Episode 2: Tommy Hudson | From Sun Devil Captain to NFL Veteran: Winning Beyond the Game (Part 2 of 3)

Episode 2 of The Done & Won Podcast continues our three-part conversation with Tommy Hudson, going deeper into the experiences, challenges, and lessons that have shaped his journey both in sports and in life.

In Part Two, Tommy opens up about the power of self-talk, navigating the transition from college to the NFL, and the defining moments that challenged him, strengthened him, and helped shape the person he is today.

This episode is an honest look at growth, mindset, perseverance, and what it takes to keep moving forward when the path doesn’t always go as planned.

Listen to Part Two and continue the conversation with Tommy Hudson.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Uh Tommy, tell me a little bit about your own self-talk. I like to ask people how how do you talk to yourself? Are you your biggest critic? Or do you feel like you can encourage yourself to go after things that maybe other people feel are impossible? What goes on in between the ears when you talk to yourself? I don't know if we have enough time for that.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

If you start focusing on yourself, like you're never going to have enough touchdowns, you'll never have enough stats, you'll never get enough accolades because it just oh, you keep moving the bar on yourself. But if you can serve the receivers, the O linemen, the quarterbacks, the running backs, help the coaches understand, watch film, like you can lift so many more people and do so many more great things and be a part of so many other people's success that you're just you're winning by default.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

That's such a great attitude. And and I I'm kind of jumping ahead, but how has that changed now that you aren't in the NFL? Now you're uh you're a mortgage broker and you're making relationships in the community and connecting the dots. Does that that team mindset benefit you in in the professional world?

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I think it does a lot. I think it catches people off guard because they're not used to it. I think there's so many ways for people to be successful. And you know, I'm giving referrals to loan officers at other banks because I know this is their market and they could maybe do something better. And they're like, well, what are you doing? Like this doesn't make any sense. And it's like, well, I have so much opportunity. I want to create the best outcomes for as many people as possible. And if that means them working with you, like, go ahead. Like it'll come when you have a client that you know would work well with me, like please think of me. But it's never a quid pro quo. It's just genuinely looking out for the best interests of other people. If it's realtors that want to work with somebody in the office and they're like, Well, yeah, why don't you just work with them? It's like, well, I think you would work much better with them. And if there's anything that I can help you with or support you on, like I want to see you succeed. And there's a really good culture at people's mortgage, and the founder is really good family friends. His story is remarkable. So he founded the bank in 1998, solo guy, just was wheeling and dealing back in the Wild West, family owned through and through, never took investor money in 08 when just everything came crashing down, refinanced his houses, paid the entire staff out of his own pocket instead of laying off people. I mean, shoot, dude had gold bladder surgery, had tubes coming out of him, antibiotics. He's 77 years old, still coming to the office every single day. Wow. Just absolutely loves to create, but he's had a full old school Rolodex of like business cards of bankers and people he's met and helped and served over the years. And, you know, he is a very influential person with uh Tempe Diablos and the charity organizations in the Valley. Sure. You know, his son is now the CEO and he's just the chairman and founder. And I sit right next to him in the office, and just the wisdom and opportunities that come from just being around people that have done great work for a long time is just amazing.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

It seems like you have a really good, like long-term perspective, career-wise, family-wise. Have you always had kind of that mindset of planning for the future and kind of then maybe reverse engineering it and seeing the steps that you need to take to get there? Or has that been something that's just been learned over time?

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Yeah, I don't know if it started as an intentionality, but it did just seem more uplifting and organic to who I am as a whole. Because when I try to go the other way where it becomes transactional or like about me, you get lost so fast. It's like you can never be good enough, you'll never be great enough, you'll never be strong enough to do the things on your own. But then when you start working with other people, you start having ideas that you would never have by yourself. And like you can't create something new if you're not meeting new people and sharing new ideas. And that's what really excites me about that and just kind of pushes me down that road is like while I was waiting around here, I was just going into offices and introducing myself and saying, Hey, this is who I am, this is what I do. Like, I'm I'm meeting with Jacob Gold, and he's uh he's an amazing guy. And like just because I I want to be a non-hypocrite to my kids too, like sure, say, hey, go do the thing that you're scared of, go take a take a chance. Like, there's just so many of those different moments, and I could go off and off or on and on and on about some of the random things that I've done just because I wanted to be around people. It's it's really just been something that I've been pulled towards. It just feels very natural. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

It sounds like something you didn't develop just in the NFL or just in college. It sounds like this was kind of ingrained as who you were as a person from hearing you talk as you know, from high school, growing up through high school, listening to your friend and what he says to going to football and just becoming a team player. I how that resonates. I hear that, you know, and it it it it is seems like it's showing itself, even though it's the first time I met you, it's hearing your story. It's like, yeah, he he gets the team concept and helping other people out and being a part of something that's bigger than he is. So yeah, that's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

I appreciate that. There's a lot of coaches they'll say like big team, little me, and like, but they don't really put it into like an actionable thing, like they can't identify what it is that they're asking for. And like I've seen the opposite, which made me understand the inverse, which is you have coaches that their job is to teach, develop, and inspire the kids that they're coaching. And you know, they're I'm watching kids run routes, and I hear a coach like, oh, that guy's got bad ankles, he can't, he can't break down good enough, like he'll never play here. And in my mind, I'm like, okay, first of all, why would you tell me that? I'm a player. And second of all, take that kid aside and be like, hey man, I notice in your routes, you know, you're a little stiff, you're you're getting slow out of your brakes. Maybe we should work extra and work on your ankle mobility. Or it's like a lot of these things can be trained. Sure. It's like they're just, I don't know if it's laziness, if it's their own insecurities. They love to find ways, why not, versus why why not me? And I've had coaches that are like that, and I'm just like, this dude doesn't get it. And then I've had coaches that are just the biggest underdog story you'd ever met, and they're just the most positive, uplifting, encouraging people you've ever seen. And you have enough of that use case to understand that the exception is not the standard, and to try being more of an uplifting spirit to as many people as I come in contact with.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

How do you deal with somebody who is not a great coach? That that that that first example that you gave, that kind of maybe is talking about one of the players and actually saying something to you that probably shouldn't be said. Yeah, how how do you handle that?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I mean, I can think of a couple examples where you had some O-line men that were just getting dog cussed by the O-line coaches because he's has his hand in the wrong place and he's a giant of a human being, but a very timid heart. So, like just bringing him aside and be like, hey man, you have all of the tools to be successful. Like I've seen people with way less than what you're gifted with be tremendously successful and just speaking life into them and letting them come to their own conclusions that they're enough to be here, they belong here, and just not letting the only noise that they hear be the negative voice. Because I'm not going to say, hey, don't listen to your coach, he's an idiot. But like telling, like, hey, I can see the potential in you, you have opportunities here, and just speaking life into them because there's always room to bring people up and it never takes anything away from me. And I would feel bad about myself if I didn't give somebody a tool to be successful, if I had it. And almost to my own disadvantage. I did it in the NFL. I would help, I would help guys that I'm competing with like get better at their craft and watch film and teach them how to run routes, and then I'd get hurt and then they'd stay and I'd get cut. And like it was meant to be. I'd rather, I'd rather beat your best than beat your worst. So I mean, it just I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't provide that accountability to myself to help others.

SPEAKER_03 8:01

That's huge. Yeah. That that that speaks to a guest about who you are. Um, taking somebody aside and and and being able to speak into them and say, hey, you you got this. I believe in you. Doesn't surprise me that you've been as successful as you are in college football, pro football, and will be in in mortgage business as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Now, Tommy, tell me a little bit about your own self-talk. I I I like to ask people how how do you talk to yourself? Do you are you your biggest critic, or do you feel like you can encourage yourself to go after things that maybe other people feel are impossible? What goes on in between the ears uh when you talk to yourself?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

I don't know if we have enough time for that. It it goes in waves. Like obviously, you want to be your biggest fan in every situation because you're alone with yourself more than anybody will ever be with you in your life. So if you're not cheerleading yourself, you're kind of at a big disadvantage. But there are moments where you have that self-doubt on, and what if what if this goes on or what if that happens, what if this happens? I think for me, like my faith is a big part of like snapping out of it and realizing that my calling is not to worry about what I can accomplish, but I have an opportunity to go encourage somebody else. And when I start thinking about me, me, me, I think, okay, what can I do today to create a story that maybe helps somebody else out, whether it's hiking Mount Humphreys and Flagstaff on a whim. It's like, I don't know why I wanted to do that, but like I was told, like, oh, you shouldn't do that. You can't do that. I'm like, well, someone's done it. Like, I mean, why not? Me. Now you're like, now I have to say I can't. And then, like, if anyone's like, oh, I've never hiked it. I want to hike it. I want to be like, oh, I can do it. Like, I promise you can do it as well. And I'm not just blowing smoke. And like trying to lead with as much evidence to show people that things are possible has been a big motivator for me, especially with you know, my cousins and young kids that always ask me questions about stuff. It's like I want to be able to tell them that I've done what I'm suggesting that they do. And if I haven't done it, I would not feel right suggesting that they do that because I can't verify the results or the outcomes. So a lot of it comes back to like authenticity and like who I want to say that I am, if I'm not showing that same person. And you've heard the cliches from parents saying, like, do as I say, not as I do. And I think that is just the most backwards thing ever. It's like if I'm showing you something wrong, shame on me. Like, let's do it together. Like, I'll tell my daughter, like, hey, if I'm eating bad or I'm doing something, it's like we we need to be daddy, needs to be better for you. Like, let's go figure this out. I'm setting a bad example. And just knowing that there's always somebody watching with kids and young children in the neighborhood that want to just see what I'm up to. They come by the garage when the music's playing. And I always want to be someone that they're inspired to be like in anything that I'm doing. So I'm very cautious of like what I say, how I say it, how I try and present myself to others. So it's always a net positive win-loser draw.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

What a great mindset. Now, that I would imagine at times can be pressure for yourself. Maybe you're recovering from an injury or mentally you're just a little bit in a funk. Does the pressure build to live up to that standard? It's such a high standard that you have for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

No, I think that's where grace comes in, really. And for me, it's those negative moments are an opportunity for me to hone something else. So when I broke my ankle, when I'm tearing hamstrings, like I was home with newborn children. And I'm like, okay, what a blessing. Like I'm my career is not going where I want it to go, but the things that matter the most, I'm getting to spend every morning with my children, every night with my children for months at a time. Those are moments that I think have the biggest return when I'm 50 and 60, that I have those relationships that are built because you can only lay a foundation once. And if you lay it wrong the first time, the whole building's gonna collapse. And I think being able to lay a foundation with my children at a young age and seeing them go from baby to kid, and now they're in school, or my daughter's in school, my son's gonna be two in July. But like I pretty much was with my daughter her entire adolescence from baby to baby to five. And I don't know, I'm just very thankful for every season that I'm in, win, lose, or draw. It's there's always some lesson that can, you know, keep you going forward.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

What a great attitude. Let's let's talk about the transition from college to the NFL. What was that like for you? And when you got there, were you was it what you had expected? Did you feel like I shouldn't be here, or were you jazzed and you were so excited for what was around the corner? Walk us through that process.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest like aha moment was that it's not any more physical in the NFL than it is in college. College is probably more physical on your body.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

The training camps, the practices, the contact is just more.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

The NFL is very cerebral. You're expected to know and do a lot more under the same circumstances. So, like your playbook is 60 pages long, 60 pages thick. You're running outside zone, seven different ways out of 10 different formations from 10 different spots in the formation with different cadences, different motions, different footwork, different assignments, and it's just one play. And then you have that for every single play in the playbook. And as a tight end, you're called to like you're on the ball, off the ball, receiver, inline, in the backfield, pullback, you're a move tight end, you're a receipt, like, and then you got special teams. There's just so many more factors that go into an NFL playbook than do college. Like, I mean, shoot, our college playbook was they're gonna signal like and you're gonna have a corner route. And that was it. And then here I can pull up a I can pull up a play for you. Yeah, please, I'd love it. Read one for you just so you can hear the difference. So this is this is one play sheet from one practice, and it's 70 plays, and they're pretty much four of the same play, all parceled off into 17 different formations. So here's here's a play. So this is out of 21 personnel, which is two backs, one tight end, you have strong right book, alert z insert, 15 split, can 18 mic on one. And then he'll can, can, can. You'll have to know the cadence. He'll maybe speed up to the turbo or something. And you're like, you're thinking, you're wondering what you're gonna do. Well, you got you know, NFL scouts looking over you trying to replace you. So you have the pressure of, hey, you're here, now it's time to perform, but hey, you're expected to know what to do. And I think that was like the biggest mindset shift, is like going from amateur to professional and the expectations that you're already being held to change. So you don't get the oh, hey, we can work on this during this period. It's like, no, this period's for full work and hand placement. This one's for special teams assignment and alignment, this one is team drills, and like there's no time for pulling you aside and encouragement. It's like you either know what you're doing or you don't. And you know, the first couple weeks was like, man, just drinking from a fire hose. I bet. And then I found out my wife's pregnant. I'm like, ooh, I better figure it out or I'm gonna be out of here really, really quick. Yeah. And COVID didn't help either. We were learning all of our plays through Zoom meetings and then going out on the field and practicing. Wow. Finally get to take our masks off, and that whole that whole thing was just very strange. But yeah, the cerebral part of the NFL makes it so much more challenging because again, like you're not asked to just like headbang all the time and practice. It's like playing with length and your hand placement, your foot placement, and making sure you're staying off the ground, protecting your teammates, but play fast, play aggressive, know what to do, be instinctual. There's so many different things that they're looking at. It's like to know what you know what to do, helping others, making sure you're aligned correctly. Like I could have my foot here and on tape, it's supposed to be here. And at the end of my route, I should be there, but because I started here, I'm incorrect. And then they start really fine-tuning the details. And Rabel, he couldn't be a better coach of football than anybody I've ever come across. Like the why, the how, the what, and the goals that we set. I mean, he pretty much laid it out to a T and it all kind of came true. Wow. Had some unfortunate things happen in the AFC championship games, but you know, we got there and we did a lot of things correctly, and it was all a testament to his coaching style.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

You have so much going on. You're talking about it being so cerebral. In the moment of that play, do you find it hard to turn off the noise? Or are you are you have you've always been able to, when it was go time, to just get dialed in and to go instinctually?

SPEAKER_00 16:53

It's a trained, it's a trained thing because like you know your character type to like be instinctual. But like if you were told to do something completely outside of your comfort zone for the first time and then told to be instinctual about it, even though you know you're capable of it, until you've done enough repetitions and mastered it, it's hard to just be free. Like if you never swung a golf club and someone says, Hey, swing nice and easy, don't try and hit it too hard. Like it's easier said than done. Same with football, like it's a very simple play. Like that was an inside zone run canned to a weak side inside zone run. So it's a front side, weak side. Like that's all it is. So understanding terminology, what you need to be listening to, where your eyes need to be, like you start focusing on technique versus like outcomes, and then everything slows down and you start seeing, okay, when they're in a five-down front, this backer's mine. If they were to can the play, then I'm gonna be working in a combination to that linebacker on the backside, trying to cut them off. And like you start putting these things in the buckets, and then you start doing that enough, and then all of a sudden, there's no terminology that you don't know. You know every formation, there's no surprises in the playbook. It's muscle memory. Then it's muscle memory, and you've repped it enough throughout the OTAs in the preseason to like when you can't hear and you're playing inside Seattle and you're going off a clap cadence, everybody knows exactly where they're supposed to be. It's like an orchestra, right? Yeah, some teams are better at it than others. I would say Tennessee, from the teams I played with and just the limited exposure that I had, there was nobody better at explaining that orchestra than Vrabel, like what good football looks like and how to not lose a football game. Because a lot of teams don't even know how to not lose, which is different than knowing how to win. It's details, it's accountability, it's good play calling, it's clock management, having the right game plan for the right team, and then executing and staying to it, even if things kind of go haywire.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

And so you had time with the Titans, uh, you had time with uh the Broncos and the Saints, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

It's gonna be more different of coaches. So I mean, they were uh all fantastic in their own right. Sure. David, do you have anything?

SPEAKER_03 18:59

Did you begin your NFL career ever thinking, hey, this is gonna end at some point in time? And I just don't know when that is, but I'm gonna give it a go as long as I can. But did you ever think about that? I've talked to a lot of guys who play in the league, and they, you know, say in the back of my mind, I've I've got this that I know it could be over at any moment. But, you know, how do you handle that?

SPEAKER_00 19:23

I don't think you can really handle it unless I mean there's a very few guys that obviously are very financially blessed that don't really have that concern. But when it comes to the majority of the NFL, most guys are journeymen, play for a very limited amount of time, and it's right in your face from the second you get in there. They're telling you how few guys make it, how long careers are, what you should be doing with your money. And that's why guys like Jake are so important because again, they'll tell you what to do, but they won't show you how to do it. And they kind of treat you like kindergartners in a way when it comes to financial management and planning and just having resources of people that you can trust that are like going to show you how to go be successful. It's like, I mean, nobody's telling you, hey, if you want to be a real estate agent, here's how you do it. If you want to get into financial planning, take this program, go to this school, go do this, go speak with this person, even though the resources are there. Nobody's actively championing life after football and the opportunities that players are presented with. And one of the things that rubs me the wrong way is some of the first meetings you'd have is guys telling you that you'll never make more money than you are in the NFL and how valuable this time in your life is to do everything correctly. And they put this weird box around everybody from day one. I'm like, okay, I mean, I've no plumbers that are making 10 times as much as our starting quarterback. And it's like, why are they not championing the ideas? Like, you have this amazing platform. People want to hear what you have to say. Go and meet other business owners in the community, go go help kids, go put your name out there and create opportunities for your life off the field. So I think, yeah, a lot of people are very aware of it, but they're not, they don't know what to do. And I think that's a big problem is not allowing them to say, look at all these doors you have open. I can help you meet this person or talk to this person, or if you want to get into financial planning, give Jacob a call. And like, there's so many resources that guys are not being told about or like not shown the way. Five-minute conversation, you could figure out a lot of these things and put a lot of that worry to rest. And for I know for me as a player, if I knew there was an outlet off the field, like, hey, when I'm done, I'm gonna do this, then it's like free reign. Like, let's go play some football, it's gonna end. Who cares? I know where I'm going after this. I'm gonna, I'm gonna really ring this entire career out and take it for what it's worth. Um, and I think a lot of guys they get stuck in chasing that. Okay, if it's not the NFL, then it's the CFL. If it's not the CFL, then it's the UFL. And then, okay, now I'm gonna do arena football. And they just don't know that they're have value outside of playing football. And for me, I never wanted to be the football player. It's just something I'm doing. It's not who I am. Um, and I think it's just an amazing resource to open a lot of doors for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

Yeah, there's a statistic out there that says 77% of NFL players file for bankruptcy within 24 months of leaving the league. Knowing what you know now, looking back, what advice, and I hear you talking about there's resources out there, but nobody takes advantage of them. Talk to me a little bit more about what those resources are and how you can see people actually taking advantage so that they could better themselves not while they're in the league and not me filing for bankruptcy.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah, I mean, I think exactly what the NFL PA is doing is I didn't know we had certified financial planners, that there's just a list of them sitting on our NFL PA database. And I'm like, okay, how did I not know this existed? Why do more players not know this exists? Then all the businesses in these local communities is like, how many local businesses would want NFL players associated with their brands or their teams or whatever they're trying to do? And a lot of guys would be very open to those types of relationships, and they're just not, there's nothing that's mutually exclusive to the guys. It's all like one step removed. And then when you're done, it's pretty hard to get that same amount of you know reciprocity.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

Keep an eye out for part three of our interview with Tommy Hudson. Jacob Gold is a registered representative offering securities through CETARA Wealth Services doing insurance business in California as CFGAN Insurance Agency LLC. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services offered through CETARA Investment Advisors LLC A Registered Investment Advisor. SATERA is under separate ownership from any other named entity. California Insurance License Number Zero Six Four Nine Seven Six. David Brookbank or any guest speaker is not affiliated or registered with Sotera Wealth Services LLC. Any information provided by this individual is in no way related to Sotera Wealth Services LLC or its registered representatives.