Culpepper quickly accepted Meyer's invitation to speak to Gators before Georgia game
Friday, November 5, 2010 | Football, Cross Country, Scott Carter
Brad Culpepper first met Florida head coach Urban Meyer in 2006. Culpepper knew former UF defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, and Strong introduced the two the summer before Meyer's second season
Culpepper made an immediate impression.
“Urban had heard about me,'' said Culpepper, who played for the Gators from 1988-91 and served as team captain his senior season. “He kind of eyeballed me like I was a lot smaller than I was supposed to be. I indicated I could definitely still take him in case he was thinking that.''
That “vinegar,'' as Culpepper calls it, prompted Meyer to ask the former NFL defensive tackle to come and speak to the Gators multiple times that season. Culpepper has been back each season since, including during the bye week before the Georgia game.
Culpepper figured Meyer needed a boost after the Gators' 10-7 loss to Mississippi State -- the first three-game losing streak of Meyer's career -- so he texted him shortly after the game.
“None of these coaches get in this business to lose,'' Culpepper said Thursday. “With such high expectations and losing three in a row, I was just kind of giving him a pump-him-up kind of text.''
Meyer quickly responded to Culpepper's message and asked if he could make a special trip to Gainesville later in the week. Culpepper said yes, and he spoke to the team the Wednesday of the bye week.
His message to the team was that all their top goals were still attainable, including beating Georgia, Florida State, winning the SEC East and the SEC Championship Game.
“I was kind of candid,'' Culpepper said. “I let them have it a little bit. I didn't mince words. I wasn't telling them anything they didn't know. I just told them that there are no believers. Nobody believes in you. The only ones who matter are the ones in this room. And unfortunately, there are probably some in this room that don't believe and they'll figure their way out of this program, but the ones who do can make a difference.''
Meyer later invited Culpepper, now an attorney in Tampa, and his family to come to Jacksonville and stay at the team hotel and hang around the team. He also gave a brief talk to the players in Jacksonville.
“I hate taking credit for anything,'' Culpepper said. “I don't think I told them anything they didn't already know. I didn't play a down in that game. Those kids won that. I think they would have won whether I was there or not. It's comforting to think they did win and it was a very important game and I'm glad to be a part of it.
“I think they can build off that and really get the confidence they haven't had this season. I don't know if they've had a big win like that this season that they can build off.''
Culpepper said his main goal when talking to the team the past few years is to be “real.'' That way he doesn't feel he is wasting anyone's time and from the feedback he has received in the past, the players appreciate that approach.
“Sometimes a four-letter word will come out and I don't know if that comes from a lot of other speakers,'' Culpepper said. “I've been in the locker room for 20 years. I know the language that is spoken there. I think they respect that.''
Since that day Meyer eyeballed him up and down, Culpepper says the two have become friends. He appreciates the way Meyer has reached out to former Gators to be part of the program.
“Urban had done a fantastic job of building tradition, not only have older guys back, but having players understand how special it is to be a Gator while they're there,'' he said. “I don't think a lot of guys I played with didn't realize it until after they were gone.''
