In this inspiring episode of the Lyons Share Podcast, host Mitch Lyons sits down with former NFL linebacker Bryce Paup to discuss his remarkable journey from small-town Iowa to becoming the 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Bryce’s story is the ultimate underdog tale. Growing up in rural Iowa, he graduated from a high school with just 19 students in his class—a team that dwindled to 15 players by season’s end. With no weight room at school, Bryce converted a chicken coop into his personal training facility, welding together his own weight bench to pursue his NFL dreams.
Overlooked by major college programs, Bryce landed at Northern Iowa, where his girlfriend’s friend literally walked up to coaches at a pizza joint to get him noticed. Despite being a sixth-round draft pick with low expectations (he didn’t even get his preferred jersey number), Bryce’s relentless work ethic and faith carried him through adversity—including being benched early in his career—to eventually earn Pro Bowl honors and a historic season with the Buffalo Bills.
