During a junior high football practice in October 2008, I remember taking it easy during just one play and Coach Patrick ripping into me. I thought I had made the tackle and allowed the ball carrier to continue running, but Coach wanted more effort than that. He screamed at the top of his lungs and…
Yesterday, I sat in my girlfriend’s best friend’s living room watching the Chiefs v. 49ers game. I’m a Cowboys fan at heart, but I’m slowly learning to love the Chiefs. It’s a painful process, but so is being a Cowboys fan. Pick your poison, I guess. In the middle of an otherwise normal NFL matchup,…
In April 2017, after attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, the New England Patriots selected me as an undrafted free agent. I spent the next four months learning from the greatest football coach ever. Here’s what I learned: I am the worst football player of all time. I’m worthless as a human being. I…
As an athlete, one of the most important lessons I wish I had learned earlier is how much nutrition impacts performance. Paying attention to what you eat can make a massive difference in your athletic development and success. Here are the three tips I wish I had known in high school to optimize performance on…
Life isn’t fair. Sometimes, the better player doesn’t get playing time. Sometimes, the coaches can’t see talent. Sometimes, you can’t see your own mistakes. There’s a plethora of reasons why you may not be seeing more playing time, but the fact is that you’re not getting the playing time you think you deserve. If you…
Winning a big game is what we play the game for. The big crowds, the tailgates, and the excitement at school after the games make all the strain and struggle during practice worth it. In the regular season, a big game can be the defining moment in your season. Winning could mean the start of…
As a Young Athlete, I Thought My Diet Didn’t Matter As a younger football player, I believed my training would cancel out my diet. I thought I could eat whatever I wanted, and my body would be able to eliminate it due to the high amount of calories I burnt on a daily basis. Cookies,…
There’s a lot going on for a student-athlete in college. From day one on campus, you’re balancing a literal full-time job with a full-blown 16-hour student schedule. (At least it used to be this way. And we also weren’t being paid like they are now. I’m totally not salty about it.) Here’s the…
The Resilient Mindset: Embracing Growth Over Immediate Results Showing up to practice for the first time as a Razorback was intimidating, to say the least. As a freshman, I walked onto the field after months of training alongside new teammates—upperclassmen, transfers, walk-ons, and my freshman roommates. I looked around and wondered if I had what…
The Competitor’s Blueprint As you can imagine, in the NFL, the competition is incredibly stiff. Walking into practice, you quickly notice that every linebacker is the same size, strength, speed, and intelligence. They all have that undeniable swagger, and the defense’s quarterbacks possess the team-leading bravado needed to counter an exceptional offense. Think of guys…
