Florida legend, WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil talks charity, football, wrestling
The University of Florida has produced countless celebrities over the decades, be it in academics, athletics or some other field. Most of the former football players try to make it pro or at an amateur level, and then there’s Thaddeus Bullard, better known as WWE’s Titus O'Neil.
A five-year defensive lineman for the Gators, Bullard worked his way out of a tough childhood and was already a success by the time he stepped on campus. He’d go on to win a national championship during his redshirt freshman year at Florida and play in 44 games for the Gators over the following four seasons.
After graduating from the University, O’Neil played arena football until the WWE came knocking. It was there that he found the ultimate platform for his philanthropy work. Now a global ambassador with the company, O’Neil has been recognized as one of the most charitable figures in WWE’s history with the Warrior Award.
Gators Wire had a chance to talk with O’Neil (Bullard) courtesy of the Johnsonville Charity Cornhole Challenge, in which he competed with fellow former Gator and Tennessee Titan Jevon Kearse ahead of the South Carolina game in Week 7. Take a look at what he had to say about his time at Florida, transitioning to the WWE, his philanthropy efforts and his cornhole skills.
Why choose Florida?
I mean, Florida for me was the greatest and easiest — well it wasn’t the easiest decision because I actually grew up in the Florida state country and I actually grew up more so a Florida State fan than I was a Florida fan.
And I think a large part of that had to do with the fact that I was at the Boys Ranch, and we only had like two channels and on cable television. So, most of the games that we watched were Florida State games. Obviously, at that time, too, they were highly successful as well. But then I got a chance to go to the Swamp for a game, and I was just hooked on the atmosphere.
I had gone to Florida State games, I had gone to FAMU games. They’re both in Tallahassee and the whole vibe was just different. And then after meeting Coach Spurrier and meeting a lot of the players — Kevin Carter and Tim Beauchamp being two guys that I grew very close to. They played the same person that I played.
And Kevin, just still to this day, a very close friend of mine. Our kids played together in high school for a bit. And he’s a guy I would definitely say drew me to the University of Florida. He came out of Tallahassee Lincoln (High). So if he could get out of Florida state country to come to Florida, there’s no reason why I couldn’t either.
More on Spurrier, being a Gator
Coach Spurrier, a highly, highly competitive guy. You know, some people will call him cocky, arrogant. I love the fact that he’s as competitive, you know? Whether he’s playing marbles, playing golf or coaching football, he wants to win. And, you know, fortunately for me at Florida, we won a lot of games. He unretired his jersey to allow me to wear. Previous to that, only Ben Hanks had that honor.
Like I said, we won a lot of games. I graduated from Florida. I’m a proud Gator. So, having the opportunity to represent the University of Florida in various ways is always something that I take great pride in.
Will you be at the Florida-Georgia game?
I’m actually at my school down now in Tampa getting ready to surprise 10 kids with the news that they’re going to the Florida-Georgia game with me on Saturday.
There’s a middle school that’s in the sixth-highest zip code for kids living in poverty in the state of Florida, and I came from a similar background. That’s how I ended up in Live Oak, and if it wasn’t for my time at the University of Florida and the connections of the resources that I grew there, this definitely would not be possible.
So I’m looking forward to this weekend’s game, much like I was looking forward to the game at South Carolina and I was looking forward to being a part of the Johnsonville Charity Cornhole Challenge.
How did the Johnsonville Cornhole Charity Challenge go?
Getting a chance to go against the icon. I mean, she’s literally a living icon right now in Dawn Staley and Zia Cook, a tremendous basketball player, both representing the South Carolina Gamecocks. And I got a chance to be reunited with my former bookendmate Jevon Kearse to help raise money for our respective charities.
It was a lot of fun. There weren’t a whole lot of people there, but it was still early. Once we started getting into the flow, you know, you just saw more and more people, and I just knew we were going to be outnumbered from a Gamecock versus Florida fan perspective.
But Florida showed up and it was a I would say that two minutes into the first game, the crowds would start swelling more and more, and it really felt like a game day on a Saturday,
Hats off to the whole Johnsonville team for putting that environment and that atmosphere together. In that particular area, too, because at the Soda City market, there was a lot of other stuff going on, so it was it was the perfect place to do it.
I mean we could’ve done it at the stadium too. I don’t think it would’ve been as successful as it was on this particular Saturday in this particular place.
How was reuniting with Jevon Kearse? Did you try to get him to WWE?
We’re very close. Obviously, being teammates at Florida. We’ve remained in contact since then, although we’ve both gone completely different directions. We’ve always managed to stay connected, and yeah, he’s right. I did for a brief second try to recruit him to become a WWE superstar.
I was very serious and adamant about him at least giving it a try. He thought about it for a second and then it was just like, nah he’s good. But definitely would have been a great tag team partner for me here as it was for Florida.
And I don’t doubt for one second that he would definitely achieve a high level of success here with his personality, and his athletic ability. And he came with so many credentials already behind him, you know. First-round draft pick, Pro Bowler, All-SEC so all-around great guy. It would have been fun.
But yeah, to be reunited with him for this, something that neither one of us have competed together in, we have some kinks to work out. We still need to, obviously. We did not win, but it was a lot of fun.
And hats off to Zia Cook and Dawn Staley as well as to Johnsonville for making this happen. You know, I like to say that all of us won because while we did not win the cornhole challenge, we did beat them in the (football) game.
But who knows? Maybe we can run it back next year. You know, that’s completely up to Johnsonville. I’m up for it. I’m sure Jevon is up for it. And if we got a year to prepare in advance, I’m good to take on Dawn Staley.
How was the transition to WWE?
In a lot of cases, the good part about my WWE career is that I have been able to just be an extension of who I really am and just turn it up 10 notches when the camera’s on. I think that most guys who are successful and females who are successful in this business and have longevity in this business are those that are true extensions of themselves.
When you take guys like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Roman Reigns, both come from football backgrounds or perform under big lights. Both of them played at Division I schools. Roman at Georgia Tech is now our longest-reigning ever undisputed world champion. Then, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, obviously, the success that he’s had both inside and outside of WWE. A lot of that, I would like to say, is credit to where we came from, you know.
Being able to perform under very crazy situations. I mean, Florida-Florida State, is a big rivalry, Florida-Alabama was a big rivalry, you know, Florida-South Carolina was a big game. All these environments, where you go in and you’re performing in front of 80,000-plus people, I think as blended us an opportunity to kind of be able to be in that spotlight.
On philanthropy, giving back
You know, I come from a single-parent home. My mom was raped at 11 years old, had me at the age of 12. I was labeled that kid who would be dead or in jail by the time I was 16. If it wasn’t for the resources that other people imparted in me and in the Boys Ranch and in the Boys and Girls Club, I would not be in the position I’m in today.
A lot of people ask, “How do you make so much time to do so much for so many people?” And my immediate response is, “How can I not make time?”
Because somebody at some point made time to invest in me and invest in the places that I attended to help me become the first person in my family to graduate from high school, the first person in my family to graduate from college and since then I’ve got a brother — my mom went back to high school and graduated from high school after I graduated from high school.
She worked for years waiting tables and cleaning houses to make ends meet that never met. And so regardless of how much success I attain in life, I’ll never be too far removed from my beginnings simply because I’m always in them. I’m sitting right now in this interview at my school that I literally transformed from one that was going to be shut down by the state of Florida to now one of the places that everybody wants to go.
So God’s been good. And I just look forward to continuing at this point. It’s not about success for me. It’s about the significance of success any of us can achieve at any given moment. That’s most important to me at this point in my life. Being able to leave a lasting legacy of a person who came from deep to beat the odds through help and then decided to put that out into the world on a consistent basis.
Thoughts on the team this year?
I was at the Tennessee game and we were like world-beaters. Then, we turned around the next week and, you know, it’s completely the opposite. But I have faith that Billy Napier will definitely continue to right the ship and keep things going in the right direction.
We got a great recruiting class coming in in 2024 and I would tell that to each and every Gator out there that’s doubting whether or not this is the guy for the University of Florida program.
I can say with 100% certainty I feel like he is the guy and everything takes time. He’s probably one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever seen in the coaching profession. The way he goes about his business is never too high, never too low, always motivational. He’s the same guy everywhere he goes. Even during gameday, he’s the same guy, and you have to respect someone like that.
And I do obviously know that there is a standard and expectation at the University of Florida, as it should be. I was part of that standard at one point and helped build that standard at one point. But at the end of the day, everybody goes through a rebuilding process.
Florida State is the No. 3 or No. 4 team in the country right now. The last few years, people were writing them off and weren’t really worried about them in a lot of cases. Clemson was at the top of the mountain for three or four or five years in a row and now they’re having their woes. So it’s all cyclical, very cyclical, and you’ve got to understand that.
In our fight song, it says “Through all kinds of weather, we all stick together, we’re F-L-O-R-I-D-A,” and that’s exactly what we need to do in regard to this coaching staff.
What's your prediction for the game?
I want to say it’ll be a closer game than people think it will be. I think that if the team that showed up versus Tennessee plays on Saturday, there is a very good chance that Florida will come out of that game victorious. If we show up like we showed up against Utah, it could be a long, long day.
I’ve got a Georgia Bulldog going over there with me. He’s older than me and he’s a big supporter of my foundation. I like to call him my Make-A-Wish kid because for the last several years I’ve taken them to the SEC championship and to the national championship as my guest.
Hopefully, you know, I’ll be able to have a nice little plane ride home this weekend and be able to give them back some of the stuff he’s been giving me.
The final score could be 21-17 or it could be 35-42. It could go either way for both teams. You can go in there thinking one thing and it could be the complete opposite.
Sponsor
On SEC gamedays, nothing pairs better together than Johnsonville and Cornhole. Both are perfect for those fall football Saturdays when family and friends get together to tailgate or grill out in the backyard before watching all the big SEC matchups.
To combine these traditions together, Johnsonville created the “Johnsonville Charity Cornhole Challenge” – a best-of-three series of cornhole matches between “Team South Carolina” and “Team Florida” right before kickoff of the USC/Florida game on Saturday, Oct. 14.
Representing Team South Carolina is Dawn Staley and Zia Cooke
Representing Team Florida is Jevon Kearse and Titus O’Neil
The winners of the best-of-three series will receive $5,000 each on behalf of Johnsonville to the charity of their choice ($10,000 total to charity). The participants will be playing for:
Zia Cooke – Ladies of Athletic and Academic Excellence
Dawn Staley – Innersole Foundation
Titus O’Neil – Bullard Family Foundation
Jevon Kearse – Jevon Kearse Foundation
Event details:
9:00-11:00a ET
Soda City Market / Boyd Plaza
1515 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Event is open to the public to watch + FREE Johnsonville Sausage
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