The Winning Mindset
The Winning Mindset is for empowering athletes, parents, and coaches to excel in sports and life. We focus on building mental toughness, positive attitudes, and promoting personal growth through shared insights and motivational content.
The Winning Mindset
Brandon Wood: Identity, Pressure, Purpose
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What if the toughest drill you ever survived made the rest of life feel lighter? We sat down with former Georgia defensive end and current NCAA official Brandon Wood to unpack the real work behind the wins: identity that outlasts a jersey, pressure that sharpens instead of breaks, and purpose that guides every pivot after the final whistle.
Brandon takes us from a small-town program to the SEC under Mark Richt, showing how to build a legacy without switching schools or chasing clout. He shares why losses taught him more than victories, how mat drills forged mental resilience, and what multiple surgeries taught him about preparing for opportunity while accepting what you can’t control. When a surgeon warned he might not lift a future child if he kept playing, Brandon chose long-term purpose over short-term glory—then rebuilt his competitive fire in sales and found a new adrenaline rush with Big 12 stripes.
We dig into the redshirt dilemma, the difference between healthy and harmful pressure, and the shock of life after football when the calendar, nutrition, and structure are suddenly on you. Brandon outlines the three skills that transfer everywhere: prepare like a pro, be relentlessly self-motivated, and always find a way to win by studying your competition and reviewing your tape. For parents and athletes, he makes a compelling case for multi-sport development, avoiding burnout, and trusting that recruiting will find talent anywhere. The throughline is clear: write your own story and let your work speak.
If this conversation hits home, follow the show, share it with a teammate or parent, and leave a quick review so more athletes and families can find it. Your takeaway matters—what part of your story are you writing next?
Jeff, how about them dogs? I feel like that's how we need to start this podcast.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I knew you were gonna go there and kick this off.
SPEAKER_01:No, hey everybody, welcome back. We're we're super excited uh to be back with everybody. Uh we've got great episode number two for season two. Um we've got a good friend Brandon Wood, uh former UGA player, current uh NCAA official. Um, but uh we sat down with Brandon, recorded uh, I guess what, a couple nights ago at this point, and you and I were just not sitting there kind of recapping and kind of talking through things. And um, but uh you know the the overlying theme that that we were we were talking about with with with Brandon, it was kind of a three-part kind of theme process with it, but but the biggest things we were talking about were identity, you know, dealing with pressure, you know, and ultimately finding your purpose, right? Finding your purpose as an athlete and how that transitions to your purpose of life, right? Um let's let's let's talk about before we jump into the to the interview with Brandon, what for you, Jeff, what what do you think about that theme overall? What are what are your your kind of thoughts if you want to if you want to kind of deconstruct those those three themes one by one for a minute?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I mean I think you know identity is a big thing when you're talking about any kind of transition from playing in sports to you know being in the real world. So obviously there's some identity changes that go from you know being a player or coach and then jumping into um your professional life after playing. And you know, identity is one of the big things that you know you have to figure out who you are, and you have to be identified by who you are rather than the sport that you play. And a lot of times people have a conundrum of figuring that out where their identity kind of gets lost, you know, in trying to achieve ultimate success in their sport or their profession. Um, you know, and pressure builds the identity, and you know, um I think you know, just having the you know, the whereabouts that the sport that I'm gonna play is not gonna be my identity. And I think once you figure out who you are, your purpose um and your um identity all flow from that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, you know, like one thing without trying to give too much away here at the at the very top of the episode, but I think one thing I I've really been thinking about is as as we were preparing to kind of come back in and record this intro and recap was you know uh you see it more than just in sports, you know. I think it I think it happens to us, you know, let's let's talk about, let's just say us average Joes like myself, right? Like you you see it happen in life with people when when we put our identity into the wrong thing, right? And and we and we instead of instead of you know forming our our identity in something very healthy and sustainable, we end up putting putting our identity into something like I'm a professional athlete, right? Well, what happens when that's taken away? And I don't want to give away too much, but hearing Brandon's story about that and and and how you know how things transpired through his life, like it didn't it it it encouraged me, right? It encouraged me is uh just to hear, you know, that how powerful his story is with that and how he how he maintained his identity as a as a man through through all the ups and downs and stuff that he faced in life.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I think the biggest thing with that is um if you let your sport be your identity, it's gonna cost you something in the end. You know, it's gonna cost you some peace, it's gonna cost you some, you know, health, joy, like it's gonna cause you something if your identity becomes your sport. So, you know, I think just thinking back to past episodes, every guest that we've had has had a little bit of I've got to figure out my identity so it doesn't affect who I am on and off the field.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Well, let's do this. Uh, I don't want to we can sit here and we might spoil the entire interview if we talk too much too long. So let's do this. Let's uh let's pan over and see what Brandon has to say.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:I'm pretty excited about this. I know even last season, um Brandon was a uh Brandon was a guest that we had on our on our radar that we wanted to get in and um ran into him a couple weeks ago at church and was like, hey, whenever you're available, we'd love to get something something together. And and he was he was very, very gracious enough to say that he would hop on and spend some of his uh his his Wednesday evening with us and um just share his story. But uh Brandon, thanks so much for being on with us, man. Um go dogs. Don't uh don't worry about what don't worry about what Jeff has to say about about the gators. But um, but man, uh thanks so much for being on and uh I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna hand it off to you and let you tell us to share your story with us.
SPEAKER_02:All right, hey hey guys, appreciate you guys having me on, man. Bring in before before I like doing it.
SPEAKER_05:Bring it before you get going. Before you get going, I'm just gonna put I'm gonna give you a little uh I need to do a little a little wardrobe change here. All right. So you can introduce yourself. I got some colors in here.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, all right. Well, hey, you know, we we all can't be you know winners. So it's this. I appreciate you coming on, Brandon. A little uh a little a little brothers down south, you know. Um okay. But no, uh appreciate you guys having me, man, and um uh give me an opportunity to kind of you know share where I'm where I come from and you know kind of what kind of molded me into the man I am today. Uh but I grew up in a small town called Buckingham, Georgia, just northwest Georgia. Uh nobody ever knows where it's at. It's right beside Carrollton. You know, so we love, I always tell everybody, hey, it's near Carrollton. Uh grew up there. Um you know, parents still married to this day. I think they've been married 55 years or whatever. Nice. Um, so you know, had had that that background and and that stability uh with having both my parents at home was what does does help. Um, but I always wanted to be like my brother, my older brother. And so I followed everything that he did as far as like playing sports and whatnot. I always wanted to hang with him. And so I think I always give credit to him because I don't think I ever would have played some of the sports if it wasn't for him, because I played everything he played. And so I wanted to be just like him. And so, but God gave me the you know the ability to be a little bit better than him. Um so so you know, I ended up uh you know, always played, you know, every sport pretty much, well, the you know, the big three, I guess, basketball, baseball, football, and then threw in some track there. But um so played all those sports, you know, growing up, um, all through wreck ball, of course, and then middle school, and of course high school. But one thing that always stuck out to me, you know, growing up in that small area, because we were right beside Carrollton, um, you know, was the fact that, you know, where I'm from, it wasn't a lot of athletes and not a lot of people getting scholarships. And so, you know, I was always told that, hey man, you're a really good athlete, but nobody's ever gonna see you at Harrison County. You know, you need to move to a bigger school, Carrollton was a big school that you know they wanted you to go to because they felt like that, you know, you can get looked at. You know, you can go play to the next level because you have the talent. So I used to tell people, uh, you know, I wanted to, you know, I wanted to build my own legacy. And I did not want to fall into someone else's story. I want to make my own story. And it's pretty much the same thing that I tell my son and other kids that feel like they need to move schools to in order to be looked at. Now I know recruiting is so different these days than what it was, you know, we were coming up. Um, but you know, I always feel like, hey, if you got talent, they're gonna find you. It doesn't matter where you're at. It's like, you know, you're in college, you're in a lower-level college. The NFL won't you, they will come find you, they will get you. Um, so it's really up to you as an individual, you know, how hard you're gonna work, you know, what what you're gonna do to separate yourself from the next person. And so, you know, I made it a task of mine to, you know, prove a lot of people wrong in where I grew up at. And so, with that being said, you know, make a long story short, senior year, I was the top-ranked defensive man in the state, one of the top ranked defensive bands in the country, and was really one of the only ones in that year to come out in the West Georgia area to a Division I school. Um, so proved a lot of people wrong that yes, you know, you can make it out of a small town. Um, yeah, and we wasn't that good in football. I mean, in my first two years at high school, we won two games. And those two games wasn't even against a team that in the state of Georgia. We lost every game against the team in the state of Georgia. So the first two years, we don't we only beat a team out of Alabama. So um, so I know what it feels like to lose and you know, and what that feels like, and I also know what it feels like to be a winner. And um so yeah, that's kind of like you know, kind of my you know, backstory as far as like growing up, you know, small town and uh going to House County High School, and then of course off the uh University of Georgia. Um played under Coach Mark Rick, uh played with some fantastic athletes, man, and some guys that are like some of my brothers to this day. And uh and then after that, I didn't make it to the NFL. Um we can go on, you know, we can talk touch on that later about you know what happened to me as far as injuries and whatnot, setbacks, but did not make it to the NFL, um, but didn't let that stop me. Um yeah, it was it was it was it was it was heartbreaking because you know you work so hard to get to a certain level and you've been playing this game for so long, and then you don't, you know, you're right there at the finish line or or or that pot of gold, I should say, about to get it, and then it's taken away from it. So didn't make it to the NFL, but so I'm I have my other way of getting to the NFL, and that's officiating. So, you know, one day that's that that will happen for me. So, you know, we'll we'll just we'll just wait on that day. But um, so yeah, so getting out of football, going to the you know, workforce, and then also officiating in football. So from you know, built built up through the middle school and and high school. And one thing I will say, I would not want to be a middle school or even a ret ball official these days. The parents are the worst, uh, for real. They are the worst, and some of the coaches are the worst too. Um, but no, you you know, you gotta you know work your way up through that you know that ladder. And and like I tell other young officials today, you know, enjoy the journey. And I had a journey, you know, get to where I'm at now in the Big 12. And man, it's it's it's been a ride. It's been a fun ride. Um, I spent a lot of time on I 75 North, you know, driving up to Cincinnati, Kentucky, you know, Tennessee, just all over the place in a car with some guys, man. And I got members that last a you know a lifetime.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. That's awesome, man. That's awesome. Um, well, thank you for sharing that. I I I I love everything about that. There's there's one thing that you said that it kind of it kind of triggered my thought process as soon as as soon as you said it. You know, obviously, you know, uh a D1 athlete in and playing for the for the greatest football team in the country. Um but uh but it you said you said you won a lot and you lost a lot. You know, and and I think I think in this day and age, you know, there's the the thing we we project you know losing. Obviously, anybody who's competitive absolutely hates losing. And I you know what I mean. But but the thing is, is like, you know, I think a lot of times like we see it, especially in baseball, is probably the worst at it on the on the on the rec level, you know, as far as like the youth age is like they build these teams to where these teams can't lose, right? And then what happens is all of a sudden these kids lose and they don't know what to do with it, right? And so like saying that you won a lot, you lost a lot. What which of the two do you feel like you feel like you took the most away from when you lost a game or when you won a game?
SPEAKER_02:I'd say when you lost, uh, you know, and I try to tell my son that, you know, and and I'll go to him. So you know, his first you know, two years of playing rec ball, I mean, he didn't he didn't really lose. You know, we were in Actwork and we won in football, one in baseball, and then as he got a little older, started to lose. You know, so he didn't he didn't know how to lose. He didn't understand. He really didn't understand it. You know, for me, I I was glad to see it. Because you know, you're gonna lose in life at times, you know, but you gotta be able to learn from the losses. I feel like you you learn you learn more in a loss than you do in a win. Uh I mean, of course, you know, you do learn stuff, you know, while you won and when you want to continue to win, but I feel like you lose more. I mean, you win, you you learn more when you lose. It's like in my my line of work now. I'm in sales. Sure. So when I lose a sale, I mean I learn more about you know myself and my approach and what it was why we lost versus you know why I won. I mean, I you do you do learn stuff while you win and you want to grow off of that, but you feel I feel like you learn more when you lose. Because I think it it makes you it drives you more, it drives you harder. You want to win, you want to feel you know that that taste of victory. I know I do. I mean, I'm a I'm a I'm a competitor, so I love to win. I hate to lose. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Um, hey, Brandon, I I I love what you said just about you know the lessons we learned, but you know, as competitors, we can kind of go down that path of like, okay, we lost, how do I get better? Your sport can begin to define you. Was there ever a time that football you felt like football maybe had maybe defined you? Or if you did realize that, was there a way that you kind of combated football being your only identity?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, you you know, growing up, you know, playing football, playing sports, and then you get to, you know, division one level. Well, let's back up to high school. So when you've been recruited, you know, they're they're laying out the red carpet for you, you know, you're the best thing since life bread. And so, and really you think that in your mind that, you know, this is yeah, and you can you can use it as a vehicle, of course. When you use football as a vehicle to take you some places, but you also can't let it define you. And I know our my my old defensive line coach, Coach G, he was real big on saying, you know, you're a football player, but you're you're more than a football player. You're more than just your number on your back and just the logo that's on the side of your helmet. You know, don't let people define you just as a football player. You know, so he was real big on that and and developing us as into men, other than just you know football, being a football player, because football has gonna end one day. You know, it was real big on saying that. Coach Rick was real big on that. Like, you know, what's what it what do you plan on doing after football? You know, because look like like I said, let football be a vehicle for you and you and and and it can football teaches you so much. Playing sports teaches you so much about life, but you cannot let it define you. And I will I'll say this one story, I won't say his name, but I had a teammate, and um, I was just I just graduated Georgia, moving out the house, and um we were taking out some, I guess, some some garbage, whatever, to the dump. And so it was me and two of my teammates in the in the car, we're driving down the road, and uh me and him just graduated. So we're moving out in the house, and this other guy he still he still got one more year of eligibility left. And uh so we were just sitting there driving down the road and whatnot, and we're just talking about you know what's what's next for you know, me and my other teammate that's that's graduated. And uh, so we talked about that. Then I asked you know my other teammate who is still there, has another year of eligibility, you know, like what's next for you when you're done. And he was like, I don't know. All I know is football. I don't know anything else. That's that's the only thing I ever done is football. I don't know what I want to do next. He said, I don't want to do anything else, I just want to play football. And so, you know, I I won't go into all the discussions with that, but I mean, that's just sometimes that's how you know some of these guys that play sports, that's that's kind of how they're wired. And I think what what got me off of that track of just being, you know, not only would the you know the coaches are beating into your head as far as like, you know, you're just not a football player, you're you're you're a human being, you know, you're you're becoming a man. Um, I think the when I had when I started having injuries and you know, things really started to my eyes started to open up as far as like, okay, you know what, this game really is gonna end for me sooner than I thought. So what what what am I gonna do next? You know, what does what does the next 10, 15 years look like for me? So that's that's the that's the map, you know, you had started to draw out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, and and I I I love exactly what the point you're kind of you're kind of hitting at because that's kind of the the question I was thinking about as you were you were talking about the discussion with your teammates. Like, if you you know, say, I don't know, let's say Jeff, right? Let's let's use Jeff as an example here, right? He's you know, he's he still ties his identity in as as the as the amazing baseball player that he is, right? Like, what what would be some advice that you would give, you know, him specifically or any athlete who or if if you had one one great piece of advice, how how do you help them understand that they're tying their self self-worth to to their performance, right? How do you how do you help them understand how to separate that that self-worth into the performance aspect of them being an athlete?
SPEAKER_02:I would say I don't want you to, you know, I would say don't put all your eggs in one basket. I mean, you know, you don't want to just you don't want to just you know be tied to this one particular thing, you know, but let this you know baseball, whatever, be a vehicle for what's she what's she gonna do next. So take all of the preparation that went into preparing to be the best baseball player you can be, the early mornings and all that kind of self-motivated. You have to be self-motivated to be an athlete, you know. And in me and sales, I gotta be self-motivated. Like I I don't have somebody you know calling me every day, make sure I'm up, you know. Well, my kids, my my my three-year-old waking up and whatever. But but you know, I'm not I'm not punching a clock every day, you know, to go to work, you know. So I gotta be self-motivated to go out and perform. So I feel like, you know, use what you what you done, what you did, you know, being an athlete and take that into you know the the real world. Because again, like I said, you know, that that that time is gonna it's gonna end. Like you got to be real with yourself. And and at a young age, you don't you don't understand that. Like you just you just can't, it doesn't, it doesn't um regulate in your head that you're gonna be done playing the sport at some point. Yeah, and sooner than later. So, you know, you you cannot um yeah, you want to give it your all, of course. Um, and you know, you're gonna give 110%, like I just said, but you know, just also have in the back of your head that you know this is gonna end one day. And what is what is what is plan B? You guys want to have a plan B, even a plan C.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I I I love that you keep it. I love that you keep hitting at sales because I that's sales sales is my world too. I'm in sales, and it's like I kind of always joke and say sales is like the closest adult version of sports that we can still be competitive and and you know, besides like adult rec leagues, but you know, we at some point you gotta hang that up too. So um I what you're like you're saying things that I'm like I I feel the exact same way about you know, we gotta get up and and you know get the get going on that kind of thing. Um Jeff, do you have anything you wanna you wanna ask your ad on that before we kind of transition to the little?
SPEAKER_05:No, there's a lot of good things in there, Brendan. Just, you know, obviously identity is a all athletes and baseball and sports people are gonna deal with, you know, identity crisis. And you know, within that, there's a lot of things that shape our identity. So take us into like some of the pressures and adversity you faced um you know during your football career. Um, how did those A shape you and how did they um form your your mentality and your mindset, you know, for life after football?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so you know, I'm gonna go back to my injuries. You know, I had four shoulder surgeries and I had an Achilles surgery. So literally I had I had a surgery just about every offseason in my time in my time at Georgia. So, you know, it and it was it was it was it was a lot. It was a lot because you know now something's been taken away from me that I'm used to doing. So, you know, whether it's you know, I can't go out and and train, you know, like I was doing, you know, half a year, you know, I'm saying not half a year because I'm having to not only keep one part of my body, or I guess the um three quarters of my body, you know, in a certain you know, form, but then the other quarter, whatever it is, I'm having to rehab and get it back to where it needs to be to perform at a high level in the SEC. Yeah. So I mean, and so it during that time you have a lot of time to think, think about things. Um, because I mean you're laying up in a hospital bed or you're you know, you're doing treatment or whatever. not so you just give some time to yourself to really think and and to like just the to it all it all to me it all came together after my after my Achilles surgery um that really it it really hit home because I mean my legs are strong I mean I was always strong in my legs and then when I popped my Achilles you know so I had a goal I wanted to break the squat squat record at Georgia and David Pollack set the squat record at 705. Wow and and so I was like man I I know I can do because I've always had strong legs and and I could do it and that was a goal of mine to do that. So but tore my Achilles and I think it was almost two years later I got a chance to go and and set the record. So I did I went and squatted 715. Nice um until my knowledge is still there but I wouldn't advise I wouldn't I wouldn't advise any anybody to do that. But you know during those like I said during those times man you you you really um like I said you get the get a chance to really self-evaluate yourself um you know the things that you want to do once you get back you know healed up um and I think you have to work extra harder and so I felt like that that molded me into you know kind of what I do now in my my sales world is that you know I'm very very self-motivated. I don't need nobody to you know to kick me in the rear and to get me going you know I I get up you know most mornings at 415 and I'm at the gym by five you know so I'm doing my my daily workout you know hour or whatever and then I get home you know getting the kids ready to go and then I start my my days gone and I'm rolling I'm rolling um but I feel like you know I wouldn't be able to do that kind of stuff if I didn't play you know sport football because like I was telling somebody the other day you know February was the worst month at Georgia. February was mat drill month and mat drills is 60 minutes of hell is what it was and that's when I taught my akidleys actually doing mat drills. And it really had you second guessing yourself like why am I here? Why am I putting myself through this like this this is 60 minutes which is pretty hell. You're in a gym you're locked in there and you just gone I mean they're pushing you to the limit. And when you think you can't go no further they push you a little bit further. And so you know doing all that it it it gives you the mindset that you know hey nothing is nothing is harder than this. Yeah you know you're gonna have I mean I've had ups and downs in my life or whatever I mean I've had hard times but you know you think back to those days of mat drills you know the the injuries that I had and it really puts it all in the perspective is like man this right here is it's really not that difficult. It's not that hard. I mean yeah and raising kids and having a wife yeah that's that's it's difficult at times but when you think of back back to the hard harder days it makes it a little bit easier for me. That's why my wife's like she's like she's always like you're always so cool calm and collective you know I mean I and I do hide a lot of stuff but I can I can just I can just handle it like that. I mean I like to handle things in in my way and I and I try to be level headed and whatnot but I feel like you know my background as far as being in Georgia helped me to be that way today.
SPEAKER_01:Talking about like the the the the setback aspect a little bit you know in and and dealing with those pressures and and I think to be honest you know not to make not to ask you to kind of reiterate what you're saying but it's it's it's great points but in your story specifically for you was there a point in time when you when you hit a setback where you kind of questioned continuing down the journey or for you was it always sales sales wide open full steam ahead no matter what yeah um you know really my last my last injury my shoulder injury uh to my right arm you know doctor gave me an option he was like you know you know you can you can continue to play if you want to try to play or you can risk not ever being to hold your son up one day and so you know now I'm at that crossroads like you know do I want to just think about myself continue to pursue this you know this dream of mine or do I want to think long term and the family that I want to have one day and be able to you know play with my kids and and and you know grow old with my kids and do the thing throw the football with them in that kind of deal do I want to do that and so you know I felt like I wanted to you know be able to hold my my kids up one day and and and like even even today like I still my shoulders are so jacked up and I'm a strong dude but I have issues with my shoulders.
SPEAKER_02:And so I think you know that was very very it was very very tough for me but it was something that I had to make the decision on you know what's more important to me is you know long term do I want to have a family or you know short term do I want to continue to try and do something and live out my dream or you know have is it time for me to wake up you know pretty much like you know I've I've I've had a you know great career um you know I've done a lot of things done more than than probably most thought I could do um and so sometimes you gotta hang the clicks up you know you got to be real with yourself and you gotta hang them up.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah I think that's that moment comes at different times for different people. Ours came at the same time after college that's when I was done um but you know there's a lot of tough decisions that have to be made there's a lot of pressure you know you know I have to I'm on scholarship I got to perform for my team like when you go back to like making those decisions and making decisions based on um you know good pressure versus harmful pressure like what uh how how would you define like a healthy um pressure versus a harmful pressure that you're feeling you know it could be being at that level you know performing at that level education balance and everything like what's talk to us a little bit about like good pressures and bad pressures and managing managing those yeah you know and I and I'll go back to you know one year I had a I had a I had a shoulder surgery and so we were gonna medical I was going to medical red shirt and so I was actually gonna be at Georgia for six for for for six years and you know at the NCAA cleared normal we were going to do that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah yeah so uh so I was you know scheduled to be out and so you know I was good with that you know I was just gonna you know practice and train and get bigger stronger faster and give my shoulder a complete a whole year to heal up well we it as a like I said as an athlete you want to play you do you're there because you want to play i mean you you put so much into your craft and you train you work very hard well we had guys dropped in left and right in the D line and so coach Rick came to me he was like hey how do you feel and he's like just be real with me he said how do you feel I said I feel good because I'm I'm practicing every day I'm doing everything but playing in the game pretty much um and so he was like you know we we got you know such such we we're we're struggling we need we need some bodies you know how do you feel about you know burning your medical and and and helping us out and so he's like you don't have to make a decision right now you know but you know pray about it and come back and talk to you and you know at I'm 20 years old 21 21 years old you know whatever I'm like man I want to play you know I I I really want to play but then it's like hey I really need to I really need to sit out of you know a year to really get my shoulder back 110% where I can perform at the highest level in in the SEC well the pressure I mean it's what do you do? So I chose to play and end up having a really really good year because I I think I came back like midway through the season and had a really good year. But the pressure was do I you know do I sit out and just you know not say anything about myself or do I be a team player and show up for my teammates. So you got to think about that. What's more important? And of course you don't want to let your teammates down and you and you want to be out there playing so that pressure was I mean it was it was thick man it was it was it was it was a lot of pressure but made that decision to play and to finish out the year we end up um actually that was that was the Sugar Bowl year. So end up coming back no year after that sorry yeah yeah after that so end up coming back um and play the rest of the year didn't didn't have any issues as far as with my shoulder but again I I but I took away that additional year.
SPEAKER_01:You know I could have had you know another year to really you know get myself you know 110% and and and probably you know maybe even have a have a better shot yeah at going to the you know NFL um man I that's I like humility you know and so and so and and selflessness in that too you know that's like a huge thing I I preach with football with with my kids you know and that's like to hear you share that I mean that's that's the words that come to mind as far as you being willing to you know forego that that future of of playing for the for the sake of the team and I I that's that's incredible man.
SPEAKER_05:Right you know for you what was what was the toughest part about that that transition knowing that that football was was ending what what part of that transition seemed to be the the toughest for you if there was anything that was maybe tough's not the the right word but I guess did did you was there a resistance or or I you know I'm trying to think of a good word to say but um did you did you did you have adjustments coming out of that transition as far as football ending oh yeah yeah yeah I had I had plenty you know you had your your diet adjustment you know structure adjustment you know really you had somebody that that filled your calendar out your times your you you had a schedule and they filled it out for you and all you had to do was just be there um so as far as like nutrition you know you know you had somebody who was handling that well now football's over now all that's up to you you know you you gotta be able to adapt into you know the quote unquote real world now you don't yeah and and and honestly student athletes are very or they're baby they are they are baby I mean I I knew guys that and I I was one of them like you know once I got done with Georgia I had to figure out how to make a doctor's appointment you know you know I had to figure out all that stuff and um so yeah it was it was it was it was it was it was it was it was life changing and plus I had to learn how to wash my own clothes you know my I didn't I didn't watch anymore like no that yeah yeah yeah you know so um so yeah that was that was that was a big adjustment but um yeah I think Brendan I think but I trust me brother I I was sitting here making a joke button this up but brother I feel the diet adjustment because these buttons are a little tighter than they used to be yeah I mean yeah I mean because you you know you used to used to taking in so much food I mean calories a day and then you burn it off well then the football is done you can't eat like it used to because you're not burning as much it's just it just sets on you yeah um so talk a little bit about you've you finished playing jump into your professional career success is different on the field off the field as it is in your professional world how did you did you have to like redefine success and once you got into the world like what where was the thermometer of for that for you yeah so I I I always I wanted to get into something where I can get that same adrenaline rush that I got playing football.
SPEAKER_02:Like I so to me it was law enforcement. So you know I had I had the intern at the commerce police department so I've been on some you know some really cool drug busts you know that mean it just it just like oh you know so I I wanted to you know join a drug task force and get with a GBI you know something like that. That was kind of the path that I wanted to to go down. Well so you know you gotta you know at that point you had to start lower level so like a local sheriff or whatever. But that didn't work out for me. I was actually recruited by Waffle House out of Georgia. So my first job when I left Georgia was that was for Waffle House and their in their uh management program. And so Greg Bright he's still Waffle House today he's high up in the corporate world and so he recruited me and they're they're real big on recruiting athletes because we're self-motivated and we know we know how to you know be on a team and and motivate people and and and and just you know win. And that's what they want. Anyway so I end up uh you know going going down that road and and honestly it it wasn't quite what I would really want it but they won me over with the money. You know I I let that dollar sign get me. And uh and and and and not not to say anything bad about I'm not saying bad about Waffle House and I know some people who work Waffle House really good people but for me that was a very very depressing time of my life like no lie um I was only there for the money I did not I did not like it no more. At first I you know I somewhat enjoyed it but you know working every holiday working most weekends and the Waffle House that I took over was not even close to where I lived so I had to live in a hotel six days out of the week and my my diet was awful I was eating a whole bunch of Waffle food microwave dinners I mean I was a picture popped up on Facebook I told my wife the other day a picture popped up on Facebook and I was like oh my God I cannot believe I took this picture and I was I mean like I was big as a house you know and uh so I was you know so I finally got out of that man and but still in inside of me I wanted to I wanted something that was going to give me that adrenaline adrenaline that football gave me and so I still was wanting to pursue the you know the whole law enforcement thing and I tried you know a couple different couple different things but you know God had a plan for me and that wasn't it um so then I discovered sales and you know I one of my mentors to this day I mean he was like dude you you you got what it takes not even even when I didn't even think I did you know I didn't know anything about this particular product that I was going into but you know the fact that you were you know he was telling me you're a people person you know you're self-motivated you've been an athlete your entire life I mean this is this is you you you get a big sale that's an adrenaline rush and I'm like nah no way I'm gonna tell you right now when I get a big sale oh man I'm pumped up I'm pumped up so I so now I mean I get that same adrenaline rush that I got you know when I you know when I when I when I play football so now I found something that that kind of no it's not the you don't prepare like you did of course you know being a being an athlete but you know when you achieve you know certain goals I mean you to me I get that that adrenaline rush can just keep teach me hungry and hungry and hungry oh yeah yeah that's what you're saying I'm like yep I think about that like oh yeah um Jeff it's mine and out you good you good Jeff I think the basement monster got you there for a second the the connection was cutting out um the stupid score what like three messed up sorry go ahead Chris yes right we got it we heard it we heard it does yeah um so so Brendan I talking about the transition in as far as like into your professional career now what it it it instead of like asking you to list out a ton what three like key takeaways characteristics principles that that football taught you as a player do you use in your current day-to-day life what are what are let's get give me the three the top three for you uh I'd say you know so preparation meets opportunity so the way you prepare I mean you prepare for the opportunity that comes in hand so I take that away from football you know you prepare it all week you know for the game um so that's that's one of the things that I that you know that that I do now uh being self-motivated uh you know I don't like I said I said earlier and I'll say this on blue face I'm I'm very very self-motivated so I don't need anybody to motivate me yeah um so you know you football you gotta be self-motivated because you know you they don't want you just go in there when they tell you to go work out they want you to work out on your own they want you to stay up and practice and do some more drills and that kind of deal. So you know we did that and so so that's what I think that's what helped me to be um you know self self-motivated you know today.
SPEAKER_01:And I'd say the third thing probably um I'd say the third thing is the figuring out a way figuring out a way to win figuring out a way to beat that person in front of me you know so so I'm figuring out a way to beat you know my competitor you know so I'm you know so you you know you you study you should you you know you study the game plan you you you scout you know the the opposing team and so you know I somewhat do that in my in line of work now you know I'm gonna I'm gonna study you know my competitors you know I'm I'm gonna know what they do you know yes and I'm gonna know what they're good at and what they're not so good at and I'm gonna know what I'm good at what not so good at too um and I'll throw in one more you know I I do a lot of self-evaluating too so I you know self-evaluate myself and it's kind of like you know after a game you know you go in you turn the tape on take the you know I'm the scout on lock um yeah so you know so so you want to I I do that as well so I you know I I look back at you know what I did wrong what I could have what what what could I have done different to you know to to to to win this you know sale whatever and I and I even do that same thing in my preparation before officiating you know it's the same thing I mean I you know throughout the week I am I'm studying film I am studying players and studying you know my game plan we put together I'm studying rules and so like I said earlier preparation meets opportunity yeah yeah man those are those are good I I it's you're saying you you it's funny like you're saying a lot of phrases that that that are you know I resound in my head year round obviously being in the in the in the football locker room and and talking to kids um as far as like where you are now right if you if you could look back and and and reflect on you know where you're where you're at in your life now what what's something that you wish that somebody would have told eighteen year old Brandon well I'd probably probably say I would say I wish somebody would have told me that well I'll say this I wish I would have listened when uh to just to do one more rep.
SPEAKER_02:One more rep. You know you know just that's so and I had and I have some regrets and I don't have many regrets you know playing football uh playing you know playing in Georgia but I do somewhat regret not you know going in on a Saturday in the offseason and just working on you know my craft a little more you know there's other guys there's other guys that did it you know me I wanted to go go downtown get you know go I want to go hang out you know I got some free time I got some I got I got some free time man I I want to go socialize and so you know I look back on that and you know and I had you know mentors telling me hey my my brother was one of them hey man I think you should be you know going and and you know go do some drills or whatever I don't want to do that so I wish I just would have listened because I felt like if I would have it would have made me just a little bit better it would have made me just a little bit better than my competition. And so you know and I and so I'm I'm always telling my son this too like you know do one more you know go work you know go go just don't just don't do what the coach tell you to do you got to do stuff on your own you know just don't do what I tell you to do go you know be self-motivated to do it yourself go do it on don't you don't you don't need somebody there watching you just go just go do it on your own.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah yeah um so advice for 18 year old Brandon what what's your advice for parents now that you've been through it and you're on the other side of it I would say let your kids be kids um also I wouldn't I wouldn't just make my kids play one sport and just focus on that one sport.
SPEAKER_02:I would tell you to let your child play as many things they want to play. Also also let your Child, be a child, you know, just don't always have them on a field or on a court every day. Like at some point, they gotta be a kid because they will burn out. You know, if you're doing it too much, you will burn a kid out. So I so I and I see that in some of my peers and whatnot, and how they do their kids, and and and not to say they were you know student athletes or whatever, but I can see the difference between um the parents that I knew and some of my buddies that you know that played with me, I see how they do things versus people that I've come to know over the years and how they you know raise their kids. And you know, it's a it's a difference, you know. And um, like I said, you gotta let your kids get kid because you don't want to, you don't want to have any regrets, and you also don't want to burn them out uh in the sports of the plan, you know. So let them experience different things and also you know, you gotta make them understand that okay, you may be really good at basketball, but go play football too, because football is gonna make you a lot tougher going in the paint, taking those hits. You know what I'm saying? You know, saying so um and and and it's it's gonna teach you you know speed and power and all that kind of good stuff, and then uh, you know, oh go run track, so you know, get your speed up, foot, footwork down. Uh or if football is your sport, you know, also go play basketball, you know what I'm saying? So there's a couple different things, you know, quickness and agility. So there's you know, they all help you to be really good at the sport that you're good at. So I would say don't just focus on the one sport, you know, play them all.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it and I'm taking I'm taking a uh a quick right turn here on this since you since you're talking about that, because this is actually kind of this ties almost directly into kind of what Jeff and I were in a conversation about on the last episode, as far as as far as like when you're saying kids should play you know multiple sports. I'm I'm a huge advocate about that, you know, for for our kids. And um, you know, one thing that Jeff and I talked about in that was like, you know, yes, we feel that way, but you know, there's obviously kids that that may be the anomaly of that, right, where they do just specialize in one sport. But like let's talk about the let's talk about the the the broad um you know uh of the of the statistic, right? The the broad number of the statistic. When do you feel like kids should really start specializing in a specific sport? Like when they should really start shifting their focus to one individualized sport. What what in your opinion, what age do you think that is?
SPEAKER_02:I don't think there is one. I think you should until you graduate, I think you should play them all. Wherever you can play, you should play them all. Now I will say, you know, going back to um my senior high school, I opted out of playing basketball. And you know, I wasn't that good at basketball, I just like to dump. You know, I every time I just want to go for a dump. But I I I only played football and ran track. Um, I didn't play basketball because you know, I was somewhat worried about, you know, eh, what if I get hurt? Or now well, not really so much getting hurt, but I can focus this time on really preparing for football, working out more and whatnot. Now, basketball, of course, is gonna continue to help me out with my, you know, with uh, you know, with me being in better shape. But I had my own trainer, you know, my wish was my coach. And so, you know, during those you know, basketball practice hours, I was on the field, you know, doing some working on my speed, you know, getting a little faster, getting a little stronger. Um, but I ran track because I knew track would also help me with my speed. So, you know, and I and I still was focused on you know my football as my you know my driver, but I still played another sport to help me you know get prepare me for college. Because I knew you know track was the last sport I was gonna play before I graduated, and I knew that would still prepare me to you know be ready, you know, for the next level as far as you know getting getting a little bit a little bit faster. So, but really I mean to answer your question, I don't I don't think it's a you know an uh an age where you should say, okay, no, just stop, just focus on you know your sport. In my opinion, I don't think so. I think you should let them you know do do it all until they're done, and then you know, once signing day hit, you know, that's what you that's what you're gonna do. Um and I do I one regret that I have, and Jeff, you may like this. I wish I would have played baseball in high school. Like down, I mean I really wish that would happen. And so I have to live with it the rest of my life. And I didn't play baseball in high school. I have a regret.
SPEAKER_05:You know, Brandon, a lot of people.
SPEAKER_01:There's still adult leagues out there though, Brandon. You know, you can't you don't have to give up on the dream too early, bro. You know, there's yeah, at least at least adult league softball, you know. It's uh we we I think we all have friends that we know that you know that we that we still know that play.
SPEAKER_02:Um yeah, they got they're thinking of triple jobs for sure.
SPEAKER_05:Hey, I still think it. Um hey Brandon, we get that answer from a lot of people playing multiple sports. Um where do you think the pressure from parents to just play one sport comes from?
SPEAKER_02:Like I you know, I think it's it goes from you know from their childhood. You know, you know, they're they're still trying to live carefully through their kid. You know, they're like, hey, you know, this is what I want you to do. You do this, this is what I did, you do this. And so I think that's that's part of it where you just and and then too, you have these other outside you know, people coming in telling you, you know, what you need. Hey, oh you need to focus on this and do this. This is where you can, this is where this can take you to if you just give up, you know, playing football and just focus on basketball. We got some kids at Kennesaw Mountain. This is one kid, I mean, he is huge. And I've been trying to get him to play football, and so he gave it up. Well, he doesn't even want to pursue it anymore because he's focusing on basketball. And he's like 6'6. I'm like, dude, first I seen him in the gym the other day. He was training one of one of my buddies. I know he's a coach, and uh, he actually coaches him, and he was talking about how he got he needs to gain more weight. I said, Yeah, if you were playing football, man, they'd be putting weight on you, you know. You put the protein in you, working out. I said, Do your frame, you could put you could put 270 on you look really good. I said, Dude, you can you begin scholarships for football and basketball, just based off your size. You know, and and now six seven is short. And basketball, especially for a power forward or center. So um, you know, I I just felt like that kid could have, you know, it could be more, you know, it could help him if he, you know, not just focus on one sport. And maybe he had, you know, his his mom or dad tell him, hey, you know, this is what we're gonna do now. We're just gonna focus on this. You know, I don't want to, you know, run the risk of you know getting you hurt, you know, and that's one thing too. Like I think that's that's the also uh uh driving factor too is that some parents will they're scared that their kid will get hurt playing another sport and won't be able to play the sport that they're really, really good at because they got hurt playing something else. Well, hey guys, y'all know you heard the saying, you can get hurt walking out the door or whatever. I mean, you get hurt anywhere. Yeah, you can't have you can't have that mindset thinking that oh, because I do this, I'm gonna get hurt.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and and do and do that note, talking about injuries, you know, that's that's the one thing that um our our Bar City football coach talks about too a lot, where he he's a big proponent of kids playing multiple sports too. And um, but you know, talking about how how each sport's gonna complement a muscle group differently, right? And so, you know, a lot of times what you think you think you're preventing yourself from injury, but you're using a muscle in a different way, which long term is gonna, you know, help prevent injury across every sport. So, you know, I I'm uh I can argue the same thing, Tom Blue in the face. I'm I'm with you. I I'm on letting kids play as many sports as they possibly can, you know. And that's I'd rather my social calendar be full of my kids, you know, at a ball field or on a basketball court or wherever the heck they are. I'd rather be filled with that than you know, my kids sitting at home doing doing watching movies and playing video games all day and and all that. So um right.
SPEAKER_02:And you know, I will say this too, and I think I think John Smokes met said this on a um uh on a radio show I was listening to, I guess a couple years ago. You know, he was talking about travel baseball, and these kids, you know, they're these pitchers, they they they they're in travel baseball from the time they're you know 10, 11 years old to you know 18, you know, going off to school. He's like, you know, I don't I don't want that kid. He's you know, he's he's burnt out, you know, and he know he only he played baseball all year round, then play another sport. And so I know he was he's a real big proponent of playing multiple sports. And when you hear somebody like him talk about that, then it's like okay, you should listen. Like, yeah, I'm pretty sure he probably played multiple sports, you know, especially back in that day. I mean, they I don't think they probably didn't travel baseball. I don't think they really had travel baseball when we were, you know, coming up, you know. Yeah, it was really a thing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I I don't remember it as a kid. Yeah, I think it was kind of sports. I don't remember if it was John Smoltz or Tom Glavin. It was one of the Braves, but like they talk about like they didn't even want to play baseball, they wanted to play hockey. Like that was that was their goal. They wanted to play hockey, and then all of a sudden you're like, what? Like you were you were that incredible of a baseball player and you wanted to play hockey? So I'll have to look it up and and and figure out exactly who that was. But um, well man, I I appreciate your time on here. Um I just got eaten by the uh by the basement, bad basement signal monster. So I think he uh he he's tapping out for the night on uh trying to get connected back in. But um what you know what is as far as like sharing your story and sharing sharing what you know everything that you did with us today, what what's one takeaway that you hope that that listeners would remember from from this episode with you?
SPEAKER_02:I would say um, you know, don't let don't let your situation define you as far as like you know where you're at. You know, if you you're you're you know, if you're in a you're in a uh place where you know you know teen's not that good, you know, but my you know my kid has you know God-given ability, and he can I really you really feel like he can play at the next level. Don't just move on to the next school that you know that you may think that, oh, there are more scouts gonna go there, you know, they they're gonna see him or see her. Uh what the way social media is and all these platforms that they have for recruiting, like it doesn't matter where you're at, you know, with Huddle or whatever, you whatever Twitter and all this stuff, like as long as you got video, your kid will be seen. Um and just you know, build your own legacy. Be just you know, really talk about you know building your own legacy, you know, shaping your own story. Don't piggyback on somebody else's story. You know, yeah. Be, you know, be be the best that you can be where you're at. Um and you know, I just feel like you know, with the way things are as far as high school ball, I know we got transfer portal in college, which is crazy, but in high school today, I mean you have kids that are going to you know three or four different high schools, and really just based off of, you know, well, if I go to this school, if I go to Buford, you know, they got 25 different colleges coming in a day, you know, versus if I'm staying over here at Kennesaw Mountain, you know. But it's like I said, like I said, if you got talent, the coaches will find you. They will find you, and if God gave you that ability to play at their next level, that's where you will go. If it's if if it's God's will. But um, but yeah, just to you know, kind of bigger back what I just said, just build your own, make your own story, build your own legacy.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, well, that's solid. That's solid. I like that. Well, as we as we close and wrap up now that just back on, I would I would like to put this in uh in a public recording and uh publicly apologize to you for my uh terrible uh AI generated image of you on the uh social media post that I put out today and uh and promise from from his force that it will uh it'll be real pictures, and I I won't uh trust my my artificial intelligence anymore. So um, but Brandon, I I appreciate it, man. I I appreciate your time and and hopping on and and sharing your story, man. I it there's there's so much incredible. I mean, I I literally the whole time I have a page full of notes, just takeaways and things that that I'm hearing from you, and I'm I'm super excited that that somebody that everybody's gonna get to sit down and listen to this. And you know, it's it's kind of you know, football season is over, right? But it's you know, it's January, it's winter training time. It's like you're talking about February for college football is when things really start kicking in. And you know, it's you know, this is this is kind of when Jeff and I were texting about having you on, and I was like, man, like, you know, everybody thinks football starts in June, July, but I mean, now's when you know championships are won in February and January, you know, when you get the weight room. And so, you know, I I think that I think that a lot of information that you've shared with us today, I think it's it's gonna it's gonna encourage uh a ton of ton of players out there and parents. So um thank you so much for your time, man, and and and go dogs, not not gators.
SPEAKER_02:No gators.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, thanks, Brand. I appreciate it. Thanks for thanks for being on, bro. Well, I gotta admit, Chris, even though it was a dog, it was pretty good. I gotta admit. I always get a pen and a little pen and paper, take some notes, and I wasn't planning on writing anything with the Georgia Bulldog in there, but uh I got a page full of notes here. So uh takeaways, Chris from from Brandon. There's a lot, a lot to unpack in there. Um you know, one of the biggest things that um that I took away was um he said in there um I think in in the first piece of that um that nothing's harder than this. He was talking about February and uh Matt Mr's you know win championships or one. And I remember he was just saying nothing it's gonna it'll get easier. It'll get easier. Yeah. Um you know, and I just think you know, those moments in our playing career when you know it sucks, like those are the moments that are gonna prepare us for um, you know, when we get a bad doctor's report or you know, things like that, or financial struggles, like those are the moments that prepare us to kind of push through, you know, the tough times we had as a player. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Um yeah, I I I would I I like that. That's you know, it's kind of funny. Like I feel like that's like a continual theme within a football coach saying that, like gear and conditioning and all that. Like, I remember like saying that our kids all the time. I'm like, none of us feel bad for you because we've all been here and done the exact same thing. But you know what, what they don't realize, even you know, I think what what athletes don't realize, especially at the younger age, is like what you're not you're not necessarily just coaching physical condition, right? You're teaching mental resilience, and that's that's a big thing. I think that every athlete needs to learn how to how to deal with and you know how to how to push through those stuff moments. Um I thought I thought that was that was big. Um, I I like that a lot. That's a you know, talking about obviously running over my podcast is winning mindset. That's a phenomenal mindset to walk through life with. Um, you know, if I've conquered this, you know, this is nothing, right? And uh, you know, the another one that that I really liked, you know, talking about mindset or mindset specifically was you know, he hit his thing, and I ring it down because I thought, you know, it it left an impact on me, but it was it was write your own story, right? And that sounds like such a cliche thing, but given the the circumstances of the day and age we are in with technology and comparison, and you know, it's if parents are comparing their kids to other kids, and you know, kids are comparing themselves to other kids because of you know, he's playing on this team and that team, but you know, to to have the mental fortitude and maturity to go, I'm gonna do my own thing and I'm gonna go, I'm gonna blaze my own trail and and path and go this direction with it. I that stood out to me a lot. And you know, obviously, you know, he did that and it and it was an incredible story for him and an incredible journey through through his entire playing career.
SPEAKER_05:No, I love that too. I think the biggest I had a little uh that stuck out to me too, but I had a little different takeaway. He was you know talking about in regards of you know, obviously your example, and then you know, everybody from his home hometown, and I'm gonna say it wrong, but I even have family from there because when he said it, I was like, hey, I my father-in-law or my grandpa lives there. So um, but you know, just being in a small town from Buckhannon, um, you know, not a lot of people get out. And to be honest with you, uh my grandfather on Haley's side, born and raised in Buckhannon. So when he said people don't get out, they don't. Like he's been there forever. So, you know, I I think that's a a big lesson to, you know, a wanting to get out and wanting to do something better, but you know, also B, when you do take that leap of faith, um, you're gonna grow, uh, you're gonna be stronger, you're gonna be prepared for more things. Because, you know, when you're out of your comfort zone and you're being stretched, that's when that's when you start to grow. And I I thought that was a big piece to, you know, kind of what what Brandon was talking about there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. That's that's a great point. Did you we talked about this on your episode? Were you were you a small town? Where you grew up, was that considered a small town?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I mean, it is small town. I mean, there was only one high school in our in our town, but it wasn't like tiny. I mean, we're in like a suburb of we're like a suburb of Orlando, but it's nothing like Buckingham and I know that. It's way good.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I grew up like mine was obviously uh I grew up in an Air Force Town, and it was, you know, considered what they call the night the international city, but you know, there were a ton of high schools, but I guess the the segment of area of town where I lived in had that small town vibe feel. So I could I could relate a little bit with that, but definitely bigger. Um what what's another takeaway for you?
SPEAKER_05:Um I think when he was talking about being on a team, being in a team atmosphere, um it it parallels the job force. I mean, you're gonna have good coaches that are bosses, you're gonna have leadership committees that's your CEOs and your you know your upper level management. So, you know, I think just thinking about a sports team like a business um was a big takeaway for me because, you know, as a sports-minded person, that's what we take away from it. So, you know, while you may have a head coach you don't like, you're gonna have a boss you don't like, you have some upper level management, you're gonna have some assistants you don't like. So I thought there was a lot of parallels, just like navigating your way through um, you know, those people that you're on the team with, players or your co-workers and things like that. So I like the arousal one used of, you know, being on a team is parallel parallels to the job force.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I you know, I think about that now because you know it and you'll see as Brooks gets a little bit older, you know, it feels like there's this constant rotunda of kids changing teams and changing teams and changing teams, and it's like, you know, it's it, I mean, heck, you even see it in the collegiate level now with transfer portal, and it seems like everybody, but like you know, I think about that, and then you know, you fast forward and you think, well, you know, when they become a career professional in life, you know, like is it every time you get a bad quarterly review, are they gonna change their jobs, or every time the boss tells them, you know, hey, I need a report by Thursday at noon, you know, and it's you know, Tuesday, it's like, are they gonna quit jobs? And so it's just you know, you think about that and you know, obviously hope that nobody has that mindset, but that's that trend feels like that that's what's happening is is people don't necessarily learn the the the true role of being a team player, being a teammate, and and and understanding that you know it it goes back to talking about doing you know doing the hard stuff, like that's required of you in life, regardless of what you are, whether you're an athlete or a professional or a parent. I mean, you know, you can take it down to that. There's there's difficulty with it. Um another one for me that that really stood out was you know in his story was the what was his foresight, you know, to think about the future, right? You know, he talked about you know surgery after surgery almost every single season, you know, and then and then the final you know shoulder injury that he had, you know, the doctor told him, hey, you're not gonna be able to lift your son when you're older, right? You know, I think it goes back to that identity conversation that we talked about a little bit, you know, in in the intro. You know, I feel like somebody who who had their identity if they had their identity consumed in I'm an athlete, I'm an athlete, I'm an athlete, and that's it, right? You know, to all of a sudden have that ripped out from them, you know, they would have, or or the option is right, you're not gonna be able to move it off. You know, your arm, you know, they they probably would have gone, well, I guess I'm gonna roll the dice, you know, and worry about the kid part later, you know, but but the fact that he made the you know the the the selfless decision to say, you know what, this needs to be the end, you know. I need I need to be a dad. That's important to me. I you know, I so much respect for him, you know, to to have the foresight to make that decision in that moment, you know. But it also goes to that selflessness with him is you know, you know, he had the opportunity to be red shirted, right? And And and to take a season and recover and and regain the strength that he needed, but you know, the team needed him, right? And he was willing to forego that plan of you know taking a season off and stepping in and being there for his team. And you know, I think that also circles back to what we just talked about about you know being the team player, you know, and and and giving it, you know, sacrificing for the team.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Well, I think the biggest thing, and almost all of the guests that we have, I think probably every major athlete business person, they always have that crossroads that they come to where they, you know, Brandon receives news about his injury. And, you know, when you get to that crossroad, it's your next step that's going to determine where your life goes. You know, we've seen athletes that get to that crossroad with injury and it turns in and it they go south. And then you have guys like, you know, Brandon and you know, some of the other guests that we've had on that, you know, they take the correct turn. And if you think back, you know, he said his parents have been married for 55 years. I bet that's got a lot to do with some of the decisions that he made, um, being raised in faith, having an older brother that he looked up to. So um, you know, there's a lot of things that play into that um that factor of when you get to the crossroad, what are you gonna do? And it's almost like you're driving down this road your entire life and you're just waiting to get to that crossroad because everyone's got it. And whatever news you receive and the next direction you choose can ultimately kind of decide, you know, what you're gonna do and where your life's gonna go. So the last the last big thing that I've got is almost all the guests that we have on here say this. Brandon said to allow him to play multiple sports. Um, I think that's a big thing to hit on. And you're you're talking to a guy that played in in the SEC of football and he's advocating for you know guys to play multiple sports. So um just another guest that's you know harping on, you know, he talked about the benefits of multiple sports and how they complement each other, but um another guest all for multiple sports. So I was happy to hear that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so what you're saying is when Brooks starts playing sports, you're gonna be like the rest of us and have no free time whatsoever all year round.
SPEAKER_05:Probably not. Probably not, yeah. But I can tell you one thing, we're not declaring a sport when he starts at six years old.
SPEAKER_01:We're not declaring it. Yeah. Um, yeah, man. Powerful, powerful. Did it did it make you grow your your love and appreciation for UGA, even the slightest bit?
SPEAKER_05:I mean, the black jerseys are kind of cool, you're just telling us off air, but that's about it.
SPEAKER_01:Man, I I'm I'm so bummed that I didn't bring that up in the in the episode. It was kind of we were just chatting after we had recorded with him while we were waiting for everything to kind of upload and process. And like I remember that in high school when that game happened, and he was watching it on TV, and I remember like freaking out and thinking that was so cool. Sorry, we're just talking about this, and everybody's like, what are we talking about? When when Georgia, when Georgia had the blackout game, and you know, they they warmed up in the red jerseys and then went to the locker room. And Brandon tells us this whole story where you know they they had gone into the locker room, they had stepped over to the side of the locker room, and um were having their team prayer, and all of a sudden turned around and the black jerseys were out, you know, in their locker, you know, at their lockers, and they all put them on. And um, you know, I remember as a fan watching that on TV and thinking how cool of it uh like watching that unfold, but like to hear his story of that, like you know, and he even was like, I got goosebumps all over again talking about it right now. But um, I thought that was awesome. I'm I'm disappointed and apologize for sure.
SPEAKER_05:And I'm the one over here, like uh, hey, can y'all explain the significance of the black jerseys series?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Sorry, uh I'm ignorant Florida, man. I don't know anything about what you're talking about. I got my ECA colors on. There you go. There you go. Um, yeah, man, it I it it was so good. So uh I'm I love that one, man. And you know, and I I talked to him, I ran into him a couple weeks ago at church when we were talking about having him come on and um you know was asking him just questions about officiating and what that was like and how he liked it. Because I I I man, I can't remember what game it was. It was during bowl season, but he he was officiating one of the bowl games. And um, you know, I was like, I was like, what's that? I was like, is it that same adrenaline rush now as it, you know, as an official stepping out and hearing like the crowd and all that? And he was like, it takes me to my playing days, like to be out there and and and hear that you know the roar of the the crowd. So I'm I'm happy for him, man. I think that's such a cool you know opportunity he has to be able to officiate now and kind of get that same adrenaline rush. So um speaking of, you know, since we talked about on the on the episode, uh I know everybody's dying to know the outcome of uh our rec love, our rec league uh basketball game. Uh we got we got waxed in the in the third and fourth and uh ended up losing. But you know, it's uh it's fine. It is what it is. We had a good season, man. It was it was a ton of fun. The show will go on. That's right. Now it's baseball season, which I'm I'm super excited about because I get to just be a dad. So it's uh get to get to hang out and just just watch. Football's just winter workouts, and you know, and then baseballs, I get to be a parent and sit and spit sunflower seeds and you know, hang out and do nothing. So um, but yeah, man. Anything else you want to share? Anything else you got on this one?
SPEAKER_05:No, man, super appreciative and Brandon. And I know we we hate on the Georgia, but you know, there's good people in somewhere.
SPEAKER_01:We don't hate on Georgia.
SPEAKER_05:You I'm gonna disassociate.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, there you go. There you go.
SPEAKER_05:Look, I've had one year of bragging rights, and it was from like a third string quarterback that nobody thought was gonna be worth anything. So it's been slim pickings for the 10 years I've been in Georgia when that Florida Georgia game comes on.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, there you go. Oh, I I do have another funny story, I guess I'll I'll share it on here because we were texting about it. I literally we recorded this on what Wednesday night and then Thursday. I'm at the gym Thursday morning, and of course I'm doing squats, and you know, my my Measly 185 is on the rack, and I'm like thinking about Brandon talking about breaking the record at Georgia and holding the record, and I was like, man, I I feel pathetic right now, knocking that out.
SPEAKER_05:So well, good for you for not skipping leg day, because you know, there's a couple, you know, every third day when I walk in that gym, I'm like, dang, I think I'm just gonna run today. I'm not gonna hit the squat right. Yeah, so I ain't trying to break those squat records. No thanks. No thanks. No, I'm good.
SPEAKER_01:I it's my goal is my goal is mobility. That's you know, longevity and mobility at this point. That's that's that's the goal here today. Well, Cody, I'm excited about the next episode. You wanna you wanna you wanna snare share a little uh a little sneak about who we're talking about?
SPEAKER_05:We're gonna jump back into the baseball world and run our baseball season starting. Um good friend of mine, Jared Broughton, um, spent a lot of time coaching at you know a couple different levels. Um Division III, division one, played at Division I, ACC, coach at Clemson. Um and he got out and he's now um an advisor um for high school baseball players, helping them find college places to play in college. So um he's got a great background, good friend of mine. Um, so I'm happy to have JB on um so he could talk shop and um teach us a little bit about the baseball recruiting world and where kids are these days. And heck yeah, I think that'll be great to navigate that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'm excited about that one, man. I can't wait for that. That's uh we start showing notes tomorrow on that, I guess. So we need to get to work. Can we get a go dogs? No. No.
SPEAKER_05:The best you're gonna get out of me on a Joe Dogs is getting my son to say it.
SPEAKER_01:There we go. Well, now I know. Now I know what it hurt you. So get him to say it.
SPEAKER_05:I'll give you one. I'll give you one for Brandon and we can sign off. All right.
SPEAKER_00:Perfect. Three, two, one. Go get here. Oh, go dog. Hey, we want to thank everybody so much for listening.
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