that you may  

not be friends with, learning how to work with 
them to to accomplish a common goal are things  

I think are just so important through through 
life that that football really teaches you. 

So, let's um, you're at J&J
little company maybe. Johnson and Johnson,  

iconic and actually a very philanthropic business 
and a lot. tell us tell us what you're doing and  

um kind of what's your day looked like there.
Yeah. Uh J&J's been a great opportunity. I was  

I was at another company at Prisma Squib another 
farming company. I was there for 12 years as a  

lobbyist for them and it was great but I was 
traveling a lot and you know once my kids came  

along I I wanted to be home every night and J&J 
provided a great opportunity where I serve now as  

our director of state and community engagement. 
So I do government affairs work for J&J here in  

the state of New Jersey. Work as a lobbyist 
at the state level, but also to your point  

around community engagement. I do a lot of our 
philanthropic work throughout the state. J&J is  

headquartered in New Brunswick and has a history 
of uh community engagement in New Brunswick  

because that's where they're headquartered. But 
they're like, "Hey, we're international company,  

but also a New Jersey company. Let's start doing 
stuff in South Jersey in North Jersey. I was in  

Newark this morning doing a community event. You 
know, we're trying to do more down here in South  

Jersey. So, it's a really fun role because I get 
to still scratch that itch from the the politics  

side. You know, interacting with legislators that 
I've served with when I was in the legislation,  

but also the community side of things. You know, 
a lot of us at J&J, you know, JJ's been blessed as  

a company to have done well over the years. So, 
how can we be giving back to the community from  

a health perspective or just a strictly community 
perspective? What can we be doing to elevate some  

of these communities throughout the state? So, 
it's been great. I've been there two years now  

and I always say as long as as long as I can ride 
this train, I'm going to try to ride it out as  

long as I can. All right. So, speaking of that 
train though that is now in New Brunswick. So,  

he was at Penn State State College. You went up at 
Ruckers Law School and now you're in the shadows  

of Ruckers University where Johnson Johnson 
headquarters are. So, so you mix them two very  

well, but um you're still a Penn State guy.
Yeah. I 

What does Penn State mean to you? Because our Penn 
State friends are going to be watching this. Let  

them let them know. I tell people like people make 
fun of me because when I'm not wearing work stuff,  

I got something Penn State whether it's a 
hat, shirt, pants, like I'm always wearing  

something Penn State and I I tell people 
it's You even got your we are bracelet. 

Oh yeah, there it is. But I I I say for me, 
you know, Penn Stator are fanatical about the  

school and rightfully so. But for me, it means 
a little bit more because I I look back on my  

injury and what Penn State did for me throughout 
my entire five years and for the last 25 years,  

it's been it's been a great place for me. I 
mean, coach, I played for Coach Paterno, but when  

Bill O'Brien was there, you know, I was on the 
board of trustees when we hired Coach Franklin,  

and he treats me like I played for him. Like I go 
up there and I go back and speak to the team and  

Penn State when I got injured, they raised almost 
$800,000 for my recovery. And even to this day,  

like if like I had to put an elevator in my house, 
you know, we we want to stay there for a long time  

and um I was talking to someone at a Penn State 
event. I was like, you know, I'm great. Put an  

elevator in my house and it cost this amount of 
money. Like, have you talked to Penn State about  

it? Like, no, I'm not. No, no, no. You need to 
talk to Penn State about it. they send a check  

here here this covers the cost of your elevator 
and they didn't have to do that and it's just you  

know the people there it's just a special place I 
mean I I can speak for we don't have enough time 

and in this session for me to talk about 
everything that I appreciate about Penn  

State but it's just a a really unique place I tell 
people all the time I I I only played five games  

at Penn State I got injured and the fact the way 
that they've embraced me over these last 25 years  

has been it's been unbelievable Well, I want to 
I'm just just totally blown away your story. We  

know it, but hearing it firsthand from you and
I want to I don't think I'm going to be going out  

much on a stretch here to say we've not heard 
the last of Adam Teleo and I think there's a  

lot left for you to do and um you're just
making this world a better place, Adam. 

No, Bill. Well, well, thank you and Gerald 
as well. I know you you have so many esteemed  

guests on on this show and for you all to have 
had me here is a is an honor for me and I I tell  

people all the time I said it's people say Adam 
it's great you did this you did that but I said  

it's it's the people that are around me you know 
starting with with with you guys I mean Gerald  

you've been a big part of my life and Bill as 
well getting to know you is it's it's all about  

the people that are around you to help you really 
succeed I know you've said that with business and  

so many different facets of your life so I just 
feel so fortunate so blessed to have you all in  

my life and to have just, you know, so many people 
pulling for me. It's been, it's been a blessing. 

You are my guy. You will always be. And you 
might have only played five games there, 

but nobody,
and I mean nobody, ever led any team out of  

the tunnel the way Adam Talifer led the Ny Lions 
to the start of 2002 season. To you, Adam, to your  

family. All the best. Thanks for joining us.
Thank you so much, guys,  

for having me. It's been an honor.
And thank all of you for listening.  

Hope you were as inspired and moved as much as 
I was and Bill was listening to Adam's story. 

Kleenex again. Yeah, listen. I've been 
holding it in pretty good so far. I can  

let it go. Thanks for listening on Cork. 
We'll catch you next time. Thank you.