8 Things Overheard In Montee Ball's Golf Cart

DENVER (CBS4) - This weekend's episode of The 19th Hole features a Denver Broncos player who is really hoping that he can improve his golf game.

Running back Montee Ball tells CBS4's Vic Lombardi on the CBS4 Sports show that instead of being one of the lesser players out on the links when he attends charity golf tournaments with teammates, he'd like to be up there with the best.

During the show Ball takes some extra steps to up his game, including visiting Golf TEC. And Vic Lombardi plays a little prank on Ball as they take swings together at Cherry Creek Country Club.

Watch the show on Saturday after the CBS PGA Tour broadcast of the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and read some of the conversations between Ball and Lombardi that took place in the golf cart during the taping of the show:

What's the most tired you've ever been in a game, at any level?
The most carries Montee Ball ever had in a game was 36.
"In college, once you get up to 34 carries before fourth quarter you can start to feel it on your body," Ball said. "That's Wisconsin football!" Lombardi said. Ball say you think at that point "Man, we've got a whole 'nother quarter and I'm pretty beat right now. I'm pretty spent." But Ball said that feeling is part of the reason why he loves football.

He almost went to Stanford.
Ball wound up having a great college career at Wisconsin, but choosing which school to go to wasn't an easy decision for him. All of the colleges in the Big 10 conference recruited Ball, and so did Stanford. He said Stanford "kind of has a similar ground-and-pound type of game. At least, in my years (they did.)" He says Jim Harbaugh, who was the Stanford coach at the time, called him while he was a junior in high school. But Wisconsin won out after Ball took his official visit to Madison. "I talked to the coaches and saw the environment and loved it."

He wasn't surprised by the attention he got as a member of the Broncos once he arrived in Colorado.
Montee Ball got used to being in the spotlight in Wisconsin as a star on the Badgers football team. "All they have up there is Brewers, Badgers and Packers. So I was kind of used to this. Everywhere you go they know who you are, what your position is, your stats -- all that stuff."

The new offensive system for the Broncos is exciting for all the backs.
"It's weird seeing Peyton (Manning) in the I formation or under center," Ball said. "I've seen him under center a few times. But we're still going to be putting the ball in the air, that's for sure."

He's doesn't hold any dislike for C.J. Anderson.
"We're definitely friends. We understand you can't have any bad blood against someone who's producing. That's what they're here for. It's healthy competition. We understand that if, say, C.J. is the hot hand in the game he's going to get the majority of the carries. And vica versa. If it's me, he understands that I'm going to get the majority of the carries. So it's a great competition. Which is going to make the offense better, I believe."

He's among those who think the Seahawks made a bad call in the Super Bowl.
2nd and goal. The Super Bowl on the line. The Seahawks had a chance to score a touchdown but they threw an interception and lost the game. "You've got Marshawn Lynch," Ball said. "This guy breaks tackles like it's nothing. He could have walked it in."

Every running back oozes confidence, but Ball has a really lofty goal.
"I want one of those breakout years. The 1,800-1,700 yard years where they put you in the stat books as one of the best in the game that year. Definitely I'm working full hard to be one of the best in the game. My goal is to win a Super Bowl. I want to be the running back on the 2015 team that wins the Super Bowl."

It doesn't take long for Ball to recount his proudest moment as a Bronco so far.
Any running back loves it when an opponent knows your team is going to run and there's nothing they can do to stop you. "The Patriots knew we were going to run it against (them) in the game before the Super Bowl on 4th and 2 and they gave me the handoff and I got the first down. And I'll never forget it." Ball said he certainly was a bit nervous, it being his rookie season and all. "I just told myself, 'Just don't drop the ball.' "