The crossroads moment country music fans keep retelling has finally been authenticated by its other protagonist.

When Luke Combs appeared on *Bussin' With the Boys* back in March, he described facing future NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes in a North Carolina high school game: Spikes annihilated his running back, then — as the singer recalled — ripped a dreadlock out of an opponent's helmet and "wraps it around his wrist like a bracelet and wears it the rest of the game."

This week the show played the clip back for Spikes himself, who nodded along and confirmed it. Saturday Down South reports Spikes' simple verdict: "That was a true story."

Whiskey Riff, which covered the same exchange, notes the show itself posted the confirmation on social media on October 20, closing a months-long loop between two episodes recorded half a year apart.

Of all the legends in football and country music, this one's grip comes down to its most unlikely accessory: a torn-out dreadlock worn as jewelry for the remainder of a game.

Whiskey Riff frames the moment as a pivotal one for Combs, then a kid in Asheville, North Carolina, suggesting it might have convinced him a music career beat a football one.

The outlet adds that many listeners first assumed the story was exaggerated — something, they say, pulled straight out of a football comedy like *The Longest Yard* — but that with multiple witnesses to the dreadlock-turned-bracelet, there was always a chance another source would verify it.

That source turned out to be the man who wore it. Saturday Down South notes the two had little assumed in common: Spikes, a two-time national champion at Florida, and Combs, the Asheville-raised superstar, crossed paths on the field long before either became famous.

The confirmation exists as a clip: the show's account, Bussin' With The Boys, posted on October 20 that Spikes confirmed the story of ripping a dreadlock off and wearing it as a bracelet was "completely true," with a laughing-crying emoji capturing the tone.

Within the clip, host Taylor Lewan and Will Compton replayed what Combs told them in March, and Whiskey Riff quotes Spikes' fuller response: "Yeah. I was on all of that bro. That's a true story."

The video's appeal is the rarity of an athlete actually confirming a rival's tale of his own intimidation — usually such stories stay deniable folklore.

The story resonates because of how far both men traveled from that North Carolina field.

According to Saturday Down South, Spikes, who turned 39 last month, played at Crest High School in Shelby, about an hour and a half from Combs' Asheville, then starred for Urban Meyer's Florida from 2006–09 as a three-time first-team All-SEC linebacker, with unanimous All-American recognition in 2008 and consensus honors in 2009, winning BCS national titles in 2006 and 2008 before an NFL career that ran until 2016.

The same outlet reports Combs, 36, attended Appalachian State before dropping out, taught himself guitar, and began his music career in 2014 — collecting six CMA awards along the way, including Entertainer of the Year in 2021 and 2022.

Whiskey Riff notes the NFL chapter included six seasons with the Patriots and Bills. With both stars at their peaks, expect this verified anecdote to follow them for years.