Deep down, recalls Paudie Clifford, he always felt he had a "small chance" of following his brother David into Kerry's senior ranks.
Today, they provide a twin-pronged attacking threat for the Kingdom.
David, who celebrated his 23rd birthday last month, is the younger sibling - and currently the most celebrated player in the game, marrying silky skills with deadly intent.
Paudie turned 25 last October and it took him longer to make his mark.
"We’ve always been different players," said Paudie, referring to the brothers' styles. "We have different skills, different things that we’re good at.
"That would've never been a problem. I’ve always played a bit more out the field than him."
In terms of physique and playing style, Paudie is in the Paul Galvin mould.
"There would've been some similarities alright between me and Paul," he said. "He's a player I've always looked up to. I'm probably at my best when given more of a free role."
David was always a star in the making through the underage ranks. Paudie made the leap from junior level. It wasn't until last year that he established himself in the green and gold.
What the Cliffords share is the competitive edge that was honed at home from a young age.
"We were always just playing at the side of our house," remembered Paudie. "We have a decent enough size of a lawn, a wall, and a goal so just playing against each other for years.
"That’s how it all started. It being so competitive helped.
"You’re at an advantage having a brother similar enough in age - you can be challenging each other, making up different kinds of games to play."
They grew up in a football mad house. Their dad was a referee and the brothers helped out at games.
Paudie quickly realised why people described David as a special talent. "Yeah, from what he was doing for Fossa all the way up," he said.
"In primary school he was playing with our senior team while in second class. It was only a three teacher school, we were short numbers, but he was starting and playing well.
"When he was playing under-12 or 14, he put up massive scores. That was probably when people started to take notice and we started to realise he was going to be fairly good.
"We played down the divisions so it would was a bit easier, but there were big scores thrown in."
The brothers went in different directions. David's path was paved towards Kerry's senior set-up - he won two All-Ireland minor titles, in 2016 and '17.
A year later, on the same weekend that David scored a late goal against Monaghan in the Super 8s, Paudie won a junior All-Ireland with Kerry.
"David probably gave me the belief that I could (make it)," Paudie said. "I was thinking, 'If he's able to do that, I can play at a similar level'.
"I was trying to play as well as I could for the juniors at the time."
His mentality changed when he was a part of Billy Morgan's UCC set-up that won the Sigerson Cup.
"Billy gave me a chance," he said. "He gave me a lot of advice but let me do my own thing too. He was a great mentor and manager.
"The team was full of inter-county players. I realised maybe I can play at this level."
Clifford then suffered a bad ankle break and had to bide his time. He did a lot of gym work and speed work, his body developed. He was ready.
The rewards came last year, even if Kerry lost their All-Ireland semi-final to Tyrone.
