A Lesson in Urgency During the summer of 2013, my freshman year at the University of Arkansas, we had daily workouts with the team. We had to travel from the Quads, where we stayed, to the stadium (the old facility) and then to the weight room near where the new facility was being built. It…
Introduction: Protecting Your Brain for the Game and Beyond Experiencing a concussion in football is one of the worst injuries that can happen to you. Your mind and cognition, a precious tool made in the image of God, are not something to mess with. As football’s greatest critique, protecting the “dome” is the most important…
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…
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…
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…
HOW TO MAKE MORE BIG-TIME PLAYS The Impact of a Big-Time Play The best part about football is that just one play can completely transform the energy and outcome of a game. All it takes is one player to make an interception, cause a forced fumble, break one tackle, and take it into the endzone,…
“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda The warrior is a force to be reckoned with and the most feared and dangerous of all character types. They are capable of causing death and destruction to anyone at any time if they so…
