Chubb Continues to Persevere & Give Back

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Linebacker Brandon Chubb ranks 11th in Wake Forest history for career tackles (326), and helped lay the foundation for the culture established in the first two seasons of the Dave Clawson era. Since graduating, Chubb played for six NFL franchises (L.A. Rams, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers).

He recently spent some time for a Five Questions feature with the Deacon Sports Xtra.

What is the latest with your charitable work in the Chubb Foundation?
"This year, we started a chess club. Chess has all these benefits, including higher reading rates and better test scores. It improves cognitive abilities. We've started a nine-week chess course with an after school program. That was going along for a couple weeks, then COVID-19 started up and the schools closed. That put an end to that.

"In the last two years or so, we've added the chess club, an entrepreneur program and our annual youth football camp. We always focus on health and welfare, education, and mentoring. Those three initiatives hit all the pillars. We also had a Holiday Lunch in Denver at Top Golf. We invited kids from the Boys and Girls Club to come play Top Golf with Broncos players. They all left with $100 grocery store gift certificates for their families to use for Thanksgiving Dinner."

What have you learned most about yourself during your NFL journey?
"I've learned a lot. You do a lot of internal reflection, when you do everything you can and work as hard as you can. It started when I didn't get drafted, which I thought was uncharacteristic. Then I get to the NFL and you work hard, but you're still learning at the same time.

"Being able to know what to improve on, both mentally and physically, and building upon that. The biggest thing for me has been trying to stay healthy physically. I've been dealing with this anomaly with my knee. There's just one that is bothering me and I just had another surgery on it a few months ago — hopefully it's the final one. All of these are minor procedures, it's not like I'm having ACL surgeries. Being able to take care of my body, and paying attention to the minor details. I've learned about leveraging to better myself on and off the field."

What are your thoughts on the direction of Wake Forest Athletics under new AD John Currie?
"I got a chance to speak with John Currie when he was first introduced as athletic director. They had a mixer in Charlotte when I was there. I got to meet with him and chat. From my interaction with him, it was a relief to me to know that there's a great successor to Ron Wellman. Him being an alum and a little more young means he's more in touch with the fan base. Everything has changed, especially digitally. Kids who have grown up in the age of social media are going to respond differently than those who grew up playing Roller Coaster Tycoon on CD-ROM. That was my thing. When you didn't have the internet, just throw the disc in and play it for hours, building an entire theme park."

What are some of the things you are doing to stay mentally sharp during the pandemic?
"I've started a book club. I have 20-30 people in my book club. I've been a reader the last two months, really diving into books. So I thought why not make it social? I thought that would be good mentally for everybody, to add some social elements to it, while also encouraging us to social distance and protect those who are vulnerable. I'm about learning new things. I just asked coach Clawson about books the other day and he suggested three that he's reading."

What did you think of Clawson's beard?
"I honestly thought it was a filter when I first saw it. They have those social media filters that make you look 20 years older. I thought it was one of those. But then I saw it was real. But he was always clean shaven. To see him grow out a beard that thick and that long was impressive."

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