So I had a former 3rd rounder visit me at the Ranch...

I'm selling a log splitter and I had this guy reach out to me via Facebook Marketplace and said he wanted to look at it. Turns out he lives in a gated subdivision about two miles away so we set up a time to meet a couple nights ago. He acknowledged that he had never used one, that he only had a battery-operated chainsaw (first hint...he's very green at this stuff...maybe a city slicker?), so he was happy to pick up any tips from me. Not proud, humble. Those kinda people are the ones I am more than happy to help.

So he pulls up in front of the barn in his SUV and as he gets out, I look and I see what looks to be a far younger guy than I was expected. Then he stepped around his rig and I went "Holy Waaaaa?" This guy was tall and ripped and had bulging veins popping out of his biceps and forearms that would make any nurse phlebotomist faint from blood porn.

He was a big dude, built like a tree trunk. In our conversations, he wanted to learn more about splitting firewood, seasoning, chainsaw operations and more...we talked and I showed him a bunch of my tools that I was getting rid of. I let him take a turn at splitting a log so that he could see how it worked, etc etc.

So as I was asking him about how he ended up in NW Montana, he shared a bit about his story, and how they moved to this mountain resort town about five years ago, lived in town for a few years and just bought 10 acres in this gated community nearby a few months ago.

Said he will soon turn 50 (dayum, he looked good). I was curious and asked him more about himself. Moved up from San Diego with his wife and kids 5 years ago. Said he was in the NFL for 3 and a half years. I said "that's the average...3.5 years". He said "that's right. I lasted longer than half of them. He had played for the Cowboys, Titans and Giants and 49ers.

He said that as a rookie, they set you down for a week and tell you how to manage your money, how to plan for life after the NFL. They are teaching you all the right things...and how many players end up losing everything (Adrian Peterson's name fell out of my face, and he nodded in agreement).

Then he talked about the tragic side of the NFL. He said it was not an easy life by any means. He was drafted by the Titans in 2000, 93 overall pick. He said that every week during the season they hold tryouts and they know they are scouring the waiver wire for anybody, any position. You have zero job security. You get the crap beat out of you. You get fired without notice. After getting cut by his fourth team, he told his wife he was going to come home and get a real job. He created a niche construction company in southern CA.

He said it was a revelation. His whole career prior to that, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. No gray areas. He quickly found that in his construction business, everyone can win...he as the contractor, his suppliers, his customer. He was not used to that mindset and took him a while to adjust (which he did). Said it is a great way to look at life.

So I looked him up (I don't feel right about disclosing his name). Yeah, 6' 5" (all of that). 267 lbs (playing weight, but I doubt he had 10% body fat...probably far less). Played college ball at BYU. All-Conference (Mountain West) his senior year, second team all-conference his sophomore and junior year.

And the best part...he was a humble and polite person.