Bulldog Breakdown: Brandon Gonzales and life after football

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Life after football has been good for Brandon Gonzales.

He opened Iron Key Real Estate in 2017 and it's now one of the top three independent brokerages in the area. Before that, he was a hometown guy playing football at Fresno City College as a linebacker and eventually at Fresno State, playing special teams.

"Got recruited by Coach Hill, and then was able to finish my football career there... gosh it's been 20 years. Yeah, in 2001," Gonzales said.

That was a pretty big year for Fresno State: the Dogs went 11-3, it was the year David Carr was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and it was junior year for Gonzales, who had a chance to come back as a starter the next season.

But it came at a point where Gonzales had to make a choice: football, or life after football.

"For so many years, that's where my identity was tied to, and I started having concussion issues at the point where I couldn't remember my locker combination, and where I parked my car and there was only, you know, 10 cars in the parking lot," he said.

After a series of tests, doctors gave him a choice.

"You know, you have an opportunity to come back next year and legitimately have a chance at starting, or you can have the chance to live a very healthy life."

In the end, he chose not to play in his senior season, but took those lessons he learned as a Bulldog into the business world.

"David Carr didn't want credit for all the wins, and that's why we were able to do more. Everyone fell in line with that same belief, and here in real estate it's the same.Wwe get more accomplished when we care less who's getting the credit for it," Gonzales explained.

Life after football has been good for Gonzales, and his identity and his principles can be traced back to his time on the field - and his time as a Bulldog.

"It gives you the ability to learn more about people. It gives me the ability to not only learn but also teach, and that's just been more fulfilling than anything I've ever done."