The Sam Acho Podcast

Sam Acho: Welcome back to the Sam
Acho podcast featuring Cliff Marshall.

And for our second, maybe third
episode, cliff, we have a special guest.

So I'd like you to do the
introduction for our guest.

Clif Marshall: Well, thank you Sam.

You know this podcast is
all about talking faith,

finance, and football.

However, today we're not talking football,
we're talking basketball, we're talking

hoops, and I am so thankful that we have
a great friend of mine on the show today.

Cody Zeller.

Uh, Cody and I met when I was the
strength and conditioning coach for the

Indiana Hoosiers Men's basketball team.

And again, we've been friends ever since.

Cody was in 2011, Mr.

Basketball in the state of Indiana.

Right.

And he was also a McDonald's All
American that year and he was the

most, her, one of the most heralded
recruits to ever commit to the

Indiana Hoosiers basketball program.

He went on to have a stellar career
there, became an All American and was

the fourth overall draft pick to the
Charlotte Hornets in the NBA draft.

And actually, if you're watching the show,
it's pretty cool 'cause you can see Cody.

Right over my shoulder here, a, a signed
photo that he gave me a couple years back.

And on the other shoulder you can see
Sam Acho, uh, in his Chicago Bears

Days, um, as an NFL football player.

So Cody, thank you so
much for being here today.

Cody Zeller: I appreciate it.

Thank you guys for having me on.

I, I have, uh, so much respect
for you, uh, for you Cliff, and,

and I'm fine talking football.

It's a football podcast.

I.

I remember watching Sam play,
uh, growing up and stuff.

So, uh, anyway, yeah, we can talk.

I grew up watching Peyton Manning
and Marvin Harrison, big Colts fan

and man, I love, I love watching
college football, college game day.

My Saturdays watching college football
so we can talk basketball, I guess.

But I enjoy being on the football podcast.

Sam Acho: real quick, real quick.

So because I don't know too many
seven footers that that love football.

Love talking football, what is it
about football, Cody, that you love?

Cody Zeller: Yeah, I think I got
too, too tall to play football.

Uh, so I think that's why I, you know, got
pushed a little more towards basketball.

But man, I just love, I love for
one, I love the atmospheres too.

Like, to be able to go to a
game in person is so much fun.

Um, so yeah, just, and then just
the, just sports in general.

Just the competition brings
out the best in people.

Uh, there's drama both ways.

There's uh, there's so
many storylines, so.

Uh, yeah, I obviously, my, my Indiana
Hoosiers had a great year this year.

Normally we haven't had a whole
lot to cheer for when it comes

to college football, so I kind
of cheer for a little bit.

Everyone, my brother went to Notre
Dame, so I used to go visit him on,

uh, football weekends and go to Notre
Dame football games when he was there.

But, uh, yeah, anyway, my
Hooters had a good year.

Clif Marshall: Cody, you brought up
your brother and actually, um, you

know, you had two brothers and both
played in the NBA, which is pretty cool.

I mean, your mom and dad have to be, you
know, very proud of the fact that they

had three sons play high major basketball
and then OB obviously make it to the NBA.

Um, but it's pretty unique because
Sam also had a brother that played

college football and made it to the NFL.

So, um.

Can you talk a little bit about just
your upbringing and how competitive

that was to have two other brothers in
the house that were so highly talented?

Cody Zeller: I'm the youngest.

Yeah, so I, I just know I got
my butt kicked a lot growing

up, you know, with, uh, whether
it's basketball or uh, anything.

We made everything in competition,
pizza, eating contests.

We made everything into competition,
board games, everything else.

So, uh, I think more than anything
I just learned like competitiveness.

And then also I think on the court
I learned a little bit of, you

know, I could never score in size.

I'm.

You know, my Tyler is three years older.

Luke is six years older, so there
was no chance I had to score inside.

So I had to be able to hand the
ball a little bit, uh, be able to

develop a little bit of a shot.

So, uh, so yeah.

And then I, I think even just, you know,
they were great mentors for me growing up.

You know, whether it's, you know,
making my college decision or, you

know, making the jump from college
into the NBA, whatever it was.

Um, I was kind of able to
watch them go through it first.

Uh.

And I watched and, and also just
to be able to pick up the phone

and call either one of 'em, whether
it's, uh, you know, trying to make

my, like I said, make my college
decision or even now into life stuff.

Uh, you know, married, godly men
so I can kind of lean on them.

Uh, you know, so anyway, I'm very
blessed to have, uh, two older brothers

that, uh, that are really look up to.

Clif Marshall: Well, I think, you
know, thinking of you and your

brothers, obviously you had one
go to North Carolina play for.

You know, the, the Tar Heels, you
had another go to Notre Dame play

for the Fighting Irish, and then
obviously you went to Indiana.

Uh, my question is, like, during that
recruiting process, was there ever a

thought of you guys all going to the
same school or you following in, in, in

your brother's footsteps, so to speak?

Or, and ultimately, how did you
land upon the Indiana Hoosiers?

Cody Zeller: Yeah.

You know, we, we each had a lot different
recruiting, um, uh, journey just because

of how the landscape looked when we
were being recruited, because when

Luke was being recruited, my oldest
brother, um, you know, Indiana was

going through a little bit of change.

Um, and then when Tyler was there,
it was the Calvin Sampson day.

So they were under, uh,
probation and the whole deal.

Uh, so.

I don't know if, if both of
'em would've gone to Indiana

if things had been different.

Uh, but, and they both had
great experiences at Notre

Dame and at North Carolina.

And even for me, I, I narrowed it down.

My final three was Indiana
Butler in North Carolina.

And I would've, like I said, we're
three years apart, Tyler and I,

so we would've had the chance
to play together for one year.

Um, but I didn't even know, like they
had, they had my brother, they had

John Henson, who was an NBA player.

They had.

Um, the We Twins, uh, who were
highly ranked and then they had

James Michael McAdoo, who was, uh,
ranked higher than me in my class.

So they were kind of like, we're kind
of set on big guys, you know, like

they'll, you know, they offered me
a scholarship and the whole deal,

but they didn't really have a lot of
playing time for me, you know, early on.

Um, and so, and then Butler was,
uh, Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward.

They'd just been in two national
championships, and that's in

Indianapolis a couple hours away.

So, uh, I think the kicker for
not to go to Butler was they were

still in the Horizon league and I
wanted to play on a bigger stage.

So, um, anyway, so it ended up that
we each had our own journeys, Notre

Dame, North Carolina, Indiana.

But, uh, I was, I was so glad to.

You know, kind of stay at home only an
hour from home, and, uh, grew up watching

the Hoosiers and be able to play at home.

Was the dream come true?

Sam Acho: Cody, you talked about
the relationship with your brothers

in basketball and you dipped
into this piece of, man, I've

leaned on them for life advice.

What life advice specifically have you
leaned on your brothers for most recently,

Cody Zeller: Yeah, I think, uh.

Sam Acho: I.

Cody Zeller: I think just having like
a, like a, a best friend that I can

call at any time, whether it's, uh,
celebrating the highs and lows of life.

You know, it's just having, having someone
that you can lean on, uh, you know,

whether it's, whether it is needing advice
or just to be able to call and celebrate

the, the little things in life, you
know, the, the highs and lows of the day.

So, um, you know, Luke and I
probably talk maybe every other day.

Tyler and I maybe talk once a week.

Um, but even just, uh.

Like I said, just having a, a close
friend, even though we don't see

each other in person, uh, just
'cause we're all so spread out now.

Um, but just to be able to have, have
someone like that to be able to call

is, is, uh, is pretty comforting.

Clif Marshall: Cody, a
question that I have.

Part of this podcast is
about our guests showing.

Or sharing some adversity that
they went through throughout their

playing career or even their life.

And, um, you know, obviously,
you know, playing 10 years in

the NBA and then obviously in
college and through high school.

Uh, do you care to share what was
probably one of the most painful moments

that you went through as an athlete?

And when I talk about
pain, I'm talking about.

That has been used for your purpose,
um, and maybe how you could share

that with our, with our listeners
today and what you learned from that.

Cody Zeller: Uh, I'll give,
I'll give a couple ends.

I got a lot of, I feel like we,
you learn from your mistakes.

You learn from your, uh, your failures.

Uh, I think a lot of, we can get
into a whole nother debate on young

people these days are, aren't, aren't
taught to fail, aren't taught to lose.

You know, there's a lot of lessons
you can learn from, like you said,

the adversity that comes in life.

Uh.

But I think each one makes it stronger.

I've had, uh, 10 surgeries in 11 years.

Uh, so two on my left knee, one on
my right knee, both my shoulders,

I got plates and screws in both
my hands and three on my nose,

three nose surgeries on my nose.

Um, so I think obviously that's
like adversity each time the

basketball is taken away.

And, you know, especially when,
um, you know, the stress, this,

it's not just the physical side,
but the mental side of like.

How is this gonna affect my career?

You know, I'm, uh, am I gonna be able
to return to the level I was at before?

Um, you know, so I tried to, you
know, unfortunately I got good at

like, that mentality part of it, of
like, okay, attack the rehab hard, you

know, try to pour into my teammates
as much as I could from the bench.

Uh, stuff like that.

So I think, I think on the court, that's,
that's been one piece of adversity that,

that's, that I've learned a lot from.

I think.

Um.

I think an even bigger one for me,
for, for life in general, was really my

first, I got drafted uh, when I was 20.

I stayed two years in Indiana and
then I got drafted to Charlotte and

I was a 20-year-old kid and moved to
Charlotte where I didn't know anyone.

And those first couple years
were, were hard for me 'cause

it was, uh, on the court and off
the court because on the court.

Like you're playing against
grown men every night in the NBA.

It was a big jump going from college
to the NBA and I was playing,

but it was just, you know, I'd
play a few minutes here or there.

Um, I was in the rotation, but I was
getting my butt kicked every night.

And, uh, you know, just to match us.

It was, I was just looking,
I was thinking back.

We had, I had a, I had a, um,
five day stretch where I guarded,

uh, Chris Bosch, um, Dirk Ky.

Uh, Tim Duncan back at home.

Dave, uh, David West,

Uh, who was, you know, a big, so, so that
was back, that was four games and five

nights, and that was like my rookie year.

And that's so much different
than playing some nobody

non-conference game in Indiana.

Like there was a handful
of games that you.

Be able to get up for, you know,
like the big, the big matchup

Purdue or Kentucky or whoever else
that you'd be able to get up for.

And then you'd have plenty of gains that
you show up just to win by 30, you know?

So I think that was a big lesson
for me, but also off the court.

It was really my first
time moving away from home.

'cause that was, like I said, I, I
went to school an hour from home, so

my parents were at every game and,
uh, I could get home if I needed to.

I had community there.

Uh, but, but really when I.

I went to Charlotte.

I didn't have any community, so
I wanted to surround myself with,

um, community and godly men.

And, um, and then fortunately,
God provided that and I, I prayed

for God to provide, you know,
mentors for me and community.

And, and it took a, it took
a little while, like it does

to network and build a community, but it
happened And, uh, to look back now, that

was a huge, uh, growing part in my life.

It was uncomfortable.

Because I didn't know anyone.

Things weren't going well on
the court or off the court.

But I look back now and, uh, I
think that turned me, you know,

kind of become a, become a man
through that process just because,

um, of the lessons that I learned.

Sam Acho: I heard a.

Uh, 10 surgeries in 11 years.

Cody Zeller: Yeah.

Sam Acho: I heard about a five
game stretch where you're guarding

legends like people who are

Hall of Famers.

Um, but I also heard about the adjustment,
the adjustment from college to the pros.

Remember when I played, I had a,
you know, I had two surgeries and I

thought they were devastating, right?

Broken leg out for the season, and
then a torn pet out for the season.

And then being on my own, like how
did you get through those hard times?

Cody Zeller: I think that, uh, I
think, like I was saying, I had, uh.

You know, I wanted to surround
myself right when I first got to

Charlotte with, with community,
with godly men, with, with people.

'cause I knew that, uh, adversity was
gonna come, whether it was playing

time or surgeries, whatever it was.

And I needed someone to lean on.

And that's not just, not just
people, but that's also my faith.

You know, that's where my faith
comes in as well, that, um, I hope

my life isn't just basketball.

And as much as we love the game,
basketball, football, it's,

it's, uh, hopefully not who
we are as a person, you know?

And so I think each time I had a
surgery or the game was taken away

from me, um, I think it kind of helped
me reset and be like, is this really.

What my life is built around
basketball is eventually there's

gonna be another injury or, you know,

retirement's gonna come along and, uh,
how does my life look without basketball?

So it kind of gave me a chance to reset.

And I had, I had one, uh, I enjoyed
telling the story, but my first, um, I got

drafted and my first week in Charlotte,
I had a, an old coach to reach out to me

and he said, you should meet this guy.

In Charlotte.

Um, I think you guys have a lot
in common, and so, but I, I had

everyone who was like, Hey, you should
meet my second cousin down there.

I'm like, that's just what I want
is like another awkward lunch.

And so, and so, so I didn't do it.

My first week I was
picking out an apartment.

I was busy, you know, getting settled in.

And so then he texted me back and he
said, Hey, have you two met up yet?

It was a group text between the
two of us, and so I was like, Hey,

you know, I, I finally texted him,
Hey, we should meet up for lunch.

Um, you know, coach Mo speaks
highly of you, and so he said, I'll

pick you up at your apartment two
o'clock, bring your ping pong paddle.

And I was like, oh boy.

Who is this guy?

And about ping pong paddle.

And so he picks me up and he is, uh,
he's become one of my closest friends.

At the time he was about 70 and,
uh, and his name is Bobby Jones.

He is a hall of famer for the 76 ERs.

He played with Dr.

J.

Um, and an unbelievable Christian man.

You would never know from meeting him
that he's this legendary NBA player.

Um, but he would have me over about once
a once a week for a Homecooked meal.

His wife is the sweetest southern lady.

Uh, I got to know his family.

That's where I would spend a lot
of times my family, I'd be away

from my family on the holidays,
so I'd go over to his house, uh,

and really felt like I
became a part of the family.

Uh.

And even, uh, I got married a year and

a half ago and I'm putting together my
list of grumen and closest friends, and I

was like, I gotta have Bobby in the list.

So, so I said, I asked Bobby to
be in my wedding and I had, I

said, I got two questions for her.

I said, one, will you be in my wedding?

And, uh.

For two.

When was the last time
that you were in a wedding?

That's what, and it had been, you know,

55 years or something since
you had been at a wedding.

So, but my, my point of telling that
story is that, man, I, I just prayed

that God would surround me with godly
men and community and, and he was

exactly that the first week I was there.

From an old coach that, um, you know,
I talked to occasionally, um, you

know, provided Bobby and his family
for me, and, uh, yeah, it was great.

It was, it was incredible.

Clif Marshall: Cody, I wanted to go back
to the Indiana Hoosiers just for a moment.

And then obviously even
into your MBA career.

I want to know how you handled pressure
because, you know, being in coaching

the last few years, I feel like
there's added pressure now, um, in

college athletics, uh, specifically
because of the NIL and also I.

think social media's presence.

Has changed, uh, sports as well because
there's so much noise out there.

Um, right or wrong, players are,
are reading some of the stuff that's

out there on social media, some of
the comments that fans may make.

So I want to kind of know how you
handled that, both as a college

player and also as an NBA player.

Cody Zeller: Yeah, it's, man, we
could have a whole podcast just

about that question, that topic.

'cause uh, man, it is, it's changed
a lot since I was in school.

The NIL stuff, uh, I think it's good
that the players are getting paid.

Um, but, you know, let's, like when
you, you're, you're a pro, when you

get paid and you're held to a higher
level and the expectations are higher.

So that comes with the territory.

Like those, those guys gotta embrace.

If you're getting a paycheck, you
gotta live up to it, you know?

And that's a whole nother weight to it.

Um, apart from playing Indiana, that the.

Expectations are high and it's, you
know, the expectations are to be one

of the top senior in the country.

Um, and I think social
media has gotten worse.

You know, social media was around when
I was in school, but I think it's gotten

worse, um, just because it's everywhere.

It's, it's, uh, you
can't get away from it.

Um.

And that would be my advice is to get
away from it, you know, as much as

you can, you know, quiet the noise.

And um, you know, there's times in my
career and in my life where I can do

that, but it's easier said than done,
you know, to get away from it because.

Um, and it, and I think there is a
healthy, you know, keeping an arms

distance because I think there is a
healthy amount where you can let the

fans in on your life and make it fun.

But when it comes to your basketball
performance, your sports performance,

you just have to, for one, I.

How do you deal with the pressure?

For one, it's the preparation,
it's the time with Clif

Marshall in the weight room.

It's the time with the coaches,
it's getting extra shots.

When the time comes in the court, when
the lights are shining, you're then,

you're leaning on your, your training.

Um, so I think that, uh, I think that
prepares you to step up in a big moment.

Uh, is the preparation that you put
in beforehand when the doors, doors

are closed and the lights are off.

Um.

But then, you know, once the
game's over and this settles down,

there's always gonna be haters.

There's always gonna be comments on
social media, but really the only

opinion that matters is your teammates,
your coaches, your family, the people.

I think the other thing, you
gotta have some people, like some

truth tellers in your family.

Not just in, not just in sports,
but in life too, that it's like.

You know, a lot of these guys get too
many people around 'em that are just

telling 'em how great they are and you
know, they've never made a mistake and

they're perfect and um, but they get
too much of that and then they can't.

You hear the real, the real meat of it.

You know, like, 'cause a lot of these
college kids got, myself included,

have a lot of room for growth and
they, they need to be challenged.

And, you know, a big reason why
I had a successful career, I

was fortunate 'cause I had great

coaches that were hard on me, you know?

And in high school, my high school
coach held me to high standard college.

College coach was hard on me.

And then my first five years.

Man, I got cussed out
every day, every day.

Even if it wasn't a game day,
I was getting cussed out.

I was getting cussed out at the scores
table before I even went into the game.

I was getting cussed out.

But it was good for, that's
exactly what I needed.

I had a lot of room for growth.

I had, you know, I had to get better.

So my point in saying that is that
I look back at that, those guys

were hard on me, but I needed that.

I think kids now are like, you know,
they just want the, the easy stuff.

They just want the.

The gentle, soft messages, they
just want to be patted on the back.

But, um, there's, there's a time
and place for both of those.

Clif Marshall: Well, to build
on that, you know, I think that

the two things that I've seen.

With the athletes that I've worked with
over the last decade probably is, you,

know, the, the social media can really
affect confidence and mental health.

And I, I, I, it's crazy because
after games sometimes I would walk

in the locker room, well, within
the first five minutes I could see

guys already on their phone, right?

And they're looking at what social
media is saying about their performance,

whether it was a great performance.

Or a bad performance.

And um, you know, I really
felt like that affected some

athletes that I've worked with.

uh, this year I actually did a social
media fast, you know, a lot of people fast

from food and this, uh, that or the other.

And this year I, I said I'm gonna do a
social media fast in January and February.

And so I'm the coach
at Indiana Basketball.

Right.

and I challenged our
players, you know, to.

Do this social media fast with me, and
I think we ended up having four players

that accepted that challenge with me.

Unfortunately, all four of them
were walk-ons, so it was like,

it didn't, it didn't serve
its purpose, So to speak.

But I think one of the things that
I talk about a lot with the athletes

that I work with, and I know you
guys have both heard it as well,

it's playing for the audience of one.

and Cody, you mentioned it, you know, you
gotta play for your, teammates, for your

family, and for those closest to you.

But I think playing for the
audience of one, which is God,

uh, really helps that mindset.

You know, I'd have a a, a player
every year that I was at Indiana

that would come to me and ask
me for prayer before the game.

And, uh, this year that
player was Trey Galloway.

And when he asked me to pray for
him, that's always what I would

mention in our pregame prayer that we
would play for the audience of one.

And, uh, Sam, I know you've, you've
played at the highest level as well.

Is uh, maybe you can chime in a little
bit on how you handled that pressure.

'cause Texas football and Indiana
basketball, there is a high level of

pressure at both of those schools.

Sam Acho: Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, shoot.

I'll go first.

Yeah.

I mean, Cody, we came out the same,
right, right around the same time.

Right?

Like 20 11, 20 10, 20 11.

And I remember even being in college
at a place like Texas, right?

Like a blue blood program, a place
like Texas or Indiana basketball.

I mean, you walk on campus and
it's like boom, all eyes on you.

And mind you, I'm about 6 2, 6 3.

I ain't seven feet tall.

So it's like, it's just, I remember,
I remember being a freshman at Texas.

Get, uh, going in early in summer.

I dunno if y'all, y'all did
Cody, did y'all do summer?

Like, like when you graduate, just boom.

So boom.

So same thing, right?

You grad, I graduated like May
25th and by May 30th I'm on campus.

I'm in the program like
we're getting after it.

And no one else was on
campus in the summer.

It was just the football players.

So we just did our thing.

We grinded for about,
I dunno, three months.

Then the season was gonna start.

So all the students came back.

And just this idea of the pressure.

I remember our quarterback at the time
was a player by the name of Colt McCoy,

and Colt and I have become friends, right?

Colt was a follower of Jesus.

Colt was a good dude.

We just stayed close.

And I remember being on campus and
mind you, summer, there's no one there.

All of a sudden, 50,000 people boom.

And I'm walking to class and I see
Colt and I just say, Hey, Colt.

Hey, what's up Colt?

Just thinking, I'm seeing my friend,
the entire place turned and I

was like, McCoy, like they're so.

Much pressure.

Cody Zeller: Yeah.

Sam Acho: And so for me it was this
reminder of, okay, God, if I do

this for the applause of people,
like how am I gonna succeed?

You talk about Tim Duncan, Dirk
Nowitzki, David West, like I was

just trying to, trying to, uh,
guard Jamal Charles in practice.

Like I was just trying to like
figure, I was like, how do I do this?

And so it was just this idea of,
okay, what are the little steps

I can take to try and get better?

And then understanding that, okay,
even if it's just one step at a

time or one practice at a time I was
getting Will must jump was our coach.

He was banging, begging, uh uh, uh, uh,
clipboards and cussing this out every day.

But it was this deal of, okay,
God, how do I do this for you?

How do I make, how do I
make sure that when I play.

Yes, I've prepared and I've given
it my all, but I want people to

glorify God through my plate.

And so that was my experience, especially
collegially Cody, how was it for you?

Cody Zeller: Yeah, similar.

My, uh, my mom used to joke that she
could, uh, like I talked to her at the end

of the day and she could get on Twitter.

And she could see how my day went.

She could be like, Hey, I'm
sitting behind Cody at his 8:00 AM

class and I'm standing behind
Cody at Subway at lunch.

And she'd be like, what'd
you get at Best Buy?

I was, you know, walking around Best
Buy, killing time, you know, so she

could, she could follow my day just by
getting on Twitter and searching my name.

So, uh, to your point, like everywhere
you went, you know, it probably

kept me out of trouble and not that
I'd be in trouble much anyway, but.

But I think it was like, there's pros
and cons to it, but I think, and then

you talk about playing for an audience
of one, I think, um, my college coach

used to challenge me of, uh, Luke 1248
says Too much is given much to require.

And he would use that as
like a motivational as in

like, I'm seven feet tall.

I was blessed with athletic ability.

If I don't squeeze every ounce
of my potential out of it,

I'm doing a disservice to the
Lord that's giving me this.

So.

Um, so, and I, and I use that
now even with, you know, um,

you know, my time, my resources,
whatever else that you can give.

Uh, but even on, even before I took
the court, I was always, uh, I wouldn't

necessarily pray for a, you know, a
double, double or a, a win or a loss.

It was, I would always just pray that
God would gimme the energy to, that

somebody out there would notice me as
something more than a basketball player.

Just the way that I carry
myself, the way that I.

Treated the rest the way that I dove on
the floor with the way that I, uh, you

know, cheered around with my teammates.

Um, just as somebody, whether it
was on social media, watching on TV

or in the crowd would notice me as
something more than just a basketball

player, as a man of faith that
there's something different about me.

And it's, it's that I'm filled
with the Holy Spirit and,

uh, I'm, I played joyfully.

You know, I, I hope I live joyfully and,
um, and that's all because of the Lord.

Sam Acho: Cody, I wanna go back to

the injuries

I could not imagine.

That many injuries that often yet
you still come back and, and play.

What was going through your mind after,
I don't know, the second or the third

time your nose broke or the second, I
mean, like what, what was going through

your mind when it's like another knee?

Like what, what were you feeling?

What were you experiencing
during those times?

Cody Zeller: Yeah, the, uh, I've talked
with a couple other NFL guys, they

call it the T train, uh, tour it all.

I know a thing too about the T train

Clif Marshall: Right.

Cody Zeller: later on in my career,
but no, I think it's just, uh, you

know, we also had like, it was just
a new challenge each time and I, you

know, had an injury and I was fortunate
not to have any big, big, like.

Uh, knock on wood.

No.

ACL or, um, you know, uh, uh, ruptured,
uh, achilles tendon or any of those.

So a lot of like broken bones, you know,
like plates and screws in my hands, uh,

my nose, like I was, I was back in, you
know, 10 days after the one broken nose.

Like I just wear the mask.

And, um, you know, of the
10 surgeries, people ask me

like, which one was the worst?

Honestly, I had, uh, you
know, the 10 surgeries.

I think the worst was a broken rib.

I got, uh, it was on a two-on-one break
and I was the one defender her back.

And, uh, they left it back for Joel
MB and he went up to, to lay it in

and he kneed me right in the rib.

And so I had this cracked rib and there's
nothing you can do about a cracked rib.

So I missed, I missed one game for it.

And they, they put like a little, it
was like a quarterback flack jacket

almost on me, uh, just so I could
play through it, which I don't know

if that's legal to play with that in
a, but I was like, we're gonna ask

for forgiveness, not permission, but.

Um, but each one was like, you know, it
was just the next challenge that came

on, you know, it was like, you know, I, I
wanted to be out there for my teammates.

I wanted to play.

So whether that meant, you know, taking
a few weeks off to recover, um, you

know, or, you know, going, hitting my
recovery hard, uh, I just wanted to

get back out there for my teammates.

So, um, yeah, I learned too about
playing through some adversity,

playing through some pain, but.

Even now, I'm like, man, I can
get through anything in life now.

You know?

Like this is, this is easy now, you know?

So anyway,

Clif Marshall: So I got a real
question, maybe even a debate.

Uh, Cody, you played a decade in the
NBA Sam, you played nearly a decade in

the NFL, which sport or hard on the body
when it comes to injuries, I'm saying

Cody Zeller: football for sure.

Clif Marshall: Well,

Sam Acho: I was gonna say football too,
but you're interviewing a guy who has 10

Clif Marshall: that's right.

Sam Acho: You know what I, mean?

Like I, we have this argument though.

We, we have this argument about
like, who are better athletes?

Like Cody, people ask
who's a better athlete?

Football, basketball, I dunno
if they wanna throw in baseball

or golf, but what do you say?

Who, who are the best
athletes in, in sports?

Cody Zeller: Uh, you know,
football, football is like, is more

specific to like your position.

So like, you guys are good at,
at one thing, your offensive

lineman, you block, you know, or.

Uh, you know, quarterback is more
like, you gotta read the game more,

but the other guys are more specific.

But in the NBAI think that's the one
thing campaign I would have for the NBA

is that you gotta be able to do it all.

You gotta be able to, you gotta be able to

shoot, you gotta be able to move your
feet, you gotta be able to defend.

Um, but as far as like, man, you're like,

the athletic ability, the size
of, of NFL guys, it's like, And

you don't, you can have a, you can
have a Kevin Durant that's has no.

No bulk, no muscle.

Now I think you do have
to have some height.

You, if you're, if you're
five 10, there's not much room

for you in the NBA, you know,

so, so something that You You just
have to be, you know, a little

God-given ability, God-given, uh, size.

But I.

Uh, I enjoy having the same debate of
we, we also have, I have a couple buddies

that have, that have played in the NFL
as well, and, uh, enjoy the debate of

which one would be easier to transition.

Like would there be NBA players
that, would be able to play

in the NFL or vice versa.

Um, so anyway, I don't know what you

Sam Acho: I think it's, I think
it's, I think it's easier for NFL

guys to go play basketball, right?

Y'all shoot a little bit.

Y'all run around, but
imagine the bulk, right?

The, the, the physical beating
and now I'm kind of going on

my sub boxing football, right?

Your physical beating.

Every single day in practice, and then all
of a sudden like, boom, you're a receiver,

you're running across the middle,
boom, you're getting hit by safety.

I would argue it'd be easier
to make the transition.

Now, skill watch, to your point,

basketball, there's so much, there's
so much technical skill involved,

I would argue for basketball, but I
think just there has to be a mentality

for that physicality of football.

But what, what, what do, what
do you, what do you think?

Cody Zeller: I, I'm, I'm with you.

I think, uh, if it's a specific
player, like a, like an Anthony Edwards

that already has the bulk or like a.

Um, I don't know who Westbrook like
in his prime with his explosiveness.

Like someone like him might be able
to make a transition, but it's still

gonna take him some minutes to learn
the technique and all that, and you'd

have to find a position for him.

The skill in the NBA is very specific.

If you haven't been doing it your whole.

Your whole life, your whole career.

Uh, that's a little different.

But I, one of the other guys said,
uh, the difference in the NFL is

whether you can be hit like at the
end of the day, can you be hit?

Because that's a different mentality
because it's not just the physical side

of football, but being hit on every play.

That's, those guys are wired different.

You're

Sam Acho: Yeah.

No, but it, but to your point,
I, for me, it was a joy.

Like it was a, and it sounds weird, I
know maybe I'm wired different, but I.

I have a 10-year-old and he plays
football and basketball and you

know, baseball, things like that.

And I asked him, Hey,
what's your favorite sport?

And he said it was football.

And I said, why?

He said, he said, because I get a chance
to hit people and like not get in trouble.

You know what I mean?

Like, and it's like, that was kind of
my mentality when I played football

is this idea of the physicality.

But one thing I've wanted to know, Cody,
is, okay, I understand the physicality

of football, but the culture, right?

Like the, what was the culture like?

82 games.

Like, like what?

What is the culture in
in, in the locker room?

Cody Zeller: Yeah, I mean, obviously
a a lot smaller, uh, locker room

than the NFL, so you get closer
to your teammates, but, um.

You know, I'm sure you played
with different teams as well.

I was a part of some good cultures,
I was part of some bad cultures

and a lot of times it only takes
one guy to mess up the whole bunch.

Uh, and, um, but, but even just
like some cool relationships I was

build, be able to build on the, on
the plane and in the locker room.

And that's the really fun part of
playing, like, of course playing

in the games is fun and winning
on the road and like playing in

the playoffs, that's all fun, but.

Also like being in the locker
room, being with your guys and,

uh, doing all that is a lot of fun.

It's, I will say in, in college, those
guys are still my closest friend.

Those are the guys that were in my
wedding and still my closest friends.

And in the NBA, it's a little
more, little more like coworkers.

Like you're just like, my first year
there was, you know, I'm 20 and there's

a guy that's, you know, 39 on our team.

So like the, the range of like different,
just different points of their lives.

Fam, some guys, you know,
family, men, some guys.

Going out each night
on the road, you know?

Um, but, uh, and it is just in general,
sports in general, the locker room.

Like we'd have the one year we had
like, we had like six different

languages in our locker room.

Like different guys from
different countries.

Uh, different guys grew up
in different backgrounds.

Uh, some guys grew up rough,
some guys grew up wealthy.

It's just like, but, but you all
come together and you, for one common

goal just to play sports.

You wanna

win.

You wanna win the game, you
want the season to go well.

So I think that's the beautiful thing
about sports, just brings people

together through different backgrounds.

Clif Marshall: Cody, I
wanted to talk quickly.

Uh, last time I saw you, we were
in Seattle, Washington, uh, the

Indiana Hoosiers were there to
play the Washington Huskies.

You were there.

However, on a different occasion.

Your, uh, bride, your wife was
out there doing a concert and

you guys were actually on tour.

So I think first and foremost, can you
talk a little bit about your marriage,

um, and kind of how you guys got to
the point where you're at now, and

then also about your, your wife's, uh,
career as a Christian music artist.

Cody Zeller: Yeah, we met, um, we met
in 20 18, 20 19, and I was there to

see a friend that was playing a show.

Uh, he's a musician, and
we just were talking and I

said, I wasn't dating anyone.

He said, you should meet the
girl who's opening for me.

And, uh, so I met Leanna is her name,

and we kind of went our separate ways.

She was, I, I joke that she
was dating someone else at the

time, so I had to get in line.

uh, but then during Covid, uh,
things were kind of shut down.

She wasn't playing as many shows and,
uh, there was a, a church in Charlotte

that hired her to come in for a week.

Um, so we kind of reconnected when
she came to Charlotte and we started

dating long distance and we got
married, um, a year and a half ago.

And like I said, she is a
singer and a songwriter.

Um, and she signed a label and
she tours, uh, she just last week

she had the number one song on the
Christian charts, uh, still waters.

Uh, Psalm 23 is the name of the Psalm.

So.

Uh, she's really hit her stride,
especially this most recent album.

And, um, I'm, I'm calling from Nashville.

We got a place in Nashville,
uh, maybe six months ago.

And, um, we're kind of settling in here
to Nashville, but for her music career,

this is a spot to be for, you know,
writing and touring and doing all that.

So, um, so yeah, it's, uh, it's
fun to kind of follow her on some

of her, uh, some of her shows.

Like you said, we were out in Washington.

Uh, she played a few shows.

So, uh, I, I don't quite fit on the bunk,
on the, uh, bus, on the bus as well, so

I'm not, I'm not hitting every stop, but
I do enjoy going out to see her and, uh,

you know, supporting her in that way.

So she's, she's on a busy time right now.

She's, she's been gone for about a week,
and then she'll be home for, uh, 48

hours and then back out for another week.

So it kind of comes in, comes
in ways, but, uh, but yeah,

marriage has been incredible.

A year and a half.

Uh, being married and it's just
fun to, you know, spend every day

with my best friend and wake up
together and, um, do all that.

So it's, uh, yeah, she's, she's special.

I'm lucky.

I was lucky to find her.

Sam Acho: It's so good.

You're talking about the stop,
so I want to like take a quick

stop 'cause you said okay.

Yeah.

I met in 20 18, 20 19 then
Covid, then we got married.

Look, I gotta, what, what hap
tell, give us the juice man.

Give like, like how did you propose,
like what was it like, I tell you, I knew

you had a wait in line, but like Okay.

Like how'd you, how'd you
get to the front of the line?

Like how did you and Leanna get connected?

Cody Zeller: That's a good,
I man, we could talk all day.

I didn't know how, how in depth
we could, we still got a lot

to talk about football and

Sam Acho: talk family.

we gonna get, we gonna get
the football in Indiana.

I wanna hear, you know, what you
think about Indiana's future.

But man, like we, like, we
care a lot about family on this

podcast.

Like the whole, that's the whole
point of us putting together

faith, family, finances.

Yes.

Football slash basketball slash sports.

But man, like you lit up when
you started talking about it.

Let's take a pit stop.

Let's hear a little bit more.

Cody Zeller: Yeah, so we, uh, so like
I said, we met that first kind of

reconnected that first week that she was
in Charlotte, and it went really well.

It was like, you know, I saw her the
first day and then I was like, yeah,

I might go back out the second day.

And then I was there the whole week.

But I was kind of, I was a little bit
like, man, I don't know if this is gonna

work because she's in Nashville, I'm
in Charlotte in the back of my mind.

And the day before she left,
she said, because of Covid.

Um, there was a church just
outside of Charlotte that had

hired her as kind of a consultant.

Um, they, I think they had bought
a new sound system, but their, uh,

worship team needed a little help.

And so they had hired Leanna as like a
consultant, and she said, I'm gonna be

flying in, uh, twice a month, uh, for
the next, you know, five or six months.

And so that kind of gave us a chance
to, like, she was flying in, she'd

fly in, like, you know, she'd have
Sunday Church, so she'd fly in like.

You know, Sunday night, and then she'd fly
the next week, she'd fly in Friday night,

and then she'd fly on Thursday night.

Her stays got a little longer, you
know, as we, as we continued to talk.

But, uh, that kind of gave us a
chance to get to know each other.

And then, you know, I was in
Charlotte, she was in, uh, Nashville

and I was in Portland, and we kind
of did the long distance thing.

And then, uh, we got married and, uh, the.

Uh, we, I haven't, I haven't played
with anyone this year, but, uh, being

in New Orleans last year was fun
because we got married and then was

able to go to New Orleans and, uh,
live together for the first time.

And it's a new city for us to explore.

But, uh, but yeah, as far as her, it
was just, uh, you know, like I, we

got married when I was 29, uh, 30.

Um, so I mean, I spent a
lot of my years of like.

Man, who does God have for me?

And I, I had dated on and off, but I
was like, man, who does God have for me?

And I continued to kind of work on
myself and I wanted to, you know, when

the right girl came along, I wanted
to make sure that I had my stuff in

line and I was, um, but man, when.

When, uh, I just continued to
pray for her, whoever it was, my

continued to pray for my wife and,
uh, for anyone who hasn't found

their wife, hasn't found that person.

That was the best advice that I got,
was just to continue to pray for my

wife, even before I even met her.

And, uh, when she came into my life, I,
I knew quickly that it, she was, she was

the one, uh, I get a little slack still
that, you know, we dated for like two and

a half years and I think, I think I was.

I think I was like spooked into, 'cause
especially in our, like in the NBA culture

of like, you see so many divorces and
like the whole deal and it's a lot of

marriages that aren't healthy, you know?

And, um, people tell me marriage is
hard and, and yeah, it takes work.

But I think that, I think that, I
think I knew quickly, but I think

it took me two and a half years to
propose and, you know, move it along.

And it's like I said, I hear about
that every once in a while from my

wife because she was, she was ready
and I was ready, but I was like.

Man.

She's, she's, she's too perfect.

I know this is the one, but man,
everyone's telling me that marriage is

hard and everyone's telling me that.

So I think that's, that's my next
piece of advice to, to anyone

listening is man to go for it.

It's, it's wonderful when it's, marriage
is so one wonderful and so fun and, uh,

when it's, it's how God designed it.

It's, uh, for man and woman to be together
and, uh, lean on each other in tough

times and celebrate the good times.

And.

Um, during our marriage counseling, the,
the guy who married us said, uh, said,

I'll, I'll give my, we, we had gone
through the whole marriage prep, the

marriage counseling leading up to the,
to the wedding, and he said, I'll give,

I'll give the blessing on this marriage.

You guys will have a happy long marriage.

He said, my last question is, are you
guys, will the kingdom of the Lord be

impacted more with you guys individually?

Or you guys as a couple.

And if the answer is it should,
the kingdom will be, um, grown

and impacted bigger with you two
being married, then I absolutely

give my blessing on this marriage.

And it's, and that was
a good challenge for us.

And I think, I think we absolutely
checked that box now 'cause um, you

know, she continues to energize me.

And, you know, even for, like, like I
said, she's on tour for the past week and

hopefully she comes home for 48 hours and.

I can energize her just for, you
know, what, whatever it is, whether

I can cook her home, cook meal.

I'm not very good at cooking.

I can't promise it's gonna be good,
but even if I can give her something

to, to kind of give her refreshed and
get her back on her feet so she can go

out and sing her songs and impact the
Lord through her, through her music.

'cause, uh, that checks the box.

So anyway, it's, uh, I can
talk all day about my wife.

Uh, and uh, like I said, when it's,
when it's done right, when, uh.

Um, when it's focused on the Lord.

And, um, I hope our marriage is
that it's a, it's a wonderful thing.

Sam Acho: I got one more
quick one about your wife.

A forklift has another one.

What's the best thing about Leanna?

Cody Zeller: The best thing about her?

Well, I think, I think her joy.

I think she's so joyful.

Whatever she does, she's,
uh, we laugh a lot together.

We have a lot of, uh, and she puts
a smile on my face, uh, each day.

But even just in her,
in her career, I think.

People, if you guys met her the
first time you guys met her, she just

lights up a room with just her joy.

She's got a lot of energy.

She's got, um, you know, so whether
it's in her career, whether it's first

time meeting her, whether it's the
stranger at Starbucks, uh, you know,

she's always got a smile on her face.

And hopefully she, uh, you know,
she, she has this very joyful.

Clif Marshall: Cody, That's great stuff.

Every, uh, podcast I do with Sam, I try
to leave our audience with a cliff note.

And today's cliff note is this, I, I have

Cody Zeller: good there.

Clif Marshall: I have learned
this, that a successful marriage

doesn't take two people.

It takes three people, the husband, the
wife, and God at the center of it all.

And That's what I respect so
much about you and the way

you're leading your marriage.

And Sam, the same with you both.

You guys are.

Pro athletes, right?

You have a huge platform.

There's a lot of temptation,
a lot of things that can pull

you in different directions.

But you guys have committed to your
marriage, committed to your wife,

and, um, obviously that, uh, takes a
lot of courage and a lot of strength.

And the, the fact that you guys
have done it both in the NFL and

now, obviously Cody and the NB, a
much respect to both of you guys.

And, um, man, I hope this message
today about marriage will bless.

Uh, some of our audience,

Cody Zeller: That's awesome.

I think, uh, you guys might have
heard this analogy before, but

uh, that it's, it's a triangle.

God is at the top of the triangle
and then I'm at one corner and my

wife Leanna, is at the other corner.

And as we get closer to God.

As me individually, as I worship
and as I read my word and as I

get closer to God and as Leanna
gets closer to God individually.

'cause it's an individual
relationship that we should each

have with the Lord, uh, we, we
get closer to each other as well.

So as we pursue God, we're, we're
getting closer to each other

in our marriage and our growth.

And I think that's, I think
that's really true if.

If we're busy and we're on the road and
we're individually, if I'm, you know, you

know, get away from the word and I'm not
in church and I'm not doing this, it's,

you feel more distance from your wife.

So I think that's, that was the analogy
that I saw was that it's a triangle

and like you said, it's three, it's,
it is three and involved in it.

And hopefully,

like I said, we, we try to pray.

We, we pray each night together, but
a lot of times we pray for that our

marriage is centered on Christ first.

And.

Um, that everything else
takes care of itself.

Sam Acho: That's, that's so good.

Yeah.

We talk, you know, cliff, cliff has
this cliff notes, which I love, we

love, um, but also talk about, man,
how do you win without losing at all.

And what I've heard is when it comes
to marriage, when it comes to family,

when it comes to faith, finances,
football, basketball, uh, it's

sounds like, it's like, okay, how
do I keep my eyes fixed on Christ?

That's what I've heard.

But I want to ask you,
Cody, NBA marriage, Mr.

Indiana basketball, 11
years, 10 surgeries.

How do you win without losing at all?

Cody Zeller: That's a good question.

I'm, I'm unpacking that one.

How do you win without losing it all?

Um.

I think that it's, uh, like you said, I've
been so blessed with a long career and

a wonderful wife and, uh, life is good.

And, um, but I think just finding
the little things in life too.

Um, you know, not to, you know,
continue to talk all about my, my wife

and, uh, talk about her, her songs.

But she has a, uh, she has one, you guys
will have to look up her, her music, but,

um, she has one that she talks about.

Uh, she was inspired by
like these fireflies.

And these lightning bugs, and it's
all about, um, how can you not,

like, how can you not see God?

And she talks about seeing a,
a, a field full of, of lightning

bugs and these fireflies light up.

Uh, and it's just like this little
thing that we might walk right past

or that might go through your everyday
thing, but to see those lightning bugs

and there's, who knows what they're
for, but for some reason, like the,

the littlest thing or the little
lightning bug that just looks cool.

That how big is our God that he cares
about these little light up bugs?

And, you know, regardless of what's going
on in our life, good or good or bad,

just to know that we have a, a faith, we
have a big God and he hears our prayers.

And, um, so yeah, I think just the little
things in life that, uh, really matter

kind of, kind of gives you a little
reset that it's like regardless of what's

going on in life, life is, life is pretty
good when you got the Lord on your side.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Great word, Cody.

My last question for you today is this.

Where is Cody Zeller 10 years from now?

Cody Zeller: Oh, good question.

Good question.

Sam Acho: On a bigger tour bus.

Clif Marshall: Right, right.

Cody Zeller: uh, that's a good question.

That's what I'm asking myself right now.

'cause it's, you know, my career
is winding down and trying to

figure out what's next and, uh.

You know, my wife and I are excited
about starting a family someday,

uh, probably sooner than later, but,
um, hopefully 10 years from now.

We got a few kids and, uh, I don't
know where we'll be living or what,

you know, life will look like with
our career, my career, her career.

Um, I know we'll have each other.

Um, and hopefully we have a few kids
and I can just be the, the cool dad.

And, uh, so I don't know.

I don't know what's next for me
after my basketball career, but I.

Um, but we'll see.

Yeah, we'll see from there.

Maybe I'll start podcasting like you guys.

I don't,

Clif Marshall: There you.

Cody Zeller: this is fun.

My brothers, my brothers and I
have talked about doing a little

podcast together 'cause three NBA
players, but I'm kind of with you.

I'm like, we've, we've done a couple
tests, ones where we're like, we

don't even know what it looks like
to, you know, talk or how long or

what questions to ask anything else.

But so we're, we're, we're dipping
our toe in the water there.

So anyway, we're, we're
trying to figure it out.

Sam Acho: Well, one encouragement
I have for you, well, two things.

Number one for the podcast,
I know a guy, right?

I know a guy.

Uh, but also, um, you've been married for
a year and a half and I remember, uh, by

the grace of God, I'm going on year 11.

Clips going on 20 something.

Clif Marshall: at 20, right at 20

Sam Acho: right at right at 20, and.

People told you with
marriage, oh you should wait.

And all these things, like they told me
the same thing, told me the same thing.

Even with kids, dude,
there is no greater joy.

Like there is no greater joy.

I've been married by the
grace of God, 11 years now.

We got four kids.

I remember being in the beginning and
like praying for kids and want to be a

husband and like, God, who's gonna be
that person for me when I'm looking?

You know, a similar story

and like God provided my wife Ghazi
and then all of a sudden, and I

prayed for her and the whole thing.

Um, and now like I got, you
know, my 6-year-old was like

low key almost on this podcast.

Like, daddy, I can hear him like,
dude, turn the headphones off.

Like, he's like, you know what I mean?

And then it's like, and then my, my, I
got a, you know, we have a 10-year-old

and an 8-year-old and a 2-year-old.

And dude, there's no greater joy.

And so if my encouragement
to you is, yeah, if You'all

are ready, go for it, man.

Like.

Don't let people tell you,
well, you know, enjoy your wife.

And just like, dude, y'all can
enjoy it and be parents as well.

And so that's my, my quick encouragement.

I, we love and like we,
we on this podcast, right?

We talk faith, family, football,
finance, but we go first.

We give space, we grow hope, right?

So Cliff has gone first
in so many ways, right?

He's ma modeled it right in, in, in, in
the sports arena, maybe in this year area.

I've gone first, right?

I retired from the NFL maybe
five, four or five years ago.

And so it's like, and maybe
in the podcasting deal, I'm

telling you man, three brothers.

In the NBA, like all that.

Like, there's so much that you all
have to provide to the world, right?

And so, um, if I could just encourage
you in that way, like go for it man.

If you need some connects, cliff and I
got people, we whatever you need, right?

Um,

so I appreciate you Cody.

Cody Zeller: I appreciate it.

Yeah.

We're, we're the cool aunt and uncle right
now, which is, we're both looking forward

to having kids, but we're, we're having
that same conversation like, man, it's

so fun to be married, just the two of
us, and have the flexibility to travel.

We want, she, like I said,
she's doing her, her career and

she's on the road a lot, but.

At the same time, both of us are
just excited to have kids and,

uh, take on the next challenge.

But we, I enjoy, you
know, both of us enjoy.

Uh, I feel like it's like being
a rookie in the locker room.

Like you gotta learn from your vet.

So you two are my vets, you know, learn
on, uh, parenting and, uh, being a dad.

So we'll have to have a follow up
conversation, uh, you know, continue that.

So anyway, yeah, it's,
it's, it's exciting.

But I enjoy, uh, you know, I'm
looking forward to that next chapter.

Sam Acho: Awesome.

Then last one, before we let
you go, you said, we said we're

gonna talk about football.

So I gotta get your, your
college football or NFL.

Um, what is your, I don't know what,
what, what, what'd you see this last

season that impressed you the most?

Whether it was college or NFL
or, or you know, anything?

You, you, you're, you thinking of.

Cody Zeller: Yeah, I enjoyed, obviously
the Hoosiers, uh, had a great year.

Uh, so that was really
fun to, fun to watch.

I think that like we, we said
the NIL and the transfer.

Think just fascinating to see, uh,
you had like the, the UNLV quarterback

that went forno to start the year and
then just said, Nope, I'm, I'm done.

I'm gonna cash in.

Uh, here, like I said, we're
in Nashville, so there's a lot

of Tennessee fans around here.

So, um, the quarterback that said, no,
I want, I'm, whatever the number was,

I don't, there's rumors it was two
and a half million, I want 4 million.

And coach was like, Nope, this
is not, this is not the NFL.

There's no contracts, which.

I think there needs to be a little
more structure to, you know, the

transfer rule and the contracts.

You know, like, 'cause right
now it's just like the, everyone

keeps saying the wild, wild west.

But, but I actually give a lot
of respect to the Tennessee coach

for just saying, no, you're done.

We'll find someone else.

And because that's, again,
putting the program ahead of one

player and that sets the culture.

We talked a little bit about
culture, uh, for the whole program.

So it just, it is really
fascinating to see how each team is.

For one, building a roster, but how NIL
and transfer has, has changed things.

You saw like the Michigan, uh, um,
quarterback Underwood that you just

get a couple donors that are like,
man, we'll write you a blank check.

Let's just get the, get the best talent.

Uh, so anyway, it is just, it's fun to
see, like I said, I enjoy all sports,

but college football especially, uh,
you know, even in, even, um, like

I said, I enjoy going to games and
being Texas is on my bucket list.

Uh.

To go.

But I went to Tennessee, uh,
uh, Alabama, at Tennessee, uh,

um, this past year with my dad.

It was a blast.

It was a lot of fun, crazy atmosphere.

Um, it was perfect weather.

It was Tennessee one.

They carried the goalposts out.

It threw it in the, threw in the river.

But there was just something special
about like the, the tradition

of each school, the atmospheres.

And uh, like I said, basketball
has the same of like, man

playing in assembly hall is like.

Uh, is, you know, the crowd noise and
the student section and everything else.

But, uh, there's something
fun about football as well.

So I'll have to, I, Texas is definitely
on my list, so we gotta get down there.

Sam Acho: I'll tell you, man, we
gotta figure out who you know,

and, and now Texas in the SC too,
so the whole, you know, there's,

there's opportunities.

Um, well, Cody, we appreciate you man.

Thank you so much for coming on the San
Macho Podcast featuring Cliff Marshall.

And, uh, dude, we're excited for you,
for your marriage, for your future,

for Cody in 10 years from now, for
your wife and her music still Waters,

you talked about it, number one on
the charts, which is unbelievable.

Uh, so thank you so much
for all everyone listening.

Thank you for tuning into
the Sam Macho Podcast.

Uh, go to sam macho.com

to get this episode and
every other episode.

We'll see you soon.