Former MSU LB Max Bullough receives high praise from Mike Vrabel

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel spoke very highly of former Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.

Another clip making waves around MSU Twitter on Wednesday caught me off guard. Mike Vrabel, head coach of the Tennessee Titans, made an appearance on yesterday’s “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast. Former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan host the podcast that is part of the Barstool Sports network. The Big Ten connection was ever present with Vrabel being a former OSU linebacker, Compton being a former Nebraska player, and of course Lewan being from that school down the road.

Compton and Lewan both played for Vrabel in Tennessee so him being on the podcast was not a surprise. The interview was very comfortable for them and it felt like just three former Titans hanging out. Around the two-hour mark of the episode, Lewan was asking Vrabel some questions about some of his former players and coaches.

The question of “Who was the smartest player you ever coached?” was asked. His answer shocked both Compton and Lewan.

Notre Dame GA Max Bullough earned high praise from Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on the @BussinWTB podcast. pic.twitter.com/Ztcov3LqyS

— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) July 19, 2023

That’s right. After naming his former center in Tennessee Ben Jones as an option, he quickly moved on and said former Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough. Vrabel coached Max when they were both with the Houston Texans. Bullough was signed there as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and spent three seasons there.

Vrabel elaborated on his choice of Bullough saying, “He didn’t take a practice rep and would play like seven different positions.”

The answer surprised the hosts. Compton responded saying “Oh, from Michigan State” and Taylor followed saying, “That was out of nowhere. I did not expect that.”

Will and Taylor both agreed that Max was “nice” when he was in East Lansing. Max was indeed nice. The four-time All-Big Ten player ended up being one of the focal points and leaders of MSU’s defense during his time. He was also a captain and was a big reason the Spartan defense was one of the best in the country during his college career.

After Bullough’s time in the NFL, he became a graduate assistant at Cincinnati under Luke Fickell in 2019. In 2020, Nick Saban hired him to the same position at Alabama until 2022. Now, as of 2023, Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame poached him for his staff.

Vrabel has become one of the most highly-regarded coaches in the NFL since he took over for the Titans in 2018. Seeing Max get such high praise from him is really awesome. It’s also nice seeing Taylor forced to admit something nice about a former Spartan player. You know that didn’t make him feel great.