Retired NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes has had an interesting football journey.

The former five-star prospect from Shelby, North Carolina committed to Florida out of high school and was a part of the loaded 2006 recruiting class that featured himself as well as college football legends Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin.

After a decorated college career which included two All-American selections and two national championships, Spikes was drafted late in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, where he spent five of his seven seasons in the league.

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The dream for every young man growing up playing football is to ultimately hear their name called by the commissioner of the NFL on draft day, but Spikes claims he had to make some personal (and financial) sacrifices before going pro.

As a guest on the popular "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast, the former Patriots linebacker revealed he wasn't exactly hurting for money while in college.

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"To be honest, I took a f—ing pay cut when I left 'Gainesvegas,'" Spikes said when asked about how much money he made while playing for the Gators.

Mind you, this was pre-NIL, so anything Spikes earned was all under the table at the time.

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While his response elicited a laugh from both Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, who were high-level college players in their own right, Spikes was mostly being tongue-in-cheek with his answer.

He did, however, reveal the numbers were a lot closer when factoring in Uncle Sam, referring to Massachusetts as "Taxachusetts" due to the high income taxes he incurred while playing for New England.

"You played in Foxborough," Spikes asked. "That check looks a little bit different when you walk up out of there."

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When asked by Compton whether he cleared seven-figures while wearing orange and blue, Spikes denied it, playing it coy before adding that the university found a way to move his mom down to Florida while he was playing for the Gators.

"Those same home-cooked meals I got my whole life, I got those right there in Gainesville," he joked.

If you are one of the few fans still believing kids weren't getting paid before the advent of NIL, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but players like Spikes were living large long before it was "legal" to do so.

Let's all give Spikes a hand for being so charitable to take a cut in pay to play for the Patriots.

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What a class act!

Texas has permanently banned a fan from attending Longhorns home football games after he was seen flipping off several Florida Gators players in Austin on Saturday.

The Longhorns suffered their second consecutive loss in Week 7, with the Gators pulling off a 27-24 upset. Shortly after the final whistle, a fan wearing Texas gear was caught on video flipping off Florida players as they left the field.

The fan was holding up his own phone behind his middle finger and documenting the scene himself while being filmed by FOX 7 video photographer Anthony Geronimo, who shared the video on X. Several Florida players walked after the fan, but any sort of altercation was avoided.

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With the original video of the scene picking up over 3.5 million views, it made its way to the Texas athletic department, which has made it clear that it will not tolerate such behavior by banning the individual from future games at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

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"I want to address the video circulating on social media showing unacceptable behavior by an individual who had the privilege of field access following Saturday’s game," Chris Del Conte, Vice President and Athletic Director, wrote in a statement published on the university's website. "We pride ourselves on sportsmanship and treating our opponents with respect. This individual’s actions did not reflect those values or meet our standards and will not be tolerated.

"The matter has been addressed internally, and I want to personally apologize to the University of Florida and its entire football program. Having access to our field comes with a responsibility to represent Texas with class and respect. This individual failed to uphold that responsibility and has been permanently banned from Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium."

Fans flipping off players is not a rarity in the college football world, but a fan with field access walking over to opposing players and doing so is.

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Texas welcomes No. 7 Ole Miss to town on Saturday in what is likely a must-win game for the Longhorns if they want to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Texas will enter Saturday night's contest at 4-2 on the year, while the Rebels sit at 5-1.

Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about what makes a great college football coach.

The 62-year-old College Football Hall of Fame inductee won three national championships during his nearly two-decade career, two of which came while he was roaming the sidelines at the University of Florida.

His ties to Gainesville made him a trusted voice in the Gators' latest coaching search, and coaching searches have been frequent occurrences since he exited stage left in December 2010.

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With Meyer's help, Florida selected Jon Sumrall, whose first year is off to a roaring start thanks to two top-10 wins (Ole Miss and Texas) before he's even had a chance to coach a full season.

Seven games into his tenure, Meyer has been blown away by Sumrall, and joined Dan Dakich on his show, "Don't @ Me," to discuss how he had a small part in helping usher the new Gator to The Swamp this past fall.

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"I don't like him, I love the guy," Meyer said with the same smile a proud older sibling would wear when talking about his younger brother's accomplishments.

"I never met him until this year, I was involved in the coaching search. They asked me to kind of vet, and one phone call, I hung up the phone and I called a guy on the board of trustees and I said, 'you found your guy, man.'"

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As I mentioned before, Meyer knows what a good coach looks like.

Outside of his accomplishments, Meyer's "coaching tree" looks as impressive as anyone's not named "Saban."

Just a few of Urban's notable assistant coaches over the years include Ryan Day, Dan Mullen, Brian Hartline, Charlie Strong, Steve Addazio, Luke Fickell, and Mike Vrabel, among others.

So, when Urban Meyer hops on the phone and says "you found your guy," chances are he's onto something.

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"This guy doesn't b—h... you ever hear him bitch about the NIL? You ever hear him b—h about the transfer portal," Meyer asked rhetorically. "No, he loves the game. He loves his players."

Meyer also lauds Sumrall for how tough he is on his players while still showing them love.

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"I love when he says, 'yeah, we suck, we just suck less today and we beat Texas.' I mean how cool is that?"

A big part of why Meyer has been so drawn to the 43-year-old Gators coach is the fact that he sees a lot of his younger self in Sumrall, too.

He brings up their Bloody Tuesday practices and mentions that the second in command is Rusty Whitt, Florida's head strength coach.

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"The number two in charge is their strength coach, just like us," Meyer recalls. "I believe he's a Green Beret who runs the strength program, and he's the culture."

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It's early, and a lot of things can still change, but Sumrall is doing his best to make Meyer look like a genius since the moment he hung up that phone 11 months ago.