Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson looks back at time playing at Miami

Before Dwayne Johnson was “The Rock,” he was a formidable piece of the Miami Hurricanes football program. A defensive tackle for the program, Johnson had dreams of being an NFL star.

While it all worked out in the end for the professional wrestling star turned global cinema staple, Johnson joined ESPN’s Monday Night Football ManningCast to reminisce about his time at Miami.

“I was a decent player down there at The U,” started Johnson. “I played with some amazing players who went on to become some of the greatest college football players of all time. Went on to become the best in the NFL. Legends in Canton.

“The time that I spent down there, The University of Miami, the lessons that I learned down there. We were obsessed. Now, we were brash, we were cocky, we were crazy — but we were winning, man. The lessons I learned down there were tremendous. That I took with me forever.”

Even though Johnson wasn’t able to make it to the next level, the lessons learned at Miami propelled him to one of the most inspiring success stories in history.

Johnson on the NFL: ‘That was my dream.’

Furthermore, Johnson got into why he wasn’t able to achieve his dream of making it to the NFL.

“I’d like to say — you guys would appreciate this — when I went down to The University of Miami, I went down there — I was ready to rock and roll,” stated Johnson. “I was ready to move the crowd, I was going to be the only freshman to play. That’s how much I was balling. Had a lot of raw talent. I had only played two years of organized football before that in the great state of Pennsylvania. The football rich state of Pennsylvania. When I went down there, I had some great upper-body violence. You know the NFL, where you guys were obviously and you guys became the greatest, that was my dream.

“I always like to say the reason I didn’t make it to the NFL were to reasons. Number one, I had some injuries throughout my career that I had to deal with. And the other reason was Warren Sapp was born. That was it.”

While Dwayne Johnson didn’t make it in football, “The Rock” was born out of the time he spent on the field. Now with his rebooting of the XFL, Johnson is attempting to help other aspiring football stars achieve the dream he wasn’t able to.