017: Bucky Godbolt l The Truth About Discipline, Addiction, and Identity

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Matt King Show, Episode 017

Main Theme

This episode of The Matt King Show dives deep into the life and lessons of legendary Texas football coach and broadcaster Bucky Godbolt. Going well beyond sports, Bucky unpacks the realities of discipline, overcoming addiction, the evolution of personal identity, and how adversity shapes growth—both in himself and in the athletes whose lives he has touched. With humor and honesty, Bucky reflects on decades of highs and lows, the untold costs of success, and the mindful decisions that led him to a healthier, more genuine life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Hidden Struggle: Addiction & Recovery

• Alcoholism Behind Success: Bucky candidly discusses how, at the height of his coaching and radio career, he was battling a serious drinking problem, often hiding it well from colleagues and family.
  • “I could drink at a sitting. I could drink a half a bottle of Jack and just... and go on and do my... and you wouldn't tell if it was just a normal day for me.” — Bucky (00:20)
• Making the Choice, Not Hitting Bottom: Unlike many recovery stories, Bucky’s turning point was not a crisis but a clear decision to stop before things got worse.
  • “I didn't hit rock bottom. I made a choice. I made a choice to stop hiding and to start living.” — Interviewer (00:47)
  • On stopping: “But it just got to be to the point where I said, can I do this? Can I survive without having this? And once I figured out I couldn't, I said I had to quit.” — Bucky (00:53, 48:03)
• Unique Path to Sobriety: AA wasn’t for him; discipline from coaching and family responsibility kept him sober.
  • “The day that I quit drinking was the day that I quit drinking. I've never had one drink ever since the day that I decided to quit. And my friends, you know, at the golf course, they said, nope, can't go to the cart girl and have a beer.” — Bucky (44:01, 48:17)

2. Coaching Philosophy: Structure, Accountability, and Tough Love

• Structure as Salvation: Bucky credits his coaching background, and mentors like Tom Coughlin, for instilling the discipline necessary both in football and life.
  • “If you weren’t five minutes early, you were late...” — Bucky (07:26)
• Coaching Stars and Personalities: Insights into working with big personalities like Ricky Williams—balancing support with holding high expectations.
  • On Ricky: “He was just such a dynamic running back... But when it came to football, he knew everything that was happening in front of him. That’s what made it easy for him.” (09:12)
  • “There he was very seldom anybody ever say no to that dude... But I was the no guy.” (11:12)
• Recruiting Then vs. Now: From trust and relationships to today’s money-driven landscape and the complexities of the transfer portal and NIL (Name, Image, Likeness).
  • “Now the recruiting process is mostly money driven, right?” — Interviewer (14:20)
  • “It's money driven. But... not everybody needs the money.” — Bucky (14:24)

3. Reflections on Discipline, Identity, and Legacy

• Never Aspiring to “Be the Best”: Bucky emphasizes being the best version of himself—not in comparison, but in consistent effort.
  • “I want to be as good as I can be. And that... takes a lot of work. That takes a lot of discipline to do that.” (01:23, 72:14)
• Adversity as a Driver of Growth:
  • “There's nothing better for the human race than adversity. You're not going to get anything that's going to happen to you better than you've got to have adversity somehow some way in your life.” (52:19)
• Lifelong Learning from Young Athletes: He describes learning patience, humility, and adaptability from coaching diverse backgrounds—and from his own mistakes.
  • “They've taught me that... keep your head on a swivel. Don’t ever let your guard down. Know your surroundings... And I got really the respect from them...” (79:07)
  • On locker room conduct: “We're not going to do that in my meetings. We're not going to refer to women as certain things. They're women, they're females. They have names.” (80:07)

4. The Evolution of College Football

• Texas Program Insights: Bucky discusses the program’s trajectory, the impact of entering the SEC, and the ongoing challenge of sustaining championship momentum.
  • “I can't imagine them being better this year than they were last year or even the year before. So I think they take a step back. But that's what good coaching can do.” (86:09)
• Player and Coach Loyalty: Calling out the importance of in-state recruiting and fostering school pride beyond monetary incentives.
  • “If there's a great running back in the state of Texas, you should always take a visit to University of Texas.” (86:24)

5. Life Beyond Sports: Gardening, Routine, & Family

• Passion for Gardening: A surprising and therapeutic hobby learned from his mother. Talks at length about overcoming Texas’s tough soil, vegetable gardening, and prepping for “the end of time.”
  • “She turned me into a gardener. And I love flowers and plants...” (30:33)
• Daily Rituals and Aging Well: Discusses routines, intermittent fasting, fitness goals, and navigating aging with a positive mindset.
  • “If you stop moving, I mean, you're done. You really are done.” (37:29)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Sober Coaching:
  “That’s the discipline that came with coaching... I think that's what coaching has done for me. It's helped me not become a stone cold alcoholic. That's why I got into the coaching business, to save my own life.” — Bucky (45:46)
• On Career Regret & Acceptance:
  “I wonder what could have been... Could I have had an opportunity to be a head coach? Did the drinking keep me back... could I have been Steve Sark?” — Bucky (53:18)
• On Teaching Accountability:
  “If you weren’t five minutes early, you were late. I just used to drive that through Ricky’s mind... You have to be just like everybody else. You have to be on time.” — Bucky (07:25)
• On Adversity:
  “There's nothing better... than adversity. You're not going to get anything that's going to happen to you better than you've got to have adversity.” — Bucky (52:19)
• On Legacy:
  “That was my main goal of coaching: What am I going to do to help somebody else become a better person and hopefully much better than I am.” — Bucky (69:27)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:20] – Bucky opens up about hiding his drinking problem
• [01:09], [72:11] – On surviving for family and being “as good as I can be”
• [07:26] – Structure and discipline under coach Tom Coughlin
• [09:12–12:32] – Ricky Williams’ intelligence, character, and the recruiting process
• [13:06] – Recruiting stories and the old days vs. now
• [14:24] – The rise of money in college recruiting
• [41:45] – Chronic pain, surgery, and commitment to staying active
• [44:01, 48:17] – The journey to sobriety and reflections on addiction
• [52:19] – Adversity as life’s greatest teacher
• [69:27] – Coaching legacy and never aspiring to be “the best”
• [72:19] – The value of discipline, making mistakes, and learning
• [79:07] – Lessons Bucky learned from his players
• [86:20] – State-of-the-program insights and the realities of Texas football recruiting

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Tone & Language

Bucky’s tone is frank, wry, and heartfelt—unvarnished in discussing failure and addiction but equally proud and grateful about the privilege of mentoring young athletes and the support systems that sustained him. The interview is full of humor and authenticity, with both poignant and lighthearted observations.

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Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode provides a raw, honest look at what it means to be both a winner and a work in progress. Bucky’s insights on discipline, resilience, and the dangers of unchecked ambition are universally resonant—whether you’re an athlete, parent, or simply navigating your own crossroads.

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Standout Section

On Discipline, Regret, and the Power of Decision

"I didn't hit bottom. I made a choice." (00:47)

"I never set out to be the best. I want to be as good as I can be... That takes a lot of work. That takes a lot of discipline..." (01:23, 72:14)

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For those seeking a genuine conversation about the cost of success, the courage to change, and the meaning of discipline and identity, this episode is essential listening.

Transcript

[Interviewer]

He coached Ricky Williams to a Heisman Trophy. He was on Texas sideline for decades, coaching at the highest level. And his voice became a staple on Texas radio for nearly 20 years. But behind the success was a man hiding from himself.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I could drink at a sitting. I could drink a half a bottle of Jack and just. And go on and do my. And you wouldn't tell if it was just a normal day for me.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So I did that throughout my radio career. I did that through my coaching career. And you think about how good of a coach could you have been?

[Interviewer]

He led champions on the field while losing a war with himself off of.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It, drinking Jack Daniel. Four or five shots of Jack a night, a couple six packs, and I go back to the hotel crash for about two hours. And I was ready to coach. I was ready to go.

[Interviewer]

He didn't hit rock bottom. He made a choice. He made a choice to stop hiding and to start living.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But it just got to be to the point where I said, can I do this? Can I survive without having this? And once I figured out I couldn't, I said I had to quit.

[Interviewer]

At 70 years old, Bucky Gobble isn't finished. He's still showing up, still telling the truth, and he's not sugarcoating any of it.

[Bucky Godbolt]

One of my deals is to survive as long as I can be around for my grandkids, make sure that I'm. Try to be as good a husband as I can be, you know, not the best.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because as I said, I never tried to push to be the best.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I want to be as good as I can be. And that. That means a lot. That means a lot. If you can be the best you can be.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That means that takes a lot of work. That takes a lot of discipline to do that.

[Interviewer]

This is Bucky Godbolt. You would think in retirement, Ish, you could slow down a little bit, but you're, like, just still caught chasing everything.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Well, I've got my golf tournament.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, that's a big deal.

[Bucky Godbolt]

The golf tournament. So I've got to pack a bunch of Tito boxes this weekend.

[Interviewer]

How many people play in the golf tournament?

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's packed. It'll be about 170, 180.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Interviewer]

All for the boys.

[Bucky Godbolt]

All for the boys. 24 years.

[Interviewer]

24 years. How many more years will you do it?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I want to do it just one more.

[Interviewer]

But you're not going to be allowed to.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm not going to be allowed to do that. I'm going to be allowed to do it until I fall over or hand it over, which I won't do.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, you won't do it.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I won't do it. I won't give it to somebody else. Guys are saying, why don't you just pass it down? To who? Yeah, who's going to you, to you. I know you got. I'm not passing down with my name on that. That's not, that's not going to happen.

[Interviewer]

How do you think the Texas football team's going to be this year?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think they're going to be pretty good.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I, I, I, I don't know if they'll be as good as they, I think they're going to lose one more game than they did last year. Now, my partner thinks that. Oh, no, I think he thinks this is the beginning of getting to the national championship. I said, you don't have two great years like you just made to semifinals and still think you're going to and have 15 guys go to the NFL. Possibly 15 this year, 14 last year. I said, you don't just repeat and rinse. It's not going to be, you're going to, it's going to be a couple down times, and I think this may be the down one. Even with this great quarterback. I think it may be a downtime.

[Interviewer]

Do you think he's good, Arch?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think he's pretty good.

[Co-Host]

Yeah, I think.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But they've had some great receivers picked up in that transfer port. Now they've got one from Stanford. It's coming.

[Interviewer]

I saw that.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And if he's, if he's as good, the coach is good, the staff is good, but I just can't see them doing the same thing again, getting through the SEC like they've done or like the last two years, winning a, winning a Big 12 championship and getting through the SEC in year number one. Yeah, and I remember going to the SEC meetings up in Dallas in the summer, and I said, I said to some, the guys from Auburn, and I said, you know, Texas is coming to take over the sec. And the guy goes, you, you don't just come and take over the sec. I said, texas is not coming to join your conference. They're coming to take over your conference. And I said, and that means decision making within your conference. I said, that's just what Texas does. You just need to understand. He goes, this is the sec. I'm like, we'll see. And what have they done so far? They've, you know, they played in the championship game, they won the women's soccer in the conference. You know, women's basketball. They've been right there. They obviously they want swimming and diving. I said, they're not coming here just to be a part of your conference. No, that's not what Texas. I said, that's not what they do. And the guys. And I just said, and it won't take them long. They have all the means to take over your whole conference right now. Right now.

[Interviewer]

I mean, baseball is dominant.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Baseball is. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Softball is good.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. Softball is right in the thick of things. Swimming. I said, you know, Florida's been the big king of your swimming and diving for years. I said, that's about to end. Texas swimming is, has been the best forever.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so I said, this is just what they do.

[Interviewer]

What do you think about Sark? Like, what a cool story he has, like kind of at the top, hit rock bottom, bounce back.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, he's, he's, he's pretty fortunate that Texas took a, a chance, a flyer on him.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

As head coach, because he, he was pretty wild out in USC when he thought he was young and having it going on. He could have gotten to a point where he never got a second chance. But Nick Saban really gave him a second chance, and I thought that was kind of cool of, of Coach Saban to do so. He's taking advantage of this and now he's got a brand new baby.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I saw that. He's got like a college age kid and a brand new baby, Right?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What's wrong with these people?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Stop it.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What's wrong with these people?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Stop. I know. Stop.

[Interviewer]

Coach, have you ever had the chance to meet Nick Saban?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I have.

[Interviewer]

Pretty good dude.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, he's, he's a good dude. I, you know, I just missed meeting Bear Bryant when I was coaching. I'm just, he had passed away. Just. We had played them and we had beat them in a game when I was at Boston College and he had just then passed away. I never got a chance to meet him. I did get a chance to meet a guy named Eddie Robinson. The coach said Grambling. I had lunch with Eddie Robinson. He invited me to come to lunch with him.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

The great Eddie Robinson invited me. And I remember I was at the University of Illinois and he said to me, he goes, wouldn't you like to, you know, because there was a job opening at North Carolina A and T. Predominantly black college. My father went to school there.

[Co-Host]

Okay.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He said, wouldn't you, would you like to be the head coach there? And I said, coach, my direction is a little different. I know it sounds May sound strange, but I'm in the Big Ten. Then to come back and even be a head coach in North Carolina. And I said, I don't know about moving my family to Greensboro, North Carolina. I don't know the logistics. I don't know what. What's acceptable. I said, I grew up in the Carolina. I said, I don't know if I can come back with a family, a biracial family, to Greensboro, North Carolina, at that time, this was 20 some, almost 30 years ago. Said, I don't know what. What that would be like. I don't know what that'd be like for my wife, for my kids. And I said, I, you know, and I'm at University of Illinois now. I got a chance to go to. To coach at University of Texas. I just, like, I don't know, decision wise now. I made one bad decision in college, coach, and I had an opportunity to go coach with Tom Coughlin, who was at Boston College with me. And so when I went to Illinois, Tom asked me to come back to Boston College and become, you know, be his running back coach. I said, tom, I just left Boston College to go to the Big Ten. Why would I come back there? Needless to say, he went from there to the Jacksonville Jaguars, to the New York Giants. Two Super Bowls later, somebody said, that wasn't a smart move on your part. And I'm like, well, it was. I got to Texas.

[Interviewer]

It's worked out for you.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, it's worked out just fine.

[Interviewer]

You got to coach some pretty cool people.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. I mean, it's. And plus, I get to coach with Coughlin. Know, he gave me the, The. That was the stability I needed in coaching. He was. That guy was special.

[Interviewer]

Was he.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He was something. He was. He's a different cat.

[Interviewer]

What lessons did you learn from him?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Just structure on and on being on time. And he was. If you weren't five minutes early, you were late. If you weren't five minutes early, you know, and I mean, that's. I just used to drive that through Ricky's mind when he came from California. I said, you can't do it. You got to go run the steps. I'd be there with you at 6am but you're running. I said, you have to be just like everybody else. You have to be on time. You can't be on California time when it's central time in Texas.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You can't stroll into a meeting 5 minutes late thinking it's all. I said, it's not all right.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so I had to do that. And it's, that's been my thing, being on time. And I have a hard time of. I have a hard time with people that are late. I just, it's hard for me.

[Interviewer]

Have you always been that way, or did that come from Coughlin?

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, I, I, I had always been that way. I was always one of those people, like, no matter where you go, I'm there like 15, 20 minutes, I'm early. I'm the one sitting there first, you know, then to be there right on time or two minutes later, you know. But Coughlin drove that. Coughlin wanted to know at noontime when we had an hour off when I was coming back.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He wanted to know if I was going to the bathroom. I'm like, what do you mean? I'm going to the bathroom, dude. I don't know how long I'm going to be. Go. I said, it depends on what I have to do. He said, well, give me an estimate of how, how long it's going to take me to go to the bathroom. Tom? Yeah. He wanted to know, wow, so you have an hour for lunch at Boston College. He wanted to know, when are you going to return? I'm like, dude, I got an hour. He goes, but are you going to come a little bit earlier? Come back a little bit earlier? I said, I got an hour. What if I want to play racquetball for a whole hour? He goes, just tell me when you're coming back. Okay, I got to be back at one. I'm going to be back at one. He goes, you're late. Then, you know, I'm like, yeah, I got it, Tom. I'll be back at about quarter of. Everything's good. He was amazing. He was, he was a great coach. He was a good. I used to take his son fishing. Since he wouldn't take his son fishing.

[Interviewer]

What was it like to coach Ricky?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Ricky is, he was different. He is. He's probably the smartest player that I've ever coached now, maybe not the smartest I've ever been around. Doug Flutie was the smartest player that ever been around, and I was around Tony Dorsett. Doug Flutie was amazing. Ricky was so knowledgeable of what we were trying to do. He was, he was smart. He knew not only his position, he knew everybody else's position and what they had to do. That's kind of smart that he was. But he was just such a dynamic running back. He could, he could do everything. He could have been a great linebacker. You know, he played linebacker in High school, too. He would have been an alamery all Mary. Could have been a wrestler.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But when it came to football, he knew. He knew everything that was happening in front of him. That's what made it so easy for him. People don't understand that the more you know about the position and what everybody else does, the easier it is for you.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, and they just take it that it's just this natural ability to run and cut and all that stuff. I said, but if you know what they're actually doing in front of you, that does matter. So Ricky knew all that stuff.

[Interviewer]

When he came to Texas, did you know he was going to win a Heisman Trophy?

[Bucky Godbolt]

He said, he's coming to Texas to win the Heisman Trophy. He never told me he was coming to graduate. He never said that to me. He never said, I'm coming to graduate from university. He goes, I'm coming to win the Heisman Trophy. And I remember laughing at him a little bit that day. Did you? Because that right after that, he and I went over to meet Earl Campbell, you know.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, the Earl Campbell.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. And he was, you know, Ricky was semi impressed, but he wouldn't. Ricky didn't get all that impressed with people. He wasn't even all that impressed with Earl.

[Co-Host]

No.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's just like, yeah, I'm coming to win a Heisman, too. And I'm like. I said, that guy won the height, I guess. Unbelievable. That's a Hall of Fame football player. Yeah, but he was. He was. He was just. It was just different, as I said, you know, Mean, mean. You know, never had. Really. Ricky never had dad in his life. He was raised with, you know, the three girls, you know, his two sisters and his mom. So he was around people that always could say yes to him.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

There he was very seldom anybody ever say no to that dude.

[Interviewer]

Was it hard to coach that?

[Bucky Godbolt]

No.

[Co-Host]

No.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because I was the no guy.

[Interviewer]

You're the no.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I didn't have it. I didn't have it. I was the old. I'm the oldest of eight.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So I'd never had any problems to say no to him. I had brothers and sisters and siblings that I could say no to all the time.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, no, you can't do that. Here's what you got to do. No. Yes. No. So when he met me, it was. He had to get a lot of no's for me. No, you can't do it that way. No, we don't do it that way. We're not going to do it that way, you're just like all the rest of those guys over there. And he, and he was acceptable to that stuff. He never wanted to be. He never wanted to be a special guy. He never asked to be treated any differently than anybody else because he was going to work harder than those guys that were there anyway.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, he was just going to do it on his time, right?

[Bucky Godbolt]

He just had a certain time. Yeah, I remember that when I started recruiting him and I had a running back meeting and I told the guys about Ricky, I said, when he comes here, you know, he's going to be the starting fullback. And I had a whole room full of fullbacks and they were like, well, how can you say that to us? And I said, I'm going to tell you he's better than you are. You guys have a lot of work to do. You just. He goes, guys in high school, how can you say he's better than I said, Believe me, I know it. I've watched him, I've watched film of him. He's better than you guys are now. You have a lot of work to do if you don't think he's not going to be. And he was. And he came and he was a starter.

[Interviewer]

What was the recruiting process like then versus what it's like now?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Well, then it was about, it was kind of more trust, right? You really had to, you had to trust the guy that was recruiting you and the guy who was recruiting you had to know, not only you, him, but I had to know his family. I had to know the dynamics, who was pushing all the buttons. You know, you go to, you go to some kids houses and the kid will say, I'm the one who's making the decision here. And then dad would be in the corner winking at you, going, not making any decisions. Not making the decisions on where he's going to go to school. Are you kidding me? I'm making, we're, we're making this decision.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, I went to a kid's house in Syracuse. I tell the story how there was a running back in the state of New York. It was up in the Syracuse area. And, you know, I looked at, you know, when to come to Boston College. You know, at Boston College, I had like four guys that played in the NFL, running backs. I mean, nobody was even recruiting them out of high school. And so this kid wanted to come and play running back. And I looked at his academics for a place like Boston College. And his mother was like, you know, my son wants to be an engineer. And I Said, you mean like engineer? And that was it. That was it. That was it. That was it. I was done with it. You never talked to me. I got to the point, I got to that point. I was at that house and every time I'd go for a visit there, I went to about twice. And they had the television on and I was trying to explain about the school and everything else, and they had the television blaring. I don't know, maybe it was family night at certain time when I came there every time. And so the last time I went there, I went over and turned the TV down and I said, listen, I've come here a couple times. I'm trying to explain you. I'm trying to give your son an education here. And I never went back again. That was it. That was it. And I was fine with it.

[Interviewer]

You were good with it.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I was good with it. Because when they said, the kid wants to be an engineer and I said toot, I knew it was over with them.

[Interviewer]

And now the. Now the recruiting process is mostly money driven, right?

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's money driven. But there are, I think there are still, there's still players and male and female that have some ties to a university or maybe have a relative to go there that still believe in that whole thing. Because not everybody needs the money. Not everybody needs the money. I mean, there are kids that can make it through a semester or two now they're pretending like they can't make a semester without having a million dollars in the bank. And I'm like, come on, guys.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

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[Bucky Godbolt]

Or he wanted to play with Sark, right?

[Interviewer]

He could have went anywhere.

[Bucky Godbolt]

There's not a college in the in the country that wouldn't have taken him. But that had nothing to do. That kid has money. He's had money all his life. So that money was now it's just his, it was his money before that. Still was with the relatives, but now it's his money now.

[Co-Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And he knew he was going to get it and he's, he's going to be good with it. He understands the whole game. He knows how to play the game. Quiet guy that knows. Now he's got to be a leader on the team. So that's, that's going to work out pretty well for him because he seems to be like his uncles, you know, seems to have a good sense of humor, you know, funny. But when it's time to get serious, I think he can get down to business. I think he can win a national championship there. I just don't know if it's next year.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Might be a couple years.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It may be a couple years.

[Interviewer]

You think we got two years of him.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think you have two years of them.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I was thinking that if he had a great year this year, why wouldn't he? Why would. If you had a great year.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And you found the receivers, why wouldn't you leave here even if you didn't win a national, if you're the number one draft pick, you're gone. What is there, what is there to stay for?

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, heck, it'll be close to graduating anyway. I'll be in his third year.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He'll. I mean, if you want to get that in the summer, I mean, you can go. You can always graduate.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, it's not like you have to have this timing where you do that, but you don't get to be the first one taken in the NFL draft.

[Interviewer]

Do you think he's the first one taken at some point when the time comes?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, I think so.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Well, plus his, like I said, his uncles are going to make sure that people understand how good he is. And if he's at the right place, he can make it happen.

[Interviewer]

Well, and he's got them in his corner, right. Like, he's got them guiding him, helping him. You know, I, I heard an interview once, he's like, I asked my uncles about the two minute drill. He's like, I got a 90 second voice memo from Peyton and a novel from Eli. Like, we don't all get to do.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That, you know, and you don't get to be around people like that. And he's just growing up around that. But I, I tell you, I think that you're going to see the Austin area in a boom with that family. You know, they do stuff in New Orleans area. If he's here for two years. They're going to be some things opening up with the name Manning on it a lot of places, especially if he.

[Interviewer]

Wins a national championship.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, forget about it. This is. This is where you either come back to go to New Orleans or you come back here to live.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And. And bring, you know, you bring everything that you've. That you've had in your life and your name back to a place like. I mean, where else would you want to do that? You can do that in the Austin area and you have great success. Or go back to New Orleans.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

They love them. They love those people in New Orleans.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

But Austin's special.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It is.

[Interviewer]

Austin's a cool place, I think.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And he likes it. Yeah, the kid likes this. He likes this area. I think he likes his teammates. He likes what Austin has to offer him. It's not just the university. Like I said, you can get your education.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But it's the people around here. I think he's. That he really enjoys.

[Interviewer]

What do you think makes Sark such a special coach?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think when you go through the ringer a little bit like he has, there's that, you know, somebody's giving me a chance. So I think he's always, always in the. In the spot where he wants to give a player an opportunity.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, and really work with him. He's a pretty good quarterback coach, and he's one of the best offensive minds in the game right now. And he's going to. He's gonna make sure that you're doing the right thing. He's not gonna let anybody cut any corners. He waited a long time to get a job like this.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So nobody's gonna cut any corners. Not his coaches, not his players. I think he has a certain way he wants to do things and you're not gonna take him off of that way. Plus, he's in control. Yeah, University, they. It's. They've got everybody. They got all the BBs in the box now. They're not all scattered all over the place. I mean, they're gonna have a new president coming up. You know, they got the athletic director. They got all tied. They have all these people that are so together right now on the decision making that they have. That it's. It's got to work. But we're in. A national championship in the SEC is hard.

[Co-Host]

It's hard.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's hard. You gotta. You have to have a lot of luck. You have to have stuff where you don't get guys hurt. And then. And every Week is a battle in that conference.

[Interviewer]

It's a big conference.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's big, it's. It's real, real physical. And you know, Texas has been known for kind of fluff over the years. You know, they got the quality athletes, but they're not going to be tough enough. If we hit them in the face a couple of times, they'll quit. Yeah, but they haven't. Yeah, last two years they haven't quit.

[Co-Host]

No.

[Bucky Godbolt]

They've been punched and kicked around and they haven't quit. And so you're starting to see that toughness and a lot of that is the homegrown kids like the offensive linemen that they don't go out and get from somewhere else. They get them out of high school in the Texas area and their coaches, they keep them here. And I think you'll start to see that with a lot of players. That's when Sark will have it, when those great players don't leave the state. Yeah, if they come through, if you want them, they come to Texas. I mean, Texas A and M gets, still gets great players. They don't have great coaches, but they get great players and they've been able to keep them in the state. They haven't won anything. They haven't done crap. Yeah, but they keep them coming.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, they keep people wanting to go there.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, they keep. There's something about, there's something about some loyalty with, with Texas A M. In Texas, if you can keep the loyalty going, eventually you're going to hit the jackpot with the players.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because it won't be about the money. It'll be about the university.

[Interviewer]

What do you think about this transfer portal?

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's. It was going to get, it was going to get to that point, but we just, the. They opened it up and never had, they never had a plan and they just thought that it would just take care of itself. Well, now it's overwhelmed the whole system. Now. Now it's all about the money. It's not, they don't, they don't have anything that cuts you off. Well, you're a freshman. You can only make this much money. You're going to this. You go. If you transfer within the conference, you have to sit out a year. Now that's good, but they should have a one year transfer rule. They couldn't, they shouldn't have these guys going from one school to the next school to the next school going where the money is. I think that's what's going to. I don't think it's going to kill it. You're not going to kill college football. Too much money in the tv.

[Interviewer]

Too big.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's too big. It'll be hard to kill, but it can be out of control.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That every year somebody says, I don't want to be at your place, I'm moving on to go there. You can stop that. You ought to be able to stop, stop players. But what happened is you couldn't stop the coaches.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

If a coach wants to leave, he can leave.

[Co-Host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So. But the players are now trying to catch up to the coaches.

[Interviewer]

How about the playoff system? You think the playoff system is going to continue to evolve and change?

[Bucky Godbolt]

It'll get bigger.

[Interviewer]

Get bigger just because there's so much money in it.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we'll be, we'll be at that 16 team deal here shortly. Yeah, I think probably 16 to 20 they'll cut it off.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And they'll let the, you know, they'll want somebody to have a Cinderella story. That won't ever get to be a.

[Interviewer]

Cinderella story unless we get to there.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. Because the Ohio states and the Texas and the Michigan's will always win out over the Texas states or Coastal Carolina.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That's had a great year. This is the Cinderella story. That's. That won't happen.

[Co-Host]

No, they'll.

[Bucky Godbolt]

They'll always be, they'll always be able to get bought out, you know, because they won't be able to afford. They'll say they can afford it, but they won't be able to afford that.

[Interviewer]

How have you seen sports like, you've seen kids evolve? Like whether it was a coach or whether it's just as, as the voice of Texas sports. You've seen kids come into Texas 18 years old and evolve and grow into men or grow into women, grow into humans. How have you seen sort of like sports transcend that or their development transcend sports?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think there are development trends in sports and I think the kids. I always, you know, as I recruited, when I recruited for close to 25 years, the first thing I told a parent was, here's what I'm going to do. I will do everything in my powers to get your son a college education. And I mean everything I can. And I won't stop. And I chased down one guy for about five years afterwards to get his college degree from Boston College. Smart kid. Just didn't want to get it. Just had money in the family and didn't have to. And he finally went and got his degree. And so I had all those years. I, I Can always say, I've had everyone who been with me five years or more who has a college degree, and that's important. It just, it was important to me because that was a part of my pitch when I was at the house. I didn't pitch in that I was going to make your son an All American. He's going to win the Heisman Trophy. I said, I'll do everything in my powers to get him a college degree. And I had a. I had a kid from Connecticut who I told I. Who missed a couple classes. And I said, if you miss another class, I'll be calling your dad. He missed another class. And at the meeting in the afternoon two days later, his dad was sitting in the seat in our meeting, sitting there. And when the kid came in, I said, I told you. He said, you call my father. I said, I told you I was going to call your father. You knew I was going to call your father. But not only that, I call him. He was able to miss his job today and come up here to talk to you in person about not going to class. I said, I said, I promised your dad that I was going to do everything I could to help you graduate. Well, that kid ended up graduating, ended up being a graduate of Boston College. But those players, I never had a problem ever at Boston College. When they saw that Tyrone's dad was sitting in a seat at the meeting when they all walked in, including Tyrone, who came in there just before the meeting started, and there his dad was sitting, he was stunned.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He was stunned. So I think you can do both. You can get kids that can grow up and make it happen, that are away from the field and they learn a lot on the football field. But there's so much to learn if you give a kid an opportunity in the classroom and meeting other people on that campus, because that's where you. That's where you do it. It wasn't for me. It wasn't the football that did it for me. It was the people that I came in contact, you know, whether they were classmates or friends of friends who their dad and I, you know, been invited to their house or just to come over and talk. That's. That's where you meet people. That's. That's what you do in college. You network.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, you can be the brightest all you want to, but sometimes that doesn't work out. There's a lot of college educated people that are, you know, doing dishes downtown Austin. But if you meet the right people and you make. And you, you Know, you come across as somebody can influence and help people out. You got a really good chance. Yeah, that's. That's at a college experience. And Ricky is one of those dudes. He's. He is one of those guys. He. He was. He as good of an athlete as he was. He was a schmoozer. He could smoosh with the best of them. I mean, it was like, man, he'd go into your house, next thing you know, he'd be in the kitchen cooking, and, you know, he smooched my first wife, like, to no end. She was like one of the kids. It's like, what is Ricky doing in my house now? Oh, he just came over. He didn't have class. What's he doing? I'm just hanging around, watching tv. I'm like, there's other things he could be doing. No, he just didn't have anything to do. So he just drove out here. That's just a part of the deal, you know, he's the best at that. He's the best. Who.

[Interviewer]

Who on your journey influenced you the most besides Tom Coughlin?

[Bucky Godbolt]

If there was a coach that did it, it would have been probably one of my high school coaches or my wide receiver coach. Skip Coppola at Boston College was the guy that, you know, I was the oldest of eight, so I was. I was kind of bossy. So when I got to bc, he said, I'm your boss now. I'm the boss. And he said, the way you want to do things is not going to be the way we're going to do things. So I had somebody who ended up being my boss, so he was a big influence on me. And my mother. My mother was the biggest influence in my life.

[Interviewer]

What did she teach you?

[Bucky Godbolt]

She just. Patience. Like I said, oldest of eight. You know, she worked all her life. She just. Everybody went to college. She was going to make sure that we all did the right thing. And, you know, I became a gardener because of my mother. She was always, no matter what, no matter where we lived, if it was the size of this table, she was going to have a garden here. So she turned me into a gardener. And I love flowers and plants and things like that, but when she taught me what taught me more than anything with patience, boy taught missing somebody every day. Wow. She was absolutely the best. And she would go to my. You know, she would go to games. She would be at all the games and stuff. Like, my dad was like a roll. Papa was a rolling stone. Yeah, that was my father. Dude was a rolling Stone. We would go from one place, we'd go from the Carolinas to Pennsylvania to living with neighbors. That guy was a rolling stone for sure. And. But my mom was a big influence for me.

[Interviewer]

She was like that steady, stable, always, always.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And she was always going to find a way to get it done. I'm like, I don't know how you're getting it done. But by the way, I ended up going to, you know, I went to Catholic school from first grade through college.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And she found a way to get her. Get me into private school. And just her influence was awesome.

[Interviewer]

So you still garden?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm still gardening. Oh, yeah, I'm still garden. I mean, I go from little small gardens to 13 gardens on a property and wasting money. Things will die, but I'll replant them and let's go again. I like gardening. I love. I love outdoors. I love plants and exotic stuff and seeing it grow.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, I make trips to go to Seattle just to see the foliage at Seattle. That's, you know, tulip festivals and things like that. I love. I love stuff like that. I love plants and gardening.

[Interviewer]

You didn't pick the greatest state to love gardening.

[Bucky Godbolt]

No. Tough place. Tough place, tough place. Too much kalichi.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Be surprised at how many things can grow in Kalichi. Kalichi can hold a lot of water.

[Co-Host]

Yep.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So if you get the right mixture in the kalichi, you'll find out things can really, really grow.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But pretty stuff, soft leaf plants. Not gonna make it.

[Co-Host]

No.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's too hot.

[Co-Host]

Too hot.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Just too stinking hot here. And I've tried everything. I have tried. I've tried those beautiful hydrangeas, those beautiful puffy hydrangeas that you see on the East Coast. I've tried to make them work here. Every year I try to make. I've given up. I'm not doing it anymore. I find it just won't work. As soon as the sun hits those things, they just. You can't shade them enough.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You can't unless they're indoors. And you have. You know, you can do the whole environment with the air conditioning and the. And the. And the lighting. You can't do it outside here. This. This to the rays of the sun here. It's just. It won't make. Oak trees. Yes. Yeah, oak trees. Plenty of cactus, cedars.

[Interviewer]

Man, the cedars go crazy here. They do great.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. And I've. And I've actually, there's a part of my property now. I've done the xeriscape stuff with a little Valley that runs through. When water does go through, it kind of goes through there. And it'll stay wet for three months in there, even when it dries up. But I've done some stuff with some cactuses, some flowering cactus and things in there. But I can't put the kind of plants I really would like to put. They won't, they won't survive.

[Interviewer]

They won't survive.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And I noticed now that now that I put cactuses in there, that's when I saw the snake. I, I guess should be cactus snakes. Don't that go together? Rattlesnakes? Yeah, that should go together. But I didn't figure that out until just this year. But I'm still, I'm still at it. I've still got some gardening to do. I've got a 15 by 15 foot vegetable garden now. It's a, it's a big one. And I do about one series of tomatoes and then I'm done, too. I can't, I can't make them come back after I pull them off the first time because by then it's June and it's over with here in June.

[Interviewer]

Well, you can only have so many tomatoes.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That's true. I mean, I'm, I'm trying to. I'm, I'm, I'm preparing myself for the end of time.

[Interviewer]

Oh, you are, you're one of.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You're one of those prepper people.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, I'm prepping myself.

[Interviewer]

So you got a lot of cans of soup?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Not yet, but every year I said, I'm going to learn how to can stuff. Stuff. And we need to get some sauces and get the peppers and everything else. All the cucumbers, I love cucumbers. So I'm like, all these viney plants. Can we do something with them? And my wife is like looking, she goes, we're not canning all this crap. Are you kidding me?

[Interviewer]

Make homemade salsa.

[Bucky Godbolt]

See? See all those things you're talking about? I'm, I, I say I'm gonna do it, but when you go out there in June and start digging around the garden, you're just like, I'm going back into the air conditioner. Let this stuff die.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I'm going back.

[Bucky Godbolt]

We'll do it next. We'll do it again next spring.

[Interviewer]

Go back inside.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But I am, I do my winter gardens. I love lettuce. I love fresh lettuce and I love fresh broccoli. And so I'll get out there in the garden and I'll do all those things and I can keep it I can keep it going till I start. Lettuce. The broccoli's gone, but I still have different types of lettuce in my garden right now. And until we hit that, where we get to the 93 degree, 94 degree temperatures every day, that lettuce. Because the mornings in the, you know, the 50s and 60s, that lettuce will, that lettuce will hold.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But once you start those afternoons and those soft leaf things, they go. But I love fresh lettuce. I love fresh broccoli. I don't like stuff. I don't like squash. You know, the stuff is pretty easy to buy. Any stuff. Don't like the texture. Get a lot. I'm going to learn how to eat zucchini.

[Co-Host]

Okay.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I mean, I've got to, I've got to put on. I'm about £153, which is awful for me. I want to be 160 so badly, and people are dying to lose weight. I'm trying to gain weight and I, I'm not a brisket person. I don't like to eat a lot of meat. If I eat meat, that means I'm getting hamburgers. I'm eating junk. I'm going to some fast food place because I'm not grilling it, but I'm going to learn how to eat brisket. Pinto beans. Got to start eating more beans. I'm knowing I'm learning all these things. Three meals a day. Can't do it.

[Interviewer]

You're doing the intermittent fasting before intermittent fasting was cool.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. But I, you know, people want to gain. People want to lose weight. I'm trying my best. I want £10 so bad, you know, I don't want to. I, I weighed myself a couple months ago. I weighed 146 pounds. My waist went from. My waist is now a 30. I wasn't. I haven't been a 30 since I was in like eighth or ninth grade. I mean, my pants, like fall down. I go to the last belt loop and I thought 32 was. I said, that's good, that's good. Hey, but 30, that's not good. Because what happens is you get to be 70. My dad was a fragile man when he died at 88 years old. But he started to get fragile looking right. You know, he couldn't play golf anymore. You know, knees and hips and everything else. But he, when he died, he's a fragile dude. I don't want to be a fragile dude. I don't want people kicking sand in my face at the beach. You know, I want to be able to still defend myself. I want to be able to go gardening and I want to go play. I want to, I want to do some things with, I want to be able for my grandkid to throw a ball at me and I can react enough that I'm not going to fall down trying to pick up the ball.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And golf is tough enough. I mean, the wins that we've had over the last two months, I've been to places where I'd be ready to put the ball down in a tee. And that wind, that gust of wind comes up. I'm like bracing myself before I fall over my face.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I said, I really don't want to go out like that.

[Interviewer]

You got to get stronger.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I got to get stronger. And it's probably not the weight thing. More than, more than it is putting the muscle on. Yeah. And I've lost all the, you know, I've had a bad back. I had reconstructive surgery in my thoracic back years ago. So every day is a back problem for me. It just depends on how bad is it, how bad it's going to be. I had a knee replacement. You know, they told me how my knee is going to be better than ever. And I told them nothing's better than ever. When you replace something at this age, don't tell me how it's going to be better than it was. So I just don't want the pain. Yeah, if you relieve the pain for me, I can take care of the rest.

[Interviewer]

So did it relieve the pain?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I did, Yeah, I did. I don't have, I mean, I, I was, I went through three years and Holly knows. Joyce was on me. She goes, how are you doing this, your knee? They've already told you. You're a bone on bone on bone. What do you, doesn't it hurt to play golf? I said it hurts all the time, but I'm gonna go play golf. I'm just gonna get that done. She goes, well, why don't you get it fixed? Night. So, So I worked out for three months before I had surgery on my knee. I was back in six weeks.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And that's from the working out. And that was intensive working out. It made it so well that my left knee got better. I don't, I don't have, I have no pain in my left knee.

[Interviewer]

Have you always been so committed to being like a growth minded person?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, I, I, I do. I, mentally, physically, you know, because I saw people, I saw how people kind of disintegrated in their lives. I just. I've seen older people just kind of. They just stop doing the things. And once you stop, I mean, you're losing. If you stop moving, I mean, you're done. You really. You really are done. That really is true. Once you get to a point where, you know, I mean, I spend enough time, every once in a while sitting, watching Court TV and reading, listening to all the bad stuff. Once you get to the point where that's where your day is, you're done. So if I can go two or three hours outside, you know, shoveling mulch off the truck, even doing something like that, and. And I've fallen off my truck a few times. And see, there's. The other thing is once you. Once you stop moving, you start losing your balance. And I live, you know, and out here, you know, out here in the dream spring, nothing's even. No, you trip over everything. I mean, I was falling down twice a month. I mean, I would. Once you go. And once you start to fall, you don't brace yours. You don't stick your arms out there because you'll break your wrists and your elbows. I've learned how to fall. I can move in the air now. It's like the Matrix. I know how to turn. As I'm in the air, I'm already thinking, how are you going to hit? How are you going to keep your head out of the game and so you can fall on your. I don't have much of a butt cheek left, but I know how to fall there without breaking a hip. But I can't afford to fall on my face, and I can't afford to break an arm, but. And I have to get better. That's where. That's where the. It's not the weight thing. It's the strength thing that comes in, because once I. Once you start that. Once you start falling around and losing your balance, that's. It seems like you're done. And I. Like I said, I watched my old man do that. I just watched him get old and not move the way he used to move and, you know, not want to play now. Like I said, I'm not trying to play competitive. I'm not going on. I'm not doing marathons. If I can go for a nice walk, that's good, but I got to be able to play golf.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, you're a big golfer.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm a big golfer, and I'm moving up in a tee box here. When I hit, you know, in June, when I turn 70 I move up for good.

[Interviewer]

For good.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Never to come back. Never to be where the young guys play. I don't even care. Still getting my strokes. Everything's working in that way. But I. I just got to stay. I got to stay active.

[Interviewer]

Would you say you're a competitive person?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yes, very.

[Interviewer]

Always been.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Always. I've always been really competitive. You know, being the oldest, you know, I've. I've had to. I've had to kind of compete. And, you know, I. Where I grew up in Pennsylvania, you know, moved from North Carolina to Pennsylvania. I. I had been around a lot of different things. I had played little league baseball. Then I. I didn't want to play baseball anymore. I got to high school, I learned how to play football, and that was. That was it for me once I got into that. But golf, I never had a chance. My dad played golf when I was younger, but he would never let me play golf with him.

[Interviewer]

Why not?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I shagged balls for him in Greensboro, North Carolina, when I was. He used to give me a baseball glove and a shag bag, and he'd do chips and he'd hit balls, and I would chase down golf balls with a. With a baseball glove. And so that's how I learned how to play baseball. But he never let me play a round of golf with him when he's with his buddies. I never got a chance. I never got a chance to play with my dad until he was probably in his 40s or 50s. But I actually played when I was in college, actually played around the golf with my dad. He just never let me do that, you know, And I've played with my son, you know, but that was his deal, and I was fine with that. You stay with your old friends, and I'll shag balls for you. I'll wait to get to. To do this when it's my time, and now it's my time. And I just. I love. I love to compete in golf with. And it's anything. Yeah, it's anything that I'm capable of being able to do. But there are certain things with. With this back. This is. No, I mean, a round of golf cost me a real day of pain.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, and I've had to go from. And I think once you get to the point where you can get your weight up, get your strength up, there's certain things like I have to have. I have to take a pill in order to help me survive a day after around the golfer. I can't. I have to. I have to. I have to medicate myself in order to have a decent day the next day, a normal day. And boy, it'd be nice to get away from that and you know, the Advils of the world, Tylenols, the Vicodins to keep you to survive. But you know, I mean, I was told when I had my total reconstruction, my thoracic back, your probably golf days are over. I'm like, well that's not gonna happen.

[Interviewer]

No chance.

[Bucky Godbolt]

We're gonna pay and we're gonna play in pain. You know, I'm, I'm 24 years sober, so I haven't had a drink in 24 years. So that is, that was also the cure all for a while.

[Interviewer]

What was the reason you got sober?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I just wanted to see. I, I wanted to see if I can do it. My mother was an alcoholic. So I watched what my mother went through and that was, that was awful to see. I mean, when I was a football coach, I had to come back from my job at my young job at Boston College and come and put her in rehab twice. And I was the last to know that my mother was an alcoholic. I'm the oldest, but I was the last to know because I was off and gone. And I stayed pretty mad at my siblings for quite a while about not letting me know what was going on. But to see how bad she was, it was, it was not, it was not fun. So I had, whatever that is that she had. I had to, I had the capabilities of that happen to me and it, and it did. And I just decided, I remember when I decided it was during golf time that let's see if I can go this long without a drink because I made all kinds of excuses to drink.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know the radio business. I had to, I had to stay late night coaching when I was out at a bar somewhere till it closed. Yeah, you know, doing radio, getting up, staying up till 2 o', clock, 3 o' clock in the morning when the bar would close, get back in and do a six o' clock show. Oh my gosh, you know, come home not knowing how did you, how did you get here? Actually, you know, so I decided I was going to quit and I said, let's see if I can quit for a month. I can do it a month. I said, let's go down and see if I could do it a week. I couldn't do it for a week. I got to the point where if I was driving, I had to have a 38, 2 ounce beer in my cup holder when I drove around town to do Things.

[Co-Host]

Geez.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And it was. And it was. And it, you know, and I grew up in Pennsylvania in the steel mills. And, you know, we'd get on the bus for school and we'd be drinking potato brandy, homemade potato brandy. And so then I just, it was just a part of my life as a kid growing up in the steel mills. And then I started to drink Jack Daniels and I started to drink Jack Daniels straight. I mean, I could drink, I could drink at a sitting. I could drink a half a bottle of Jack and just. And go on and do my. And you wouldn't tell if it was just a normal day for me.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So I did that throughout my radio career. I did that through my coaching career, you know, and it, and it doesn't pain me because just, I was just fortunate enough to still live. I mean, I could have run over somebody. I could have killed myself. That's just luck. And you think about how good of a coach could you have been? Where could you have been if you didn't, if you didn't, you know, if you'd have taken your time, got your rest done, all the things that you did instead of being out all times a night drinking, pretend you were doing something. Hell, at one time I told my wife there was a night golf. She believed you? Oh, yeah. She went into that there was night golf. That they would have lights there and all the people always laughing me about, how about you told your wife there was a night golf? Yeah, and I, and once I stopped, I went to, I went to a place in Austin called La Hacienda Solutions. I went and I took a six week program and I was in there with kids who were heroin addicts. And you know, there were, you know, some, some real prominent people had their kids in there and they were telling me, they were like, so have you hit bottom? I said, I looked at him, I said, why in the hell would you want to ever hit the bottom? Why would you, why would you put yourself through that? I said, I don't feel like I'm at the bottom right now. And I'm like, and you shouldn't want to ever be there. Why go there? Why would you, wouldn't you want to stop yourself before you hit bottom? And they're like, no, you got to feel that pain. I'm like, no, dude, this is enough pain already. I don't want this pain. I want to know how to get rid of it. And I never had a relapse. I never. The day that I quit drinking was the day that I quit Drinking. I've never had one drink ever since the day that I decided to quit. And my friends, you know, at the golf course, and they said, nope, can't go to the cart girl and have a beer. Can't have a shot. It's done. I said, that's fine. And I never had a drink again. 24 straight years. I had no, no relapses, none of that. Very lucky on that. And that's, that's because of coaching. Yeah, that's the discipline that came with, with coaching and all that stuff. I think that's what coaching has done for me. It's helped me not become a stone cold alcoholic. That's why I got into the coaching business, to save my own life.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, and like I said, I watched my mother kind of disappear to the alcohol.

[Interviewer]

Were you able to forgive your siblings for not telling you?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, yeah, I did. I, I, that, that didn't take very long. I was just very disappointed that I was probably more disappointed in me. How could I be the last to know? Yeah, well, I wasn't there. I wasn't around right. When all this stuff was happening. And my mother had lost her best friend to breast cancer. And I think that sent her in the downward spiral.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And, and she never came back from that, so.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Interviewer]

And then what got you sober? Was it just your own choice or did somebody draw an ultimatum and say no?

[Bucky Godbolt]

No, no one drew anything. I was, I could fake it out with the best of them. I could come home and I could lie and I could, I could go to work and, you know, I could go coach football, you know, when I wasn't like drunk at practices and things like that. It's just when it, when it was my time, my time was drinking time.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, I would, you know the head coach of the University of Texas when we're at Illinois together. So I worked with him for nine years. He would, he would go home on Friday nights. I would be the one to take care of the players at the hotel. So when I would put them to bed, I was then gone.

[Co-Host]

Gone.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I was gone. I would come back to the hotel 3, 4 o' clock in the morning and coach the next day.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Coach a game. And I had done that. I had done that from Boston College all the way through the University of Texas. I mean, there were times where the head coach would be standing beside me, I'd be sweating through everything, and the coach would say, did you go out last night? Of course I did. I would be sweat. I mean, it would Be coming through my pants. That's how it was. I mean, to go and be in the state of Texas and coach like that. It was hot here.

[Interviewer]

It's hot.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But I would go out, I'd go to Trudy's and I'd be drinking Jack Daniel. Four or five shots of Jack a night, a couple six packs, and I go back to the hotel, crash for about two hours. I was ready to coach. I was ready to go.

[Interviewer]

Because you loved it. You just loved coaching, love working with the kids, love the game of football.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, but. And I never. The drinking was just a part of what I did. It wasn't. It wasn't like it was. How do you do? How could you do this? I'm like, I don't know. I just do it.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's not. It's not a big deal to me. It's like part of my. Part of my day. But it just got to be to the point where I said, can I do this? Can I. Can I survive without having this? And once I figured out I couldn't, I said I had to quit.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But I had friends all around me that. That helped me quit. I didn't. Like, I never. I went to two AA meetings and I would not poo poo AA meetings to anybody. If that's what makes it work for you, you should go and. And should continue to go. But I went to two of them. It made me want to drink. It just did. Because the people that the AA meet who quit drinking were smoking two and a half packs of cigarettes a day.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm like, I think that can kill you, too. It may kill you quicker.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so I. I couldn't go. So I was getting nothing out of that. I just said. I just decided, you know, that I just needed to quit. Just don't drink again. And so I have. I have to this day, you know, I've got a commitment to myself and my life. If. If I were to ever drink, you would read about me in the paper.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because I'd be that guy, that man, he took that gun and really did that. Because I know what the outcome is for me.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Once you go back.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. Once I go back, if I. Which I'll never go back. Yeah. So I take. I take it as drinking is like bad food. It's something that I wouldn't. I'm not going to eat that. So I'm not going to drink. And it never crosses my mind. It only crosses my mind about drinking is when I go back to my home State in Pennsylvania, where my friends still can't believe that it's been this long and that somebody will come out of nowhere and say, hey, listen, you can have a drink with us. We're not going to tell anybody. Nobody knows. I said, yeah, they do.

[Interviewer]

I know, I know.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And I can't. I can't even think that way, you know, so I've, I've not had. I've not like you said, I've never fallen to that. But I get that 48 hours into a trip back to my own homeland, somebody's going to ask me, hey, how about for old time's sake, let's just go out and have a beer? I'm like, no, I can't do it.

[Interviewer]

Can't do it.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And I can't. And I never will. That's why my work with guys like Tito beverage, when I told Tito, I have not, you know, your product, you've had your, you know, you've been your 25th year, you know. I said, I've never ever had your product needle ass. And I'm like. He goes, all those years you've been getting all these, you know, response with this golf tournament. I said, I've never know. I don't even know what your product tastes like. I don't even know what vodka taste that vodka tastes like. I said, but $10 billion tells me it's pretty good. He goes, it's the best. He said, it's the best. You don't have to taste it. He said, a lot of people tasting it.

[Interviewer]

So you say, you say Ricky was a big schmoozer, like one of the best. But don't you think it takes one to know and like, it sounds like you could sure your way through anything.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Sure, I could talk. I. Yeah, like I said, you get to be the oldest of eight, you get to be able to talk your way through and out of a lot of things.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, and if you're, if you're, if you're one of those people with addictions, you know how to talk your way out of a lot of things. You've learned how to play the game, and you learn how to play the games with others. So. And I did that with my family. I never drank at home. You would never see me doing Jack Daniels. I'd be the normal guy, have a beer, you know, with the family around. But you never see me sitting at night with a thing of Jack Daniels. But if I was at a bar, I would have a. Hey, leave the bottle. I'll. I can do this myself or slide it down. I'm good to go. And then I. You know, it just. Yeah, I could. I could. I could lie with the best. Because people with addictions are great liars.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

They just. That's. That's the part of that they learn. They learn how to lie.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And they become really, really good at it.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And that will carry on whether you have the addiction or not. You know, you can. You can carry on, but it also. It's. It's helped me help a lot. I've helped a lot of people along this. This whole path has been. That's what it's been about for me, you know, talking with kids and, you know, just. Just the fact when I went into the program at La Hacienda, when those kids were talking about heroin and talking about hitting the bottom, and I still had enough whereabouts for me to say to them, the bottom, what in the hell would you like? Are you at the bottom, kid? No, but I'm getting close. And I'm like, oh, that's going to make you better.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm like, that's not what's going to make you better because you hit the bottom.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I said it could kill you to hit the bottom. And I'm like, no, I don't want to go there. I don't know. I don't. I don't want to know what the bottom of alcoholism. To me, I'm already at the bottom.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, because it's made me think about how could I. How good could I have been if I were not of doing that right? And I think that's. That will always. That's kind of always going to bother me. I say it doesn't, but because it's all a learning, you know, the whole life is just a nice process of learning.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm always going to think in my mind, what could I have been? How good a coach could I have been? You know, I thought I was pretty good as a coach, you know, you know, coaching nine, ten NFL running backs. But what could. I mean, could I been a. Could I have had an opportunity to be a head coach? Did the. The drinking keep me back from learning something else? So that. That's all. But once again, I say, you know what? It's. It's taught me about the patience. It taught me some discipline. And there is nothing. There's nothing better for the human race than adversity. There's nothing better in anybody's life than adversity. You're not going to get anything that's going to happen to you better than you've got to have adversity somehow some way in your life. I don't know too many people that haven't, you know.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, exactly.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So that's just a part of. That's a part of life. And that's been. That was my adversity. So, yeah, I take it that way. Instead of being mad at myself about how good could I been, have I overcome the adversity? And that's. So that's been kind of.

[Interviewer]

Do you think it's a regret? Like, do you regret having done what you did or is it just like, I wonder what could have been.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I wonder what could have been.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. I kind of regret that if God spent. If I could have spent those kind of times, you know, where I was good with people, could I had worked myself into being. Could I have been Steve Sark? Could I been Sark right now?

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Myself?

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know. Yeah, that could have been the path that I could have taken. I could have paid more attention to that than if I was going to be at the alligator grill at 12:30 at night, one o' clock in the morning, slamming down Jack Daniels, trying to be the life of the party. It's also saved me a lot of money.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, but it saved you a lot of money.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Save me. To save me would have made you.

[Interviewer]

A lot of money too.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It would have made me and would have made me a lot of money. So, yeah, that. But once again, it's just that adversity that you got to find a way to overcome that. And so far, so good. I've got, you know, I've got a. I got a wife that's helped me along the way that's never gonna let me get to that part of it. Plus I got me. Me's not gonna let me get to that. That spot.

[Interviewer]

Have you always been this disciplined? Like, were you just born with this discipline or is it a muscle you've had to develop over time?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think it was kind of. Kind of with it, you know, I know my grandfather was that guy who I had taught my son and, you know, my grandfather was a guy who ended up with Alzheimer's and he died in his 60s. I mean, he used to just walk up and down the street all day long. That was his deal. He'd walk all the way, a couple miles and walk back. He'd walk a couple miles, walk back, come in, drink water, and that was his deal. And he took me fishing one time and I was late just a little Bit late. They said, don't ever be late again. You know, it was like the Coughlin thing. Yeah, a little, just a little discipline thing. And I remember when my son, when I went fishing, you know, A.J. and I went fishing in New Hampshire and I was there with the football coaches at Boston College. I said, we're leaving at 5:00'. Clock. Well, I'm on the, I'm on the deck. It's 5 o'. Clock. AJ comes running out of the house. It's 5:15 and I'm out in the rowboat about 200 yards away. Just kept on going. I kept on going. He was crying. He cried for two hours at that dock. And from that point on, that guy was there at 4:30 in the morning at that dock. And he's always been that, that on time guy now. And I said, it's not a big deal. It's just, that's where you wanted, you wanted to go. You thought I was going to turn around and come back and get you? Nope. You just don't get to go fishing with me.

[Interviewer]

So how do you teach him not to lose his wallet?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I don't know what that is. That's on him. That's on him. That's his, that's, that's his deal from high school. That I said, I can't understand how you, how you do that. But he's done it and he's done it a number of times. I'm like, doesn't only take you like one time to, to lose your wallet and your driver's license. You don't have to go to the dmv. I mean, to go back to that place you want to go and stand in that line and talk to those folks. Not me. I'm not, No. I now have lost money. I put money and dropped money somewhere. That's fine.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But I, I don't want to go get my driver's license over again ever.

[Co-Host]

No.

[Interviewer]

That DMV sucks so worse.

[Bucky Godbolt]

No, I'm not gonna do that. But yeah, I kind of been, I was just, I was pretty disciplined as an athlete. I would get up and do some of the things that I needed to do and never had a problem being disciplined in that way.

[Interviewer]

Are you still a pretty routine person? Like do you have your morning routine.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And get up early? Yeah, got to get up early. You know, I've done radio shows from six o' clock and done five hour radio, five hour radio shows. There's a lot of talking, but I'd get up at 3:30 in the morning. To do a 6 o' clock show because I don't like to do night before prep. I like to do a morning of prep. I like to get there, see how my day is, see how I'm going and talk about things then I can't stay up late. I, I, I'll tell you around 8:30, 9:00 clock at night. I'm about to, I'm, I'm down.

[Interviewer]

You're asleep in the chair.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And it, and it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if it's the weekends. I just, I can't, I can't go to bed late.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because I'm going to get, I'm going to get up early. No matter what time I go to bed, I'm still going to get up. If I go past 6:30 on a weekend that is, that's, you know, I always say I'm going to sleep to 8 o' clock. Today never happens. And there's nothing out there for me. It's still dark, there's nothing. It's like I'm missing something of the world.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

If I don't get, if I get up at 8 o', clock, I feel like I've missed five hours of the world going, going about his business when there's nothing, hell, nothing opens up at 8 o' clock even anymore. Even on the weekends.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You can only go to breakfast.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

For me it would be coming in from the bar somewhere.

[Interviewer]

But you just always get up early.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But I just said that I like getting up early.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And that was from, that was from the old grandfather, my fishing trip. I learned how to get up. I love to fish and I like to get up early and go do things early. And if you don't like to do things early around this place, oh, you're in trouble. Yeah, but, but, but you know, when I play golf, I play golf. 11:30, 12:00', clock, 1:00', clock, I'll play golf. It's 110 degrees. I don't play in the cold. You just like to cold.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I can never get warm.

[Interviewer]

I'm the same. I moved here from Wisconsin thinking like I was this tough kid and now it's 65. I'm in a sweatshirt and gloves, hand warmers in my shoes.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And here's what I won't do. I won't play golf if it's 62 or under.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

My rule is, oh, it's gonna be 59, but sunny. I'm like, well good luck, I'll play some other time Because I'm not going out there. I don't care if the sun is shining. I got a 62 degree rule.

[Interviewer]

So do you set a lot of rules for yourself?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah, I do some stuff that I'll kind of. I'll. I'll set down that I do. You know, I like, you know, the golf thing is, you know, my wife hates the fact that I go out and play if it's 103 degrees. She goes, you know, you can die out. You could die out there. And I've had, I've had the heat stroke before when I didn't hydrate myself well enough. I start seeing things like mirages on the golf course. And I've had. Guys have said to, you know, they said, just sit in the car. I said, no, you got to take me where there's air conditioning. I need to be in a car. I said, I will die in this cart. You just going out there and just leaving me in the car thinking I'm going to be all right, I'm going to die. And so I've come off a golf course where I've gone, all I do is sit in the car in the air condition. Then I'm back to. Back to being fine. But she hates the fact that I will go play golf. If there's a golf date with the guys and it's 104 that day, she goes, you know, you can play tomorrow. It's only going to be 96. No, I'm playing today. Told you guys I'm playing. And I don't bow out of golf outings. I just, you know, if, if I've got a sore back, I'll do everything I have to. If my knees bother me, if my elbows bother me. I had carpal tunnel. I was right back, you know, the guy said, well, he said, this is up to you. It's all heels. You're not going to screw up anything in your hand. That's up to you. But you got stitches right there. So if you go and play, you tear up those stitches. Only thing you're going to do is tear up those stitches and that it's not going to heal the right way. I said, okay, I'll wait till the day you take them out. He took them out. I was out there the next day with a stick. You know, I just, I just don't miss my golf days. I don't do it.

[Interviewer]

But it sounds like, even more than that, like, you keep your word. If you give somebody your word, I'm going to be there. Sure, you keep your word.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, yeah, I'm going to do that. I'm going to do the best as I can. Yeah, I will. I will. I will keep my word on something. And that's part of the coaching deal, too. I have. I've had to. Like I said, if I tell a parent that I'm going to do this for their kid, I'm going to do everything in my powers to do that. And if I, you know, if these kids out and I do the golf tournament for. If I. If I tell the head guy, I'm going to. Here's what I'm working to do, is get you a nice golf cart to take people around, which that's what I'm going to do this year. You know, I've gotten pretty, as you said, smooth. I'm pretty good. I've got the people that. That are out here at tractors and apply.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That have been fabulous over the last couple years. I've met a guy and, you know, he saved us thousands of dollars. I'm gonna get. They've got these golf carts that hold like six or seven people.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So when they come out to this school, I want to get that form nice. When this golf tournament's done, get them a brand new golf cart. So if people come out to see what the school is like out in driftwood, they're in a comfortable, brand new golf cart. So I'm excited about do that. And I've had people in my corner that. That have believed that I could get things done too. So that's a part of it. Well, you know, Holly knows I've been to her. I've been. When they had the boat play, I was there every year for the golf tournament. I just had to have. I had to have. Whether it's life jackets, I had to have anything that they could give to me to make this thing go. And so we've made this thing work for 24 years. Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna try to bag out. You're not gonna be 25.

[Interviewer]

You're not bagging out.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I'm gonna bag out. I'm gonna say, guys, I'm gonna say that when they go out this year, I'm gonna say, you know what? Next year may be our last year. And then I'm gonna get the. During the whole thing is. So what are you doing next year? You leaving town or something? You're gonna die or anything? I'm like, no, I just. They're like, you know, as my wife said, what do you think you're gonna do? For six months. Hang around with me. Like, she goes, I don't want you around me for six months. So I gotta, I gotta find a way to. And I like to do some. I like to. I like to travel. I like to. My wife likes to travel. I like to do some stuff with her. Because I've never really traveled. I know I've not been out of this. I've been out of this. I've been to Mexico, but I've never gone anywhere. Yeah, I like to do that sometime in my life. I've been. I've been in enough places in this country that have been pretty cool. But I like to go somewhere else. I would say, like, I like to go see what they're bitching and moaning about. And these other places. Oh, we got it. Terrible. I like to go see. How terrible do you really have. I like to go to Spain.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I like to go to Italy. I like to go to someplace like that.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And see what that, what, that. What those kind of countries are like.

[Interviewer]

What was it like watching Ricky win the Heisman, go to the NFL, and then just get the heat that he received on the backside of his NFL journey?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Well, he was always going to be different. I mean, he wasn't going to conform to what they wanted him to be. And that was going to be tough for him. That was, that was going to be. It wasn't going to be tough on them. Yeah, he was going to, in his way. I, I thought I said, you're going to lose a lot of things, but you're still going to do it your way. You're going to go live in a tent, you know, you're going to go to Australia and live in some damn tent, you know, and not care what people think. But there's a lot of things to be lost in that way. But he did stuff the way he wanted to. I think the NFL, I think they were pretty gracious on. On some of the stuff they did. Like now, he could get away with a lot of those things. Yeah, but he. Back then, you just, it's like nil. You, you know, you could get away with a lot of things now, but he couldn't get away with them at that time. And he was a gracious about that. He never, he never fought it. He never complained about it. When they said, you can't play in the NFL. Okay, bye.

[Co-Host]

He didn't care.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He didn't care. He just did things his way. I. His attitude was pretty good. People. People always thought, man, you could have been. This just Sort of like, I'm thinking about coaching. You could have done this if you'd have done this that way. But he just was not gonna, it wasn't conformed. That's just the way Ricky is. That's the way he was born. That way wasn't going to change that way. He's still that way today. You know, now as a businessman, he's had to conform to some things.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, because now he has kids and now he's not only has kids, he's a grandfather. So he's had to mature a little bit. And he has mature. He's matured a lot. Yeah, he's mature a lot. I mean, he's better with time wise stuff when, if he says he's going to do something, he'll generally show up. I used to hold my breath when I first got in radio. Oh, I'm going to come on your show tomorrow. I'd be like, you know, Ricky, the Show starts at 6:00'. Clock. You said you're going to come on at 7 o'. Clock. Then you know, the time is different from where you are. It's two hours different. I'll be there. And I used to go, oh my God. And I remember we'd be waiting for Ricky through a break and through a next break and, and we would always be like, we're on Ricky time again.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But you know, over the last couple years, it's, if he says he's going to show up on the YouTube show, bang, he's right there. You know, he's first up, he's ready to go. So it's taken him a while to get to a point. You know, people mature differently.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, as long as they can, as long as they can get to that point before their time is up, that that's what counts. If you can get there, doesn't matter if you get it done at 50, you get it done at 60 or you get it done at 18, as long as you get it done.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What was cool about Ricky is I've had some, some time with Ricky and I've got to learn a lot from him.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh yeah.

[Interviewer]

And one of the things he said to me was, he's like, I never wanted to be in the NFL. My only dream was to win a Heisman Trophy. And he's like, once I did that, I kind of looked around and said like, okay, now what? You know, and everybody else's dream for me was to run in the NFL and play and play and play. He's like, but I had already accomplished everything I set out to.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That dude would still be playing after our games. When I lived at Circle C, games on Saturday, on Sundays, he would be at my house in the streets playing football with the kids. Like, knocking the kids into cars. Like, oh, I just got hit by Ricky Williams. Yeah, you just got punished by him because he didn't let up on you. He hit you like you were a grown man.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And those kids would come out, they'd be limping, they'd have slings on, they'd have bruises all over the place. And he felt just as good about running them over and running past them on a Sunday. And he would come back where he would dive for a ball in the streets and screw up his hands or his fingers. He'd come back and the trainers over at university would be like, wait a minute, you didn't do that in a game. The game was Saturday. I never saw that bruise on your hand. Where'd you get that? Oh, I was playing football on Sunday with the kids. Oh, really? In the street, Diving in the street. And he never let those kids down. He would show up on Sundays, no matter after treatment, if he was banged up, he would be playing with them. And he treated them like they were adults. I mean, he hit those kids so hard. He would hit AJ and his friends so hard and knock them into parked cars. I was like, man, you're going to kill a kid out here.

[Interviewer]

But he was playing.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But he was playing. And they were playing too, and they loved it.

[Co-Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He was. He. He told my competitors. Yeah, I'm like, you're gonna slow down. Are you gonna let that. No, I'm not gonna let that kid score. I let that kid score. Touchdown. He's a little kid. Let him score on Ricky Williams. Oh, no, not on me. He's not gonna score. He would yank them back at the five yard line, yank them off their feet onto the ground. It was amazing. And people would be out there watching those, watching their own kids get hit and say, you need to toughen up. I'm like, so I hope he doesn't hurt your son or your daughter, because the girls would be playing too.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, yeah.

[Interviewer]

And he would run them over.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, he wouldn't give. Nobody got a chance. He wanted to win. He always wanted to win. Yeah, yeah, he's like that. He just. He likes to win. He doesn't, you know, And. And, you know, I put a little basketball court, and they would come over to my house, and you could lower the rim from 10ft, which he didn't need to lower because he had guys like Breeze Holmes could dunk in a regular.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And they would come over and they would be so competitive. They would put holes in the nets because they would fall, jump through the net. They were knocking slats out of the fence next door. They would bury themselves into the fence. I'm like, guys, I can't afford you guys breaking the fence down here.

[Interviewer]

That's actually how I got to get pretty close to him at one point in my life was he doesn't like to lose. And I was at an event with him where he was playing ping pong. He's actually a pretty good ping pong player.

[Bucky Godbolt]

He is.

[Interviewer]

He's a very good ping pong player. And I was the only one in the room that actually could compete with him. And I beat him once. Hey, we're playing again, we're playing again, we're playing again. And so I just got to keep playing with him. And through that playing, I got to ask him a lot of questions. But, like, the thing I recognized was he didn't. He maybe made the mistake. Now, he won't say that. And I, He. I wouldn't label it as that, but that's my story is he made the mistake of setting the target as the goal, not the destination as goal. So he's like, I want to win the Heisman, and then I'm done for you. What targets have you set in your life and what are you still. Still trying to pursue?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Well, for me, I always. I've always picked out three things and I've, you know, goal wise and goal setting. You know, obviously you have to have a time limit on your goals or you have to reevaluate and change your goals. Your goals have to change. If you don't. If you get to a certain time in your life and it hasn't changed, then you better reset your goals again. But I've always set my goals with three things. Three things. I never said five different things I want to do. Three was enough. It was hard enough to try to keep three things. And I. And I set that for players and myself, but I never wanted to. I wanted. I never wanted to. I never set a goal of being the best. Now, along the way, if I became one of the better, you know, one of the better assistant coaches in my life, I never set out to be a head coach. That was never one of my goals. When I got into coaching, one of my goals was just to help young guys to become, eventually become really good adults. You know, what are they going to do in their communities when their time is done, whether they're playing football at my university, the NFL, what kind of people they were going to grow up to be? That was one of my goals of coaching. I mean, whether you're a scout leader. No, it doesn't matter. What can you do to help somebody else out? That's. That's a part. To me, that was a part of my. That was my main goal, is what am I going to do to help somebody else become a better person and hopefully much better than I am. You know what I mean?

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So that was one of the things I would set. Like I said, I never set out to be the best at anything. But my. My timeline on certain things was, you know, because people always ask me, say, well, didn't you ever want to become a coordinator or a head coach? I said, well, I got an opportunity to go when I was at. When I. I got a job at 26 years old at Boston College as the ninth coach, and that was pretty early. So I coached there. I went to Illinois, and at Illinois, I got. I was only there for a couple years. So about five years in my coaching career, I got a. A call from George Seifer, who was with the San Francisco 49ers, and wanted to know if I would interview to be his running back coach for the San Francisco 49ers. I'm like, damn, I just got in college. How am I gonna. I was so horrified. I was not ready. I went to interview with Coach Seifer, and he had told me that. That he knew a couple guys that when I was at Boston, and that's how I got the Illinois job. Somebody had talked to John Makovich about, you know, this guy who's been at Boston College for three years, he's ready to coach in the Big 10. And John McAvick called me up, and I actually cussed at him because I said, it's not John McAvick. I didn't quite say that, but I said, there's no. You know what way that. This is John McAvick. He coached for the Kansas City Chiefs. Well, he had not been with the Chiefs. He had taken the Illinois job. And I said, well, how did you get my name, Coach? He said, somebody recommended. Somebody who knew you just recommended you to me. And I took that job. But then two years into that, when George Seifer called from the San Francisco 49ers, I was no more ready to be coaching in the NFL. But I went and interviewed, and the interview was okay, but. And Coach Seifer said, so do you think you can handle this? And at that time, I just told him, I said, I don't know, Coach. And he knew that guy was a genius. He knew the minute I said, I don't know, coach, that I wasn't ready to take that job.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That's all I had to say to him. If I would have said, yes, coach, I'm ready to do this, I think I would have got the job. But there was just that little hesitancy in me of saying, I don't know.

[Interviewer]

Coach, because you didn't want to let him down. You wanted to.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Well, I didn't want to let him down. The guy was brilliant. Yeah, he was. He was smart. And we're talking about the San Francisco. That's when they were winning Super Bowls.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And I didn't want to let. I didn't want to let him down because people that were playing for him were great, great players. And I don't want to let those guys down. Some young coach coming in here screwing up and having to be taught how to coach.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

All over again. So. But yeah, goal setting is goal setting. I don't have a. I haven't set a lot of goals, you know, in my, this, this time of my life. One of my deals is to survive as long as I can be around for my grandkids, make sure that I'm trying to be as good a husband as I can be, you know, not the best.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because as I said, I never tried to push to be the best.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I want to be as good as I can be. And that, that means a lot. That means a lot. If you can be the best you can be.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That means that takes a lot of work, that takes a lot of discipline to do that.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And you're going to make some mistakes along the way. And I think the best thing for me, as I said, adversity, you know, I mean, I've had adversity all along the way. I was. I grew up in an all black neighborhood in Greensboro, North Carolina. My father went to an all black school, my mother went to Tennessee State, my father went to North Carolina, moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where I was the first black graduate in my high school. I was the first in my elementary school, the first in my high school. My brother was the second, my sister was the third. And so I had to get along with people of all types. I was black Catholic, going to school, went to Boston College. Never even in my mind knew the Boston College until I got on the campus was a Jesuit college. So I'm like, wow, I didn't do this on purpose.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, but it, it didn't help. It helped me get into, into the college, got a scholarship, but, you know, SAT wasn't that great. So it did help me to get in. So I had kind of a Catholic education, but like I said, never, Never wanted to be the best. Never wanted to be the best wide receiver. But I worked at it. I worked. I, I, I'm not saying I worked enough to survive, but I did survive.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But, and, and still today, I don't do a lot of goal settings when it comes to YouTube and radio. I just thought radio was just a great way to continue to communicate.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And be a Coach and, and YouTube is the same way.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

To have a tab, a show on and been able to, to be in the communications business now. I guess if I count my coaching, I mean, you're, I mean, I'm coming up on, you know, 40 years of being in the communications business and, and radio just one way to continue to communicate.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, I, I mean, I got outside of the sports realm and got into country music with a guy named Bob Cole. A Hall of fame. A Hall of fame radio guy. I mean, I was in there talking civics and politics, stuff that I didn't know I had to learn. And yeah, I learned the hard way because he taught me some hard lessons about that, but he also taught me about people. And from this day on, since I got into radio with him for two and a half years, the people that he, that I met through him, I still know and are still really, really close. And he forced me to do things that I did not like to do. You know, like when we go to meetings or we'd go to events. That guy had to be the last one to leave. That was not me. If I went there, I. To events, how quick can I get out? I mean, I would smooch people and then say, okay, I disappear. He's gone. Oh, no, he's been gone.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So he would come and pick me up at my house. He wouldn't let me drive to events, so, so I didn't have a way home.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so he said, well, we're going to be, we don't be here long. And we'd be there, the event would be over. We'd an hour and a half later, he'd still be talking to people, and I'd be like, man, I want to get out of here. So I learned how to hang out and talk to people. And I learned a lot from him. And that still holds today, thank goodness, because I would still be the first out the door if it wasn't for him.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I just. Socially, I'm good, but there comes a time where it's. I'm ready to get out.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But he taught me, you got to be patient. It'll work in the long run for you. These people remember that extra 15 minutes you stayed with. And he's right about that. People love the fact that you will spend that extra time with them.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

They just. They just do. Like I said, they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. And that's really, really important to people.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so he is. He taught me a lot about that. You know, I've had good partners in radio. I've got a good young guy right now who's. Who's very, very talented. But he's. He's patient with the old guy. He likes to hear the old stories.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so he can put up with him. And he's a young guy, just turned 30.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So he's got. He's got a long way to go.

[Interviewer]

Long way to go. You got a lot to teach him.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Yeah. And he's. And he's. And he's been getting that since we've known each other for, like, the last five or six years. So it's been. It's. It's fun. It's. That whole thing is just a. Is a journey, you know, being able to be around people like Tony Dorsett, Ricky Williams, Doug Flutie. You know, watching my kids grow up in athletics and being around some really good coaches.

[Interviewer]

Have you ever been starstruck?

[Bucky Godbolt]

No, no. No, I've never. I. I'm not the one. The only starstruck person I've. And I never got a chance to interview him or see him was Gail Sayers. I thought Gail Sayers was the greatest football player ever to play the game. And people always talk about Jim Brown as being the greatest running back and the greatest. I always thought Gail Sears was the best. I never got a chance to interview him. And I always said I would be tongue tied. There's. I just. I. I couldn't do it.

[Interviewer]

That was the idol that was.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That was. That was my guy. And I never got a chance to do it. And he passed away, so I never got a chance. I never got starstruck. You know, I. You know, Ricky has been around all kinds of people, so. All kinds of people have been around Tim Yeah. But I don't even have a Ricky Williams jersey.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's crazy. I don't even own a jersey. I only have a signed autograph. Football of Ricky. That's all I have. And he. And then he signed a football that. Somebody gave me that when he had his other name, Rio Don, when he signed, like, four balls. I have one of his Rio Don balls. That's all I have. I don't have any Ricky Williams stuff. I've got none of that stuff. I don't have any Doug Flutie stuff. I don't. You know, I've.

[Interviewer]

I just doesn't do anything for you.

[Bucky Godbolt]

No. I mean, their names on a jersey. I mean, I got to see him and, you know, I like. For. For me, I don't go to. I don't go to UT games. I don't go to the games.

[Interviewer]

You don't go to the games?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I don't go. The last time I was in the stadium is when Ricky broke the record. Wow. About 30. 30. Almost 30 years ago.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I don't go into the state because it doesn't feel the same for me to sit in the stands.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Than to stand on the sideline. Well.

[Interviewer]

And they'd even let you stand on the sideline, maybe.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Who knows? But remember, I'm on radio now. I've had to talk about some of the not so good things that you see.

[Interviewer]

Well, in Texas, football is nasty for a couple years. Oh, yeah, we had some bad years.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And you had to say that. You had to tell the truth.

[Interviewer]

You had to tell the truth.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so I don't know how. How that would work out. But now it just. I don't. I don't go to games because I wouldn't have that same feeling. But then again, I don't. I was never one to go to games. Like, professional games.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You know, I grew up, you know, grew up in Pennsylvania. I never went to Phillies games. Going to school in Boston. I've been to a Red Sox game, a Celtics game, maybe one, a Bruins game. But people that wanted to go to those games, I was like, no, it's not the same feel.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

If you weren't playing, you didn't want to go.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Or if I wasn't coaching. Yeah, I didn't want to. I didn't want to be in the stands because people want to talk to you about coaching. They want to talk to you about. What do you think should happen here. I'm like, that's not my team. That's the boss down there.

[Co-Host]

Yeah, I Can't.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I can'. Tell them what to do.

[Interviewer]

But what did the kids teach you along the way? You got to work with these young men, see them evolve from kids to. To men. And you taught them a ton, obviously. But what did they teach you?

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think more than anything that, that, you know, when you grow up, you. The mistakes that you made, the things that you did as a kid, I think you then get into adulthood and don't look back at that. I look at. I look at what they taught me because I see them making them. Some of the mistakes that they make that they don't think are. Are so bad.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That I said, really can hurt your. They can screw up your future.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So they've taught me that. Dude, be careful still. Keep, you know, keep your head on a swivel. Don't ever let your guard down. Know your surroundings. You know, be careful what you say. Be careful what you say to people. And because I watch them do that as. As I've taught them. Hey, don't say that. No, you don't say that. You know, I, as I told them, you know, these guys with their. With their loose tongues, especially in locker rooms, that locker room talk and some of the ways they talked about women, I said, do not do that. I have sisters. I have four sisters now. I now have daughters. Don't. Don't talk about women that way. Don't do that. Don't. We're not going to do that in my meetings. We're not going to refer to women as certain things. They're women, they're females. They have names. You call them. Don't call them anything like that. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it in my meeting. I don't want you guys talking about. Talking that way about women. And, And I got really, the respect from them, that they were very good at that because that locker room scene can be different. Guys get around guys. They talk a different way.

[Co-Host]

Yep.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And that's fine. If you want to talk that way around your guy friends, that's. That's fine. But if you're in a setting with me and I've got sisters, don't talk like that. Because I got. Not only got sister, now I have daughters.

[Co-Host]

Yeah, that.

[Interviewer]

Now granddaughters.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Now granddaughters. I said, you can't. I won't do that. I never put up with that. And so I learned. I watched them make certain little things that they didn't think were big mistakes. How they presented themselves, how they talk, how they express themselves. I mean, you know, there was one player at University of Texas named Jared Coleman. He was from Fort Worth. And I remember recruiting him. He wasn't the greatest of running backs. He wasn't a great fullback, but he would have fit the purpose that I needed him for. And he got to Texas, and when he got to my meetings in the summertime, he would. People were telling me, this is the laziest son of a gun. I'm like, I'm watching film. He doesn't like lazy kid. To me, they would say, well, you know, he wouldn't make it to class. He wouldn't do this, he wouldn't do that. So he came to a couple of my meetings when he first got on campus, and he would doze off. I mean, he would doze off. And I would be in the meeting of trying to explain to him as a young player, this is what we're doing. These are the new plays. And he'd fall asleep, and so. And all of a sudden, he'd be, like, knocked out. And I. And I said to him after the meeting, I let him just sleep. And I said, after me, I said, jared, have you ever been tested for narcolepsy? And he was like, what? I said, you've never been tested for that, have you? And he goes, no. And they test him at the University of Texas, only to find out he had narcolepsy.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And so all the people that thought he was this lazy bum in high school, he had this disease that had just happened to him. I mean, it could be anywhere. He would just be out. He could be watching you. Next thing you know, he's knocked out. And so these guys just. I said, guys, this is what he has. This is not something that he's trying to do. He's not, like, turning me off. He goes, coach, we used to think he was trying to turn. I said, no.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I said, he got tested. This is what he has. And he's always had this.

[Co-Host]

Wow.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And I said, so all those times you hear him snoring in the meetings where I tell him to go sit in the back over there, he did. He wasn't doing it on purpose.

[Interviewer]

Doing on purpose.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, so you learn a lot about. You learn a lot from them. And, I mean, I got to learn. I learned a lot from some young guys, but hopefully they got some stuff for me. And patience was the deal, because they all came from different backgrounds, different families. You know, not everybody was the same. But as you had players like Ricky Williams and Priest Holmes, you had to treat them the same. Although Priest Holmes always thought that, are you ever going to treat this guy when you're not going to treat him like a baby? I said, he's pretty good. And he goes, yeah, he's good, but are you going to ever treat him? But he's not. I said, probably not. He's always going to be a baby. And he always was, he was always the baby. But they all loved and they, they knew him. Ricky became Ricky.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And everybody knew how he was.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But you know, there were those times where when it came to meetings, you know, when we leave to go on an away trip, he would be the last on the bus. He knew the bus was leaving at like 12:30 or 1:00', clock, five minutes before the bus left. I was sitting there in a cold sweat, sitting in the bus and the coaches are looking at me and here he comes around the corner five minutes before. I'm like, you don't have to do this to me. He goes, well, what time does the bus leave? He leaves at 3:00'. Clock. He says, It's 2:55. I'm like, but you don't have to do this. Can't you get ready at 2:30 and be here like the first on the bus? He goes, no, I'm going to be there before the bus leaves. I'm not let you down yet. He goes, no. I said, no, you're not let me down yet. But something could happen in between that walk.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Where you could be talking to somebody and forget.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And get. He goes, you think they're going to leave me? I'm like, probably not. Probably not going to leave you. Probably wait another five. Yeah. He probably knew. Oh, but he had. We had to teach him. I mean, I had to get up in the mornings at 6 o' clock when he first came to Texas and run him the stadium stairs. He ran those stadium stairs at 6:00am I said, well, Ricky, time's over with. Get going. I'll meet you there. I'll be there at 6am sharp. He was there. He would run up the stadium stairs and then he had to go to class. And I'd say, this is before nil. I said, so you want to go to breakfast at Trudy's? Let's go to breakfast at Trudy's. I'll treat you. Which probably could have got it back in the day. You're not allowed to buy. I said, I could just send that. Before you go off to class, let me get you something. And before I go off to work, I'll Just, we'll just run up the Trudy's. Hell, you weren't even supposed to put them in your car.

[Interviewer]

Wow, those are.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, that's how strict the rules were at that time. You know, if it wasn't his car, he wasn't supposed to be. I mean, I met a kid at the airport that didn't have a ride back to campus. And he said, I'm gonna call a cab. And I said, no, dude, get in the back seat of my car. So this is the dumbest rule ever.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I said, I'll let you off at a certain part of the campus. Nobody's gonna see you. Yeah, nobody's gonna, Nobody's gonna get me in trouble for that. I said, that's so dumb. But Ricky was, he was special. And I, and they were like, you just treat him just like he's a baby. I said, he is a baby. He's a big baby. As this guy had raised by all females, there was no guy in his life slapping him upside the head every once in a while telling him, no, you can't do it this way.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Everybody was always, yes, Ricky. Oh, come on, Ricky, you can do that. They'd laugh at him and let him go and. But he's changed. He's a, he's a, he's a real grown up. He's. He's a businessman now.

[Co-Host]

It's awesome.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Business. Business. Grandfather slash dad.

[Co-Host]

Yeah, dad.

[Interviewer]

It's crazy, man.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That is crazy.

[Interviewer]

So when does Texas win the national championship?

[Bucky Godbolt]

Oh, probably in two more years.

[Interviewer]

26.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I think so. 26, 27. I just think for me, I think it'll be a. I think it'll be a down year. I do. I just don't think you can keep this momentum.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Back to back years, you go to the semifinals, you had a brand new quarterback.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You lose some great linemen, great wide receivers, great wide. Every year you've hit it in the portal on these great wide receivers.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

So if the one that's, that's. I think a kid's coming from Stanford who's played for him, is he a first or a second round pick? If he's not, if he's a fourth round pick, you're going to lose out. You know, you lose a pretty good tight end that really played well for you. I just don't think you can keep that kind of momentum up and especially even on the defensive line side. You know, they lost all those great players two years ago, then the following year they're even better than they were then.

[Interviewer]

It was crazy.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I can't imagine them being better this year than they were last year or even the year before. So I think they take a step back. But that's what good coaching can do.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

That's what good nil money can do.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Good recruiting and good recruiting, and you're in a state that's just got such great recruiting.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And I said, if there's a great running back in the state of Texas, you should always take a visit to University of Texas.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And it doesn't matter how good the running backs are at Texas, the best one in this state should always be on your campus. And I don't think you're doing a great job as a recruiter if that. If that kid doesn't come to your campus and he's a great running back in this state and you can't even get him to come on your campus.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

You're not doing a good job.

[Co-Host]

No. No.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Not doing. There's too many great ones in this state that go elsewhere.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

And the first place they should come and visit your place, they can tell you no later.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But they should come on. At least get a chance to come on your campus. But this football program is going right in the right direction because there's stability there. There's everybody's. Everybody's, you know, one heartbeat. They're doing. Everybody's doing the same. Nobody's getting any Treated any different. Now that nil money is probably a.

[Co-Host]

Little bit different, a little bit better.

[Bucky Godbolt]

It's a little. It's a little bit better here. You have the means.

[Co-Host]

Yeah.

[Bucky Godbolt]

But that's not always. As I said, I don't think that's always, always the point at Texas. I just think there's so much legacy of uncles or grandfathers or somebody that's gone to the University of Texas that for kids, if a kid has an opportunity to go here and has had an uncle that went here or a grandfather that went here, you're gonna have a better chance. You should have it more than a better chance to get that kid to come. And it shouldn't be about the money.

[Co-Host]

Right. Right.

[Bucky Godbolt]

No, it shouldn't be about the money.

[Co-Host]

Shouldn't be about the money.

[Bucky Godbolt]

No, it never should be about the money.

[Interviewer]

Well, you gotta go rent Ricky car.

[Co-Host]

I better let you go.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I gotta go rent him a car.

[Interviewer]

Gotta go rent Ricky a car.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Because I'm still doing stuff for Ricky.

[Interviewer]

Treat him like a baby.

[Bucky Godbolt]

Still treating him like a baby's home. Saw me. Goes, you're still treat. Goes, you're 70 years old, you're still treating that guy, who's almost 50 now, like he's a kid. I'm. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for the opportunity, man.

[Interviewer]

Really appreciate it. Yeah, it's a pleasure.

[Bucky Godbolt]

I appreciate being on with you.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, it's a pleasure.