Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson Played Starting Quarterback Over Terry Bradshaw at Louisiana Tech University

Duck Dynasty is one of the only reality TV shows that I can manage to sit and watch. Mostly because it actually seems genuine. Of course there are scripted moments and situations, but overall, these guys are hilarious.

Today I saw a random fact that kind of blew my mind. Phil Robertson, the creator of Duck Commander, used to play college football at Lousiana Tech University. Not only was he on the team, but he was the starting Quarterback ahead of a later to be NFL legend.

Terry Bradshaw was the top pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, playing a lengthy career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning four Super Bowls, a spot in the Hall of Fame and a second career in front of the camera. Phil could have been drafted into the NFL after his Junior year, but since the a future in football would interfere too much with duck-hunting season, Phil turned down playing football professionally.

In an interview from early last year, Phil told Holly Anderson of SI.com:

At the time, no one quite understood what exactly was my problem because I didn’t put football as the ultimate goal, being this stud hoss football player, but what they didn’t see then, they get it now.

In 1973 Phil Robertson began producing and selling his own duck calls out of his home with his own company, Duck Commander. Nearly 40 years later, the multimillion dollar family business is run by Phil's son, Willie Robertson. Last March their show Duck Dynasty premiered on A&E. Now they are pop-culture celebrities. Not just for their wicked awesome beards or their backwoods lifestyle, but because they are legitimately funny and entertaining. This isn't some Honey Boo Boo-esque trainwreck:

Let’s face it, the bar has been set pret-ty low for you to get on American television these days. I think they said, ‘Why don’t we try a functional family,’ and somebody said well, that’s a novel idea. Round here, you know, there’s no outbursts, belligerence, cursing, gettin’ drunk, dope, no, we’re all Godly people, so maybe it’s a little switch for a change. We’re not actually rednecks, but we probably could be called goodoleboys.

Bradshaw even talked about Robertson in his autobiography 'It's Only A Game', saying:

The quarterback playing ahead of me, Phil Robertson, loved hunting more than he loved football. He’d come to practice directly from the woods, squirrel tails hanging out of his pockets, duck feathers on his clothes. Clearly he was a fine shot, so no one complained too much.

Imagine how differently things could have been if duck hunting weren't Phil's passion. Check out Campus Union on SI.com to see what else he had to say about his football playin' days.