Bobby Boucher, a shy, awkward 31-year-old from the Louisiana bayou, is obsessed with hydration and works as the waterboy for a major college football team. Constantly bullied by players and coaches, Bobby lives a sheltered life under the control of his overprotective and eccentric Mama, who thinks everything in the world is “the devil.”
After being fired from his job, Bobby asks to be the waterboy for a much worse team, the South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs. Their coach, Coach Klein, gives him a shot. When a player mocks Bobby, he unexpectedly tackles him with incredible force—revealing his hidden talent for football.
Coach Klein recruits Bobby to play linebacker, disguising it from Mama. Bobby becomes a football phenomenon, driven by the repressed anger he’s built up over years of bullying.
Meanwhile, he reconnects with Vicki Vallencourt, a rebellious former classmate who encourages him to think for himself and challenge his mother’s influence.
Bobby must eventually face:
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His controlling mother,
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His academic ineligibility,
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A showdown with the arrogant and cruel Coach Beaulieu (his old boss),
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And whether or not he truly belongs on the field.