'Survivor 44's Brandon Cottom Reveals a Failed Split Vote Plan that Sealed His Fate

The former NFL player also gives the details behind his historic idol play in the first episode.

Survivor 44 is here! Every week, Parade.com's Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the castaway most recently voted off of the island.

The idol giveth, the idol taketh away. And Brandon Cottom learned that the hard way during his time in Fiji. The former NFL fullback was put through the combine immediately, targeted in his first Tribal Council to the point where he had to play the idol he found in the tribe's birdcage to save himself. Due to challenges and various circumstances, he was immune for the next ten days, while also amassing a tight contingent with his tribe. But the first time he was vulnerable all game turned out to be his last. And, ironically, he was taken down by a version of the very idol that saved him in the premiere.

In the preseason, Brandon told us he wouldn't be eager to look for advantages early on. But the birdcage twist threw everyone for a loop, and before he knew it, he was in possession of both a real and fake idol. Unfortunately, his find ended up being in front of the entire tribe, after he went against Maddy Pomilla's wishes to keep things between them. After Ratu lost the first Immunity Challenge, which saw Brandon nearly pass out, Maddy decided to add insult to injury and target him. Just as quickkly as an idol appeared in Brandon's hands, it disappeared. He played it, the capper on top of a bevy of advantage plays by his other tribe members. And so, in the wildest premiere vote in Survivor history, he single-handedly sent Maddy home with his vote.

Naturally, Brandon's game calmed down after his chaotic first quarter. Safe for the rest of the premerge, he avoided the chopping block while simultaneously being leery of Kane Fritzler, the only other person to vote for him. He was able to make cross-tribal bonds, bro-ing down with Danny Massa during a particularly memorable journey. Even when the tribes came together, Brandon kept himself safe through challenge wins, which allowed him and Ratu to winnow down the Sokas. But it was only a matter of time before Brandon lost a challenge. And when he did, he found his Achilles heel, ironically from the man who geeked out over his tattoo of the Greek legend. Brandon pitched the seemingly-easy target in Frannie Marin, who had beaten him in a challenge only a day ago. But the non-Ratus saw how much power that quartet was amassing. So, at Tribal Council, it was Brandon's turn to get surprised by an idol play. Danny used his on Frannie, nullifying the majority of ballots against her. And the Sokas, along with Carolyn Wiger (who was an awkward third wheel during Brandon and Danny's "bro date" days ago), used their votes to send him toppling.

Now out of the game, Brandon talks with Parade.com about an initial plan to split the votes between Danny and Frannie, his and on and off relationship with Kane, and everything behind his idol play in the first episode.

Related: Read our Survivor 44 pre-game interview with Brandon Cottom

Last week, you made for quite the conversation starter when you argued that there is always a realistic way out of every bad situation on Survivor. So let me start by asking, is there anything in hindsight that you see as a way for you out of the bad situation that led to you talking with me today?
So let me let me backtrack to when I was talking to Matt. The best player doesn't always win anything you play. That's just not how competitions work. What I was saying was, you can find a way to get to the next day. The game changes so rapidly; there's always a path to the end, whether you see it or not. Personally, in my own experience, I do think there was a lot that I could have done differently that would have saved me. For one, checking in with everybody. Before we left for Tribal, I thought that we had a plan in case Danny or Frannie had played an idol, because that was out there that one of them possibly did have it. I just never checked in with the people that I was working with to make sure that we were still all on the same page.

We're sitting there painting our Va Va flag. And the next thing, it's time to go to Tribal. I'm like, "Oh, no! I hope everybody's on the same page." So I think that little check-in before we left would have at least let me know, "Alright, we're on the same page," whether would have made a difference or not. I kind of realized down the line there were a lot of other things that were in play. Certain people were privy to the idea of me going home; they just weren't saying it because they didn't want to show their colors. Looking back, it probably wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but it would have at least given me the peace of mind. Like, "Yeah, we tried. We played as hard as we could. But, at the end, they got us."

So just to make sure I'm picking up what you're putting down, there was a plan for you to split the votes between Danny and Frannie just in case one of them had an idol?
Yes. So early on, when we first got back from the challenge, obviously there was a mad dash. Yam Ya had actually approached me at one point and said that Danny had thrown my name out there. Now, he never confirmed and said that Danny had an idol or that he was going to play it for Frannie. But he did let me know, "There's a possibility that they're trying to make a move on you." As soon as I heard that, I went to Lauren, Kane, Jaime, and Carson. And I thought that we had a plan. We're gonna split the votes on Frannie and Danny in case one of them plays an idol. Unfortunately, we never checked in. Even to this day, it's one of those things that eats at you. I'm like, "Who did we talk to about splitting the votes on Danny?" And for the life of me, I couldn't remember. That right there is the biggest issue, personally, in my game. I wasn't completely aware of the plan and I never confirmed what people. And I think that was the dagger in the back for me, honestly.

I want to talk about the Danny of it all. Because only a few episodes ago, we see the two of you really bond on that journey and say you want to work together. Cut to him being the nail in your coffin this episode by playing the idol on Frannie. How did we get from Point A to Point B?
So what you guys see in episode 5 with me and Danny, that is genuine to an extent. But at the same time, we're both still playing the game too. We know that we can't just openly be out there trying to work with each other. And we also knew the dynamic going on at camp. It was without question, a Ratu/Soka war. So we knew that the line was gonna be drawn in the sand somewhere. Obviously he ended up getting the better of me. But I thought I had to plan for it in the case that he did something that it would have been him. And I can't knock him for it. It was a great play. And it worked beautifully. They got the best of us, that's for sure. (Laughs.)

We see you and Lauren talk at the beginning of last episode about how the plan right now is to go as far as you could with the Ratus. How did that mentality come together, and did you really intend on sticking with them as far as possible?
So there was always kind of in the back of our heads of do want to stay Ratu strong. But I always had that little bug in my ear telling me, "You can't trust Kane. He's coming for you. It might not be right now, but he's coming for you eventually." So I always knew, at some point, we're gonna have to duke it out. I just didn't think it was gonna be as early as it was. And honestly, it didn't end up being as early as I thought it would have been.

So yes, I did want to stay Ratu strong., I see myself staying very close with Lauren throughout the entirety of the game. But I knew at some point or another me and Kane were definitely gonna shoot it out. Jaime and I were kind of attached just because of the fact we started off on Ratu. Other than that, I didn't think that I necessarily could keep her on my side, although I would have loved to have gone to the end with her. So it was kind of one of those things where the dynamic changes literally every day. And for as long as we could ride it out, I was gonna ride out the Ratu train until it came time for start taking one another out.

Talk to me more about that Lauren relationship. Maddy told me one of the reasons she targeted you was because she told you both about her advantage. Matthew also told me he couldn't target Lauren even after finding out she lied about the journey because you were close. How did your dynamic develop?
So yeah our relationship started literally right at that first vote. I knew very shortly after she told the whole story about what was going on, she told me, "I actually did get the extra vote." I knew going into that Tribal that she did have an extra vote. Now she knew the plan that Maddy had to try to take me out. But she didn't tell me about it. She just said that she wasn't gonna vote for me. So in that moment, I was like, "Alright, obviously, you got to play your game too." So she never lied to me. And she also didn't take a shot at me.

So I felt like after that first Tribal, she stuck to what she was saying. We talked about after the fact why she didn't say anything. She don't want to blow up her own game, which I completely understand. But that's where our alliance really started to blossom. And then from there on out, we were just like, "Look, you've got to have somebody in the game you could trust." We tried to make that one another, and we were running with it until the wheels fell off. And unfortunately, it fell off this past week. (Laughs.)

So we gotta stick on that wild first vote. Matthew told me that he tipped you off that votes were coming your way. So were you set on playing your idol before you even got to Tribal Council?
Yes. Before we got to Tribal, I knew I was playing that idol. It was public knowledge. It's not like it was anything kept secret. The last thing I want to do is be the first person to go home, especially with an idol in my pocket. So I was like, "I'm gonna throw this out there. It might be premature. But I at least want to see where people stand." Matthew did tip me off. It was funny because I came back from a walk, and it was Matthew, Kane, and Maddie all standing in a circle not very far from me. I could see they were on the other side of the campfire. And I walked up just to see what's going on, check the temperature. And when I walked up, Maddy was standing, looking at me like this. (Stares intensely.) And I was like, "Is everything good, Maddy?" And she's like, "Everything's cool." And then I look at Kane. And he's looking at me the same exact way. And so I'm like, What was going on? Y'all good? We're keeping everything the same? Oh, okay." 

So then those two walk off and go down the beach. When they do that. I literally asked Matthew, "What are they just talking about?" He's like, "They're trying to flush your idol." And I was like, "I knew it!" So at that moment, I already knew. I was like, "You know what? I'm taking a shot at Maddy." Because I felt like she was the ringleader of this whole thing. And that's, that's really how it  played out. Now with Matthew playing the Shot in the Dark, at the time, I was like, "Is he still with me?" But then it hit me he was just trying to do that so he didn't have to choose sides, which was kind of a bittersweet thing for me. You could have shown your alliance to me, but I get why you didn't do it. But at the same time, the reason you didn't do it could be the reason why you don't want to work with me. So it was kind of like a bittersweet moment.

Luckily, you don't end up going to Tribal Council for the rest of the premerge. Talk to me about how your relationships in Ratu changed once you were able to hopefully get the big target of your idol off your back.
I mean, to be honest, the only person who left that really threw a vote at me was Kane. So that was where the most damage control needed to be done. But we had multiple conversations. For a while, I was like, "I still don't trust them. I really couldn't care less if he goes home or not." But there came a point in the game where we both had to look each other in the eyes and were like, "I get that we start off to a rocky start. But right now, we're the best thing for each other's games. We're better together than we are against each other." We actually had a moment in that last challenge that we had, where we said the exact same thing. "We've got to ride together. This is our chance. We're weaker apart than when we are together."

So, at the point that we were getting to, we had to put it all behind us, and we understood this is what's best for our game. With that being said, I still know that there was going to come a time where he was going to come for me and vice versa. So it was like one of those things we're we're gonna put it to the back burner for now, until it comes time, which obviously never ended up happening. But that was how it was playing out between me and Kane. Now, with me and Lauren, like I said, we were very close. Jaime and I were close because we were Ratu strong. But at the same time, she did leave to go to Soka for a little while. So I didn't really make as many connections as I did with Jaime as I did with everybody else.

Let's say Ratu ends up going back to Tribal Council in the premerge. To your point, you do end up losing Jaime, and you get Carson. But he has an idol and would most likely be safe. Do you get a sense as to who would go?
That's an interesting question. I think that if we would have gone back premerge, my target would have more than likely been set on Kane, to be completely honest. Especially because at that point in the game, I did not trust Kane. I was hearing what he was saying as far as he was going along with the plan, and if he would have realized what was going on, he would have never put the vote on me. But at the end of the day, you're the only person who voted for me. So it's hard for me to sit there and believe that you're not in some capacity going to be gunning for me. So, as soon as I had the opportunity, if we would have gone back premerge, that would have probably been the chance that I would have taken.

Talk to me a bit about the Carson of it all. He really did seem to be a part of Ratu by the end of your game, included in on all of your plans, despite also being a part of Tika. How did he assimilate into your alliance?
Looking back, he played it beautifully. When Carson first came to us, he really made us believe that there was a big rift on Tika. He was saying he was very happy to be on the beach. He thought he was gonna be next. And we had that the kind of idea in our head that Yam Yam was running the show over there. So when we were hearing this, it was like, "Okay, we get it." And then, just being on the beach with us, and winning challenges with him, we really thought he was close and we thought we had him on our side. Even we all got on the beach together, he was still coming to us with everything. He was still relaying information to us. We thought that we had Carson as part of our Ratu pack.

Little did we know that was not the case. He was very smart in how he went about everything in this episode. One of the things that he didn't want to do is show his true colors. He's doing a great job of kind of staying in the middle. And I think that's what  last night's vote really was. He had the ability to really blow the whole thing up, but he understood, "I want to stay in the middle of the Soka/Ratu war and I don't really want to have to pick a side." Knowing that they had the votes and knowing that they had the power to take me out, he was like, "Why put my neck out there and show who I'm really working with?"

You talked yourself up as a Renaissance man on the show, showing skills from magic tricks to piloting. And I know in the preseason you talked to me about being an obvious physical threat and being a meat shield. How much do you think that perception ultimately incorporated into the others choosing to get rid of you first from the Ratu alliance?
Yeah, I look back and I take it with a grain of salt. I understand. I probably would have taken a shot at me too. I did feel like I was in a good place relationship-wise, and building those relationships with people. There was a chance that I could have started working with other people. It's all part of the game. Obviously, it's funny. I didn't even realize this while I was out there, but this was really my first week that I didn't have immunity. So yeah, I would have taken a shot at me too, knowing that there's no telling what challenges are next, or how this game plays out. We had so many crazy twists and turns and so many advantages thrown in, there was no telling. I could have turned around the next week and found an idol or something that would have made it very hard for them to take that shot. So, if I was in their position, I would have done the same exact thing.

Next, check out our interview with Matt Blankinship, who was voted out in Survivor 44 Episode 7.