Legendary Bubba Bean reminisces on his glory days at Texas A&M

Texas A&M football legend and Athletic Hall of Famer Bubba Bean stopped by to join Thursday's edition of TexAgs Radio where he looked back and relived his days at Texas A&M in addition to mentioning how much Aggieland has changed over the last 50 years.

Key notes from Bubba Bean interview

• Looks are deceiving, but I could not play football today. I'm still having trouble swinging a golf club, so football is not my thing anymore.
   
• I play golf with Mark Dennard and Phil Bennett, and we don't cut each other any slack. I still love competing, just on the golf course.
   
• I work for the City of Bryan as a neighborhood youth outreach coordinator to help make our neighborhoods better.
   
• From playing when I was in the seventh grade up to six or seven years in the NFL, I'm very grateful for that period of my life. Still, it was a small period of my life, I don't want to be judged by that. I want to do things that are good for me, my family and the people we're surrounded by.
   
• R.C. Slocum started recruiting me when I was a sophomore, and he had gotten close to my parents. When Emory Bellard came to Texas A&M, Slocum followed him here. He went from telling me about Kansas State to talking to me about A&M.
   
• This was a time when freshmen were eligible to play immediately, and they were talking about running the wishbone, which meant there was a chance to play. I got moved up to the varsity right away. I got my feet wet, and the next year, we really took off.
   
• In 1972, Slocum was the linebacker coach. I played golf with him last week. I'm happy to see he's doing well with his cancer situation. Coach Slocum has always been close with my parents, he would go visit them in Kirbyville even after I was already here. He has been a big part of my life for a number of years.
   
• We were part of a group that didn't have a hatred for Texas just because they were Texas. We just wanted to win. It didn't matter who they were. At the time, Texas was lightyears ahead of us, but A&M recruited guys like Lester Hayes and that crew. We became competitive. We beat Texas in our last year and then lost to Arkansas in our final game that season.
   
• Raymond Clayborn and I have talked over the years, but I don't see him much now. I don't think I ever touched the ground and rolled into the endzone, but we ended up scoring anyway and winning the game.
   
• Getting the rivalry with Texas back would be different if it weren't in the SEC. Every week in the SEC feels like a rivalry game. It's tough, and I can't imagine having to gear up for it week in and week out.
   
• The group I played with was a lot different than it is now. When I signed, eight black athletes signed in our class, and only five of us stayed. All five of us went and played pro. We made it a thing to do at Texas A&M. Playing as a true freshman wasn't a big shock when I got here because I was just joining a backfield. I knew to make the best of my chances when I got the ball because running the ball 20-25 times didn't happen back then.
   
• The first time you have to step up to the line of scrimmage will test your spine real quick. When you're coming out of high school, most of the time, you're the best thing that school had. It takes some adjustment, and it's every down on every day of every week. It gets even more intense at the next level.
   
• I didn't know that Sports Illustrated cover was going to happen. At the time, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. We were in the hunt for a national championship, and that's what my focus was on. It was a great year of my life, but to me, it's more about what you do after. I have moved on to another phase of my life.
   
• Bubba Bean doesn't do social media now. I'll text my friends and receive an email. To me, I could care less about what people think about what I'm doing. As long as I'm happy doing it, that's all that matters to me.
   
• When I got drafted into the NFL, I was married at the time and in my apartment in College Station. I got a call from Atlanta telling me they were going to take me. That was the extent of it. After that, they put me on a flight to Atlanta. The draft wasn't a make-or-break thing for me.
   
• My time in Atlanta was different and difficult at times. I tore my ACL in shorts and shoulder pads, and after that, it was a struggle. At the time, they weren't repairing ACLs. They'd clean them up as best they could, but other than that, you had to live with it. Other than that, it was about strengthening the muscles around the knee to account for the lack of stability. Since then, medicine has gone lightyears ahead. I've had both knees and hips replaced since then. It was still difficult. If you play long enough, eventually you have to pay the piper. The sport was different when we played, and we didn't have the protection they have now.
   
• In my second or third year in the NFL, that's when I felt it was a business. It was just 52 guys who worked for the same company, everybody was looking for someone to slip so someone else could come in.
   
• When I came to school here, I think we had 16,000 students, and you could walk everywhere on campus. We had a dorm that only housed football players, so we walked pretty much everywhere. There was only one place to go play pool and listen to a jukebox. College Station has changed so much. I live approximately four miles from Kyle Field, and when I bought that place, that felt like living out in the country. It is amazing how big this place has gotten in the last 50 years.