Catching up with ... Brad Goebel Former record-setting Cuero quarterback now successful in the real estate field

Brad Goebel wasn't surprised to earn the nickname "Suitcase" during his five years in the NFL.

"I played for a lot of teams during a short amount of time," Goebel said.

Goebel isn't complaining. He fully enjoyed a ride that began with an outstanding high school career at Cuero and continued on the college level at Baylor before he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1991.

Goebel set a Class 3A record during his senior season at Cuero by passing for 2,528 yards and threw 31 touchdown passes while leading the Gobblers to the state final where they lost to Daingerfield, ironically, at the same stadium where he would play college football.

Goebel earned a scholarship to Baylor where he became a starter in his redshirt freshman season and passed for 2,178 yards, the second-highest total in school history. Goebel threw for 5,026 yards during his Baylor career, which ranks fourth on the school's all-time list and he threw for 25 touchdowns, which is tied for sixth best.

Goebel played two seasons with the Eagles and became one of four quarterbacks to start after Randall Cunningham was injured during the opening game of the 1991 season. Goebel went on to play for Cleveland, Jacksonville, and Washington before being released in 1996.

"The first thing you think about when you come into the league is can I make the team," Goebel said. "When you make your first team, you think can I get my four years in so I can get vested in the pension. Then you think can I be a starter."

Goebel, who qualified for his NFL pension, has been selling real estate for Horseshoe Bay Resort Reality since his football career came to an end.

Goebel, 38, is currently building a home in Horseshoe Bay. Goebel's parents, Arlen and Sally, still reside in Cuero and his younger brother, Benson, lives in Austin.

Advocate sports writer Mike Forman interviewed Goebel while he was vacationing in South Padre Island with his seven-year-old daughter, Kylie:

Q: How much did you enjoy your high school career at Cuero?

A: I've always said and it holds true today, it was the funnest and most enjoyable experience I ever had that was football related. We had a bunch of hard-working guys who got together for a common goal, which was to get to the state championship game. Obviously, we would have liked to win a state championship, but Daingerfield was an outstanding team. If we played them 10 times, they would have probably won eight. We had a team that was dedicated and worked hard. The town was really getting behind us. At the time, there had been a lull of 10 or so years where Cuero really hadn't done anything.

Q: You had your heart set on playing football at Texas A&M so what persuaded you to attend Baylor?

A: I grew up an Aggie and that was really my dream. I had offers from A&M and Baylor. I went up there to College Station and talked to Jackie Sherrill, who was the coach at the time. He and I didn't hit it off. I really liked (head coach) Grant Teaff and (quarterbacks coach) Cotton Davidson at Baylor. I thought it was a place where I could go in and play early, which I did. It was a throwing style offense and it couldn't have worked out better. It helped me develop for the next level.

Q: Your career in the NFL was mostly as a backup but you became kind of a cult figure in Philadelphia when you started against Tampa Bay and New Orleans in 1991. What was that like?

A: I still look back and I've had time to reflect and there's no doubt the biggest difference between college and the pros is the speed of the game. Guys are so much faster in the NFL. You really have to speed your decision making process up. Let's say you're throwing a 22-yard in route. In college, you could throw it while your receiver was making his break. If you do that in the pros, it will be picked off. It's all about pre-snap reads, reading defenses, and knowing where to go with the ball. I wish I would have had the opportunity to learn and develop rather than being thrown in as a starter in the sixth game of the season. But don't get me wrong, I loved having the opportunity to play and I'm still grateful for it.

Q: How did you get started in a real estate career?

A: I kind of fell into real estate. I got into real estate to figure out what else to do with the rest of my life and 10 years later, I'm still doing it. I was going out to Horseshoe Bay to play golf with some guys. I was trying to figure out a way to live out here and make money and decided this is where I wanted to be. It kind of developed over time. It's been very good the last four or five years. I'd have to say it's been a good decision.

Q: I know you love playing golf and one of our your frequent partners is Larry Pullin, who was your head coach at Cuero and is the father of your former teammate and good friend Clay Pullin, who still lives in Cuero. Larry Pullin coached at Abilene High and San Antonio Jay before retiring. How do your golf games with him go?

A: He's got all this time now to play better golf, but he still doesn't seem to get any better. I beat him when he was coaching and I still beat him.