Before motivating Louisville, standout center Bryan Hudson learned to inspire himself

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The notes are scattered across Bryan Hudson's home and filling up drawers at his parents' house. The words have changed, but the meaning has always stayed the same.

You can find motivational notes from the Louisville star center and shotput thrower, scrawled on post-it notes and scraps of paper, anywhere you would like to look. They are Hudson's notes to self, reminders to keep on working.

"It's what helps keep you going," Hudson said. "And throughout the hard times, the hard practices or when you're hurting, it just helps drive me to keep working and give it all I've got.”

Bryan Hudson note — Courtesy of Madi Hudson

It didn't matter if he wrote them before playing in the Grant County youth league — with kids older but smaller than him — or before 10 victories in a standout Louisville football season. His early dreams to play college and pro football were not dreams. They were certainties.

"He's always been a 'when' kid, not an 'if' kid," said Hudson's mother, Mandi. "When he spoke of what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go or what goals he had for himself, it was not, 'If I played college football,' or, 'If I make the NFL.' It was 'when,' and that's how he spoke to it."

Mandi and Chuck Hudson saw it in all of their kids. Bryan's sister, Halee, is a former Louisville track and field standout, while his other sister, Kadee, was a star high school athlete. But something about Bryan kept standing out.

"Honestly, people may think we're crazy, but I swear it's been from day one," Mandi Hudson said. "I honestly don't remember a day when that wasn't what he said was going to happen. And it's been amazing to watch even as his parents, knowing and seeing how hard he works and everything like that.”

The work ethic was honed on a family farm in Williamstown, Kentucky. Bryan and his sisters learned how to milk cows by hand, as their parents wanted to teach them the values of getting up and working hard every day, no matter the circumstances.

He started using the farm for different reasons. He began throwing bales of hay to see how far they could go. There aren't many blacktop areas, but there is one with a tree nearby. So, he'd throw shotput from the blacktop and try to hit the tree, which was unsuccessful for a little while.

"But now, that tree has got big scars and gashes all the way around," Chuck Hudson said with a laugh. "We eventually had to get him to throw somewhere else because beyond the tree was the deck of the house, and then he started hitting the deck of the house.”

The former four-time state shotput champion from Scott County High School and All-ACC thrower's size was noticeable early. In kindergarten, he was already over the weight limit to carry a ball in youth football. He had to play up and even practiced long snapping.

"He worked on his long snapping as a 5-year-old," Mandi Hudson son, "What 5-year-old has ever gone and long snapped? But from that early age, he wanted to make sure that when his number was called, he was going to be ready and was going to do whatever his team needed."

The rapid growth caused them to not let Bryan lift weights until getting to high school, since he was growing 4 inches a year. His high school coach at Scott County in Jim McKee noticed there wasn't much needed growth in maturity. He'd often tell Mandi Bryan was a 30-year-old in a 16-year-old's body.

"He handled things even then that were well above his years," Mandi Hudson said. "It's a little bit of his makeup."

The attitude has made Hudson a natural leader for Louisville. As a long snapper and center, he has played 58 career games across his Cardinal and Virginia Tech careers, using the experience to mentor younger players. He often hosts teammates to smoke barbecue and is a willing listener.

"I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of college football," Hudson said. "So, I just feel like it's kind of my job and my duty to give my knowledge and experience that I've learned to those younger players, and the rest of the team that we have, so that they can be the best that they can be and not have to necessarily go through some of the things or see some of the things that I've done."

"There are a lot of people on the team that look up to Bryan," Louisville linebacker T.J. Quinn said. "I see how he leads the team and I try to take that to help me become a better leader because that's one thing that the coaches want – for me to be a better leader and be more vocal."

"I've had a couple dads have younger offensive linemen for Louisville," Chuck Hudson said. "They told me point blank, 'My son has told me how thankful he was and how much help Brian for was for them for coming in, learning the system, feeling comfortable and being someone they can go to.'"

There haven't been many, if any, more dependable Cardinals. Hudson has made 25 consecutive starts. The ACC's head coaches and defensive coordinators voted him as the best blocker in the conference this season, honoring the first-team All-ACC honoree with the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.

"I'm incredibly grateful for it," Hudson said of the recognition. "I was talking to my wife yesterday about it and I'd like to say it's an award for not only me, but the entire offensive line. The amount of work that we've put in and the whole unit and the bond that we have is pretty something very special."

It's even more impressive when you consider Hudson hasn't been fully healthy this season. While dealing with a variety of injuries, Hudson has often not practiced in the weeks leading up to games, still working with the Louisville coaching staff to mentally prepare and understand game plans.

"It's taken me several weeks to learn the best way to do it," Hudson said. "I just credit the coaching staff and the training staff that we have, and the job that they've done to help me and all the other guys just to be able to have a plan and do whatever we need to do to be on the field. And I'm very thankful that the coaching staff has been willing to work with me, and will still allow me to play even though I'm not able to get all those reps.

"But yeah, it's definitely an obstacle. And it's just something that mentally, I have to prepare just as much or if not more because I'm not getting as many reps in practice."

It's not necessarily new for the center. At Virginia Tech, his father said he played through a broken thumb and sprained ankle. It's something his current coach admires.

"You’d have to amputate his leg for him not to play," Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm said. "It doesn’t matter what injury he had, he’s going to play in the game on Saturday. That’s just kind of what you get, which is impressive, because that’s a hard job: playing center, making all the calls, you’ve got to be athletic.

"You’ve still got to get some type of mental work or film work to make sure you’re ready to go. It’s hard to not be able to practice as much as you’d like, but he’s got experience, he’s got knowledge. He’s also a quiet team leader who exemplifies what that position is all about: just toughness and grit, unselfishness."

That last part is a major reason why he pushes and plays through the pain.

"Me being a veteran guy, and somebody that has been put in a position to be a leader for this team, I hope and pray that when guys see me pushing through a lot of pain, pushing through injuries or really trying everything I can to do to do to get on the field on Saturdays, that would hopefully motivate them to just say, 'Hey, I see him going through a lot and trying to get on the field. So, what's to say I can't battle through this little thing or put my best foot forward?'"

And if he ever needs a little help to do it, he doesn't have to look hard. There will be a note nearby somewhere.

"Just that reminder on a daily basis of what I want to do and where this is going is definitely something that helps drive me," Hudson said. "And also just wanting to be out there for my teammates, not only the care and the passion that I have for football, but the guys in the locker room and the coaches that are out there battling with me everyday right alongside me is what drives me."

"I would love to go back to that 7-, 8-, 9- or 10-year-old and just tell him, I can't say it without crying," Mandi Hudson said while choking up. "But you're going to do it. So, just keep on, what you're doing is right and just keep going because you're going to make it."

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Before motivating Louisville, standout center Bryan Hudson learned to inspire himself