Two years removed from starring at Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Ga., Greg Bright entered his redshirt freshman season listed as a third-string outside linebacker for the Bulldogs. Fast forward four seasons later, and the one-time backup who didn’t even weigh 200 pounds when he entered Georgia had started all but one of the Bulldogs’ 46 games from 1994 to 1997, and the one he didn’t start (1996 vs. Kentucky) was because he had suffered a concussion.

In two seasons at outside linebacker under head coach Ray Goff, followed by two seasons at inside linebacker under Jim Donnan, Bright totaled a staggering 453 career tackles, which remain the second-most in UGA history. He had 19 tackles for loss, including 12 sacks, seven passes broken up, seven fumble recoveries, which unofficially also rank as the second-most in Bulldog history, and five interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.

Bright earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 1994 and was a Second Team All-SEC member in both 1996 and 1997. Before linebacker Amarlo Herrera accomplished as much from 2011-2014, Bright 17 years before had been Georgia’s last four-year starter on defense. More so, he was part of one of the biggest turnarounds in the annals of Bulldog football as Georgia improved four-and-a-half games from Bright’s junior to senior season.

Greg Bright, a true testament to how working hard and doing the right things both on the gridiron and professionally can go a long way in life, has worked for Waffle House, Inc., almost since the day he graduated from UGA and currently lives in Johns Creek, Ga. I recently caught up with Greg while he was taking a break for lunch while buying flowers for his daughter for Valentine’s Day:

PG: Greg, you were relatively highly-touted coming out of Colquitt County, so I’m guessing other big-time programs besides Georgia were interested in you. Did you consider any other schools besides UGA?

GB: Clemson was pretty heavily in the mix and I was looking at the University of Florida, as well. I also went on a couple of unofficial visits to Florida State, but thought that might be a little too close to home since my mom would be right down the road to get me if I wasn’t doing the right thing (laughing).

PG: So, why did you ultimately decide on Georgia?

GB: I wanted to put a little distance between school and myself, and four hours seemed like a good amount. Also, Ray Goff was from Moultrie too and had actually played football with my father, so that kind of pushed me towards being a Bulldog. Finally, there were a couple of guys I knew who were already attending Georgia: Chris McCranie, a receiver and returner for the Dogs was from Moultrie. [Linebacker] Randall Godfrey [from Valdosta] was there (UGA) too. Those familiar faces helped me out with my decision to come to Georgia.

PG: After redshirting as a true freshman in 1993, you entered fall camp of ’94 as a third-string outside linebacker. However, only about a month later for the season opener at South Carolina, you started at one of the outside spots. I’m guessing—to say the least—you had a pretty good fall camp?

GB: Yeah, it was kind of interesting—something I’ll never forget. I remember during my true freshman year when I was being redshirted, Coach Goff pulled me into his office one day and talked about me continuing to work hard, doing my best, and not worrying about where I was on the depth chart. That spring [of 1994], I walked into the linebacker room and saw posted that I was third-string. I remembered the conversation I had with coach, and then I decided I was not going to worry about where I was on the depth chart but, instead, was going to put my head down and work hard. At some point during fall camp, and the coaches hadn’t even moved me yet on the depth chart, I was told at practice that they wanted me to run with the first-string that day. From there, I kind of never looked back.

PG: And, in that first game of yours as a Bulldog, you totaled eight tackles and even had a sack in a 24-21 win. Do you remember that game in Columbia?

GB: Yes, I do remember that game, but particularly just three plays. South Carolina’s first offensive play of the game was a reverse back to my side, which gained six yards—and I thought, how in the world did I let that happen? Also, back then, you could blindside an opponent on interceptions, returns, and stuff like that—and we picked off a pass and I blindsided their running back and knocked him out. And, I remember the sack I had. It’s interesting how certain things—good and bad—stick with you over time, and other things don’t.

PG: After two seasons of you starting at outside linebacker under Coach Goff, Jim Donnan becomes the new head coach and you were moved to inside linebacker. How was that?

GB: With Coach Donnan’s arrival, Mickey Matthews became the linebackers coach. He told me that they needed to move me inside, and I was a little hesitant on it. But, it’s what the team wanted me to do. So, once again, you just got to put your head down and work, and do your best to get it done.

PG: What was your greatest on-field moment while at Georgia?

GB: As I sit here today, my greatest moment was the way our class finished off the way it did. We had a losing year in 1996, but we put our heads down that summer, worked hard, and to come back in 1997 to finish 10-2 and ranked 10th in the final poll was something special.

PG: If I may, let me add something that makes that 1997 team even more special, and maybe you can give some feedback. It’s special to have a 10-2 year after the program has endured four straight seasons of around .500 records. However, it’s absolutely extraordinary that beginning with the season right after those four .500 campaigns to the present—that’s 21 seasons—only once has Georgia produced a campaign with around a .500 record (2010). It’s almost like the 1997 team jump-started the fairly successful run the Bulldogs have had the last two decades.

GB: It was really fun to be a part of that team after several disappointing seasons. During that time, what stands out are the relationships I made and the life lessons I learned—that’s what I remember the most about me playing football at Georgia. The majority of my closest friends now were those who I either played football with or had classes with at Georgia. I learned a lot life lessons through playing football, like put your head down and keep working, don’t listen to the noise, and surround yourself with people you can count on. Playing football can teach you a lot of things in college which really pays dividends later on in life.

PG: Of course, the 1997 season included the monumental upset over Florida (Georgia won 37-17 as a three-touchdown underdog) after the Bulldogs had lost seven consecutive times to the Gators. After the win, you reportedly said, “Like Coach Donnan tells us, nobody is invincible. Superman is dead,” which was rather ironic since the nickname of Florida’s head coach, Steve Spurrier, was “Superman” when he was a star quarterback for the Gators. Do you remember that statement, and did you have any idea of the irony in what you were saying?

GB: (Laughing) Yes, I remember saying that. As far as if I was aware of the irony, let’s just say that I don’t know of too many statements that are original. In other words, a statement like that is usually piggy-backed off something heard or learned from someone else. When I played, anything I stated along those lines was generally because of something I learned or heard from other players or the coaches, and I just piggy-backed off them.

PG: You made three All-SEC teams in four seasons and remain Georgia’s second all-time leading tackler. Still, your Bulldog career was largely undistinguished to those outside the program. You were as steady a player as they come, putting your head down and working hard, letting your actions speak rather than words yet, as mentioned, your career was mostly unheralded. Is all that fair to say?

GB: Yeah, it’s interesting because as you said that, I thought back to the linebackers coach from Florida who was recruiting me. At the time, I believe Georgia was running a 5-2 (defensive formation focused more so on defensive line play than linebacker). The coach said to me, “Where are you going to play if you go to Georgia? You can’t play on the line because you’re only 195 pounds soaking wet. So, where do you fit in there?” Well, I thought if you work hard and do your best, you can carve your niche out—and that’s what I did. My first year (1994) weighing only 205, I would often have to come up and play on the line. But I had learned certain techniques, as far as leverage and keeping my pad level low, and did a lot of film study, which helped me get on the field. As far as the honors and awards that came my way, I truly feel that every single individual honor is received because of who you played with. A lot of my accomplishments were because of the guys around me. Guys like linebacker Brandon Tolbert, the defensive linemen in front of me—Jermaine Smith, Travis Stroud, Derrick Byrd, and others—did the right things and were usually in the right place, which helped me accomplish what I did.

PG: What did you do once your football career at Georgia was over?

GB: After the ’97 season, I started working out and eventually signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. It just didn’t pan out (Bright was cut in late August of 1998). After that one try at professional football, I talked to my agent and told him that I thought I was just going to go in a different direction. The one thing I never wanted to be was that person who continuously tries, but fails, while not opening his eyes up to opportunities. That didn’t mean I didn’t love football, or wanted to stop playing football, I just wanted to look at other opportunities—something different.

PG: I read you currently work for Waffle House. How did you wind up there?

GB: After graduating, I moved to Atlanta and started interviewing with several companies. When I first sat down with Waffle House, they talked about controlling your own career, going wherever you wanted to go based on your performance. In my mind, that’s what I had done all my life as it relates to playing sports. So, I thought of me working at Waffle House as me playing football—as long as I follow the system, listen to my leadership, work hard and do the right things, I can be successful here. I wound up going to work at Waffle House and, at the time, my mother thought I was the craziest person on the planet. This year is my 19th year with Waffle House. Currently, I’m a Senior People Director. I work with quite a few different markets from Athens heading west down through Atlanta. I oversee anything dealing with employees, such as development, promoting, legal, etc.

PG: And, please tell me about your family.

GB: I have a beautiful daughter, Kai, who is six years old, and I have a three-year-old son, Kaiden. My wife, Geion, and I have been married since 10-10-09, so, wow, going on nine years.

PG: Your relationship with UGA’s current head coach goes way back, right?

GB: Kirby [Smart] at Bainbridge and me at Colquitt County, we both played in 1-AAAA together. Beginning with my junior year in high school, I was familiar with Kirby. When he got to Georgia (a year behind Bright), we kind of had that link between us—and I feel like we still do today. He invited me up to speak at an event and, not too long ago, invited me to a career fair he had for his players in downtown Atlanta, wanting to give the players some experience working with recruiters, going to a job fair, building their resumes—life after sports. We have a lot of guys at Georgia who have the opportunity to play at the next level, but what about the ones who don’t? And, even for the ones who do, what happens when that phone stops ringing?

PG: Finally, you experienced a “turnaround” with the UGA football program, like Coach Smart did, not only as a player 20 years ago but as the Bulldogs’ head coach last season. Whether 1997 or 2017, what does it take to turnaround a program, and are you surprised that Kirby was able to do so rather quickly?

GB: Well, there were a few guys at Georgia around the time I played who, simply, understood leadership. Besides Kirby, Mike Bobo was another. Mike was a great leader as a player. Also, there was Matt Stinchcomb, Trey Sipe, and some others. The reason for the big change from '96 to '97 wasn’t because we had the greatest athletes in the world—although we did have two future Pro Football Hall of Famers with Hines Ward and Champ Bailey (chuckling). I think it had a lot more to do with the mentality of the team and the people who led it. The leaders always pushed, always worked hard, always did the right things, and played the right way. Kirby was the kind of person where if you put him in the right environment and under the right kind of leadership, he was going to soak it all in while adding his two cents to it. So, am I surprised Kirby accomplished what he has and did? No, not at all—not at all.