Vick Ballard talks going from JUCO to the NFL to an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin
NFL: Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah & Bucky Brooks
NFL
4.7 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 June 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, former Colts running back Vick Ballard joins Peanut and Roman to share his remarkable journey. Vick opens up about starting his football career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before making it to Mississippi State and eventually being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. He reflects on his breakout rookie season and the devastating injuries that derailed his promising NFL career. Vick talks candidly about the emotional toll of early retirement and how he channeled his drive into academics and a new profession. He walks us through his impressive post-football path—earning a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from UCF, then a master's degree from the University of Florida, and now working as an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed Martin. But Vick's goals in life aren't close to complete. His next challenge? Real estate development. His story is a powerful testament to resilience, reinvention, and never settling for less than your full potential.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. They're not expected to be sitting here with y'all, but it's crazy. I've been having so many thoughts since I, you know, got the email to come speak to you all because, you know, looking at y'all guest lists, you know, it's like I saw you had Michael Vick. You had, you know, a lot of notable guys who had these long careers on the field. Very correct. And I was like, man, that was not me. And it's like, I'm being, you know, asked to talk about something I did after football. And that was huge for me because whenever you go off into a new direction, you don't know if you're doing the right thing or not. Yeah. But, like, you know, that I'm sitting down here with y'all. |
| 0:38.1 | They let me know that I've made the right decision. |
| 0:46.1 | What's up, everybody? |
| 0:47.3 | I'm Pina Tillman, and this is the NFL players' second acts podcast. |
| 0:51.9 | And with me, as always, is my trusty co-host mr roman harper thank you |
| 0:57.8 | yeah shout out to the bros out there i'm not one appreciate it man uh i'm really looking forward |
| 1:04.2 | to listening to our next guest story it's very unique he's actually the first of one of what we have to go, but I'm not going to give it all |
| 1:14.3 | the way. |
| 1:15.1 | Peanut, get us started. |
| 1:16.3 | I really want to dive in because this guy has a very, very unique journey. |
| 1:20.1 | First team all juco, four-year NFL Vick, Vic Ballard, baby. |
| 1:24.6 | Welcome to the pop. |
| 1:25.3 | Yes. |
| 1:26.8 | It's all to be here. Appreciate you coming on, man. Appreciate you all having me. So, Vic, you are the first juco player we've ever had on the show. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Ain't no way. Ain't no way. You are the first. Hey, we're different. We've had Hall of Famers. |
| 1:45.5 | Right. |
| 1:46.0 | We've had a burgundy jacket guys, which are one of top 100. |
| 1:51.4 | Top 100 players of all time in the NFL. |
| 1:54.1 | We've had people that are considered the greatest than whatever, but we've never had a Juko, even a Juco All-American at that. |
| 2:01.1 | You never are never first. |
| 2:02.0 | You are the first. |
| 2:03.0 | That's why I say, bro, you got a, you got a very unique story. You got a story. Look, ask me about it. I'll talk all day. Okay, so let's talk about it because I didn't go Juko Rout. I've only heard the horror stories. That's like a dig. he just gave |
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