What Jayden Daniels, Bryce Young & Tim Tebow Can Teach Us
College football is a religion where I live, as it may be in your area. Churches have Sundays. College football has Saturdays. Churches have holidays. Football has bowl games and national championships. Christians worship Christ. Football fans worship the “gods” of football.
It isn’t a stretch to imagine that such hero worship seduces even the best young men. Yet, some don’t succumb. Heisman winners Jayden Daniels of LSU (2023), Bryce Young of Alabama (2021) and Tim Tebow of Florida (2007) are three young men who reached the highest level in college football but kept their focus on God.
Despite the rarified atmosphere in which star football players live, especially in the Bible belt, Daniels, Young and Tebow readily acknowledge God’s role in their athletic success.
Jayden Daniels
A Golden Arm
Jayden Daniels, former LSU quarterback, capped a record-setting 2023 season by receiving the Heisman Trophy a few weeks ago. He also was named the 2023 AP Player of the Year and the Walter Camp Player of the Year and received the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, among other honors.
His stats in 2023 speak for themselves. In 12 games, he produced nearly 5,000 total yards (a mile is only 1,760 yards). He averaged more than 400 yards per game, which was the highest per game average in the country last season, and also passed for 40 touchdowns, also the nation’s best. All told, he led his team to a total 50 touchdowns, which translates to 300 points. And his 208.01 passer efficiency rating was the best in the history of his college’s NCAA division.
That’s enough to turn a young man’s head.
Daniels’ Focus on God
Daniels could have thought, “Look at me! I’m the greatest!” But he seemed to remember that football is a team sport and that his own talent comes from God.
In fact, Daniels used his Heisman acceptance speech to praise God. “He blessed me with the talents and ability to get here (and) all the special people here to develop these skills….. He’s my rock, my Savior,” he said.
LSU has this to say about Daniels, aka “that kid.” “That kid is the most popular person in college sports, but if you are lucky enough to spend even a few moments with him, you would never know. He is a magician on the football field, but it’s his heart that makes him immeasurable.
“Maybe it’s the way that whenever people sing his praises, he’s almost incapable of making it about him. He is always so steady, and no matter how crazy things get, he just smiles. In the way that only that kid can.”
That Kid
Daniels, who was born in San Bernardino, CA, was raised in church, but wandered from his faith after graduating from Arizona State and moving on to play at LSU.
Trying to figure out life on a national stage could “make some people crumble,” according to LSU’s statement. But that kid didn’t. “Daniels grew up in the church, but admitted that he found himself wandering from his faith. While he was at Arizona State, he was comfortable, but coming to LSU changed things.”
In Arizona, he was close to his family in California. “So, when I decided to come out here (to LSU), I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m out here on my own, really.’ It forced me to figure out me, who I am as a person, who I am as a human being. I can’t rely on one phone call away or that somebody’s going to come help me. I had to figure stuff out.”
Daniels credits LSU player relations manager Sherman Wilson with helping. “Being around him, I kind of got back into my faith more, always giving glory to God.
“(Christ) died on the cross for us; anything is possible with him. I wanted to stop trying to put so much pressure on me and just give everything to God, letting Him take care of it.”
God’s Plan
The young man’s focus on God is “a large part of the reason why Daniels has been playing so free,” LSU said. “When he remembers his true identity in Christ, there’s no space for overthinking or self-doubt. He trusts himself to walk in the freedom to do what he loves, and he knows there’s no sense worrying about things before they happen, because then you worry twice.”
Daniels explained, “I don’t worry about things I can’t control. There’s some stuff where it’s just human nature to have anxiety; you get nervous about it because you don’t know what the outcome is going to be. You can’t predict the unpredictable. So, as I mature, grow up more and dive deeper into my faith, I just know that it’s God’s plan with everything.”
The young athlete survived quite a bit during college. He lost both paternal grandparents to Covid-19, struggled during his last season at Arizona State, moved away from his religion for a time at LSU, suffered injuries and watched a close friend and teammate battle brain cancer.
“You Feel It”
“But he still smiles. You feel it,” the school said. “That smile and his easy, calming presence ignite hope in every person he touches. He effortlessly reminds people why there’s nothing to ever worry about, and why we can always choose joy. All that by being that kid.”
Asked how he wants to be remembered, Daniels summed up his thoughts in three words: Humble, legendary and joyful.
“Happiness is an emotion that changes with circumstances,” according to the school. “Joy is everlasting, rooted in faith in Jesus. Daniels epitomizes this in the most pure, genuine sense. You can’t help but feel it.”
Perhaps that kid is no longer a suitable nickname for Daniels. Perhaps that young man is more appropriate as Daniels stands on the threshold of what could be an outstanding NFL career.
Read more about Jayden Daniels on the LSU sports website here.
Bryce Young
“The Best Version of Myself”
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner was another Southeastern Conference quarterback, Bryce Young of Alabama. “I work to be the best version of myself that I can be and to embody Christ in all that I do,” Young said in an interview with “Sports Spectrum,” which spotlights Christian athletes.
“So, for me, regardless of how someone else views me, whatever award (or) accolade, what someone may say, negative or positive – at the end of the day, what motives me and pushes me is to model myself after the Lord,” he said in 2022.
Heisman-worthy Stats
His gridiron achievements are remarkable. He passed for nearly 4,900 yards and 47 touchdowns in 2021, lead Alabama to an SEC championship and College Football Playoff appearance and received the Heisman and Maxwell awards as college football’s top player, as well as the Davey O’Brien and Manning awards as the top quarterback.
Despite the accolades, Young has put faith front and center since signing with the Crimson Tide after graduating from a Santa Ana, CA, high school. And like Daniels, he talked about faith in his Heisman acceptance speech.
Young’s Focus on God
“First and foremost, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, I couldn’t be here, and through Him all things are possible,” Young said.
“It definitely goes to my roots. I’ve been based in faith. I’m blessed to have the family that introduced me…. Throughout my life, my relationship has grown with the Lord and my faith has improved,” Young explained.
One faith-based, pre-game ritual is the prayer he and his parents share. In high school, it often took place on the sidelines but now may happen during a phone call on Friday night or game day. It helps ground him, he said.
“God flows in everything that you’re doing, everything that you’re thinking, everything that goes on,” Young added. “I work hard and try to do my best to represent God through football. Whether it’s small things, big things, whatever it is, I understand that God’s with me.”
Bryce Young currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. Read more about him on the team’s website here.
Tim Tebow
“A Preacher in a Football Player’s Body”
“The New York Times” has called Tim Tebow “a preacher in a football player’s body.” It’s an apt description for yet another Southeastern Conference quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy. He was a sophomore when he received the award in 2007 — the first sophomore to ever win it.
And the “Christian Science Monitor” has this to say: “Religion and football have long coexisted without too much comment – from perfunctory praise in sideline interviews to postgame prayer huddles. But Tebow has gone further, making his career a sermon for his Lord.”
Strong Feelings – Pro and Con
The son of Christian missionaries, Tim Tebow evokes strong feelings – pro and con – “Christian Science Monitor” added. “In some ways, (he) can use the Christian narrative of faith tested by trial not only to cope with adversity, but to thrive on it. But by wearing his convictions so openly, Tebow also risks making his career a referendum on his religious beliefs.”
And that has happened to some extent. However, he has seen attacks on his religious beliefs as badges of honor. “He doesn’t fear failure,” according to Walt Day, former chaplain to the New England Patriots. “He feels loved and accepted by his God no matter what. His success in life isn’t based on his performance….
“Those who can relax and get the most out of their skills are the ones who can get to the higher levels of succeeding,” Day added. “That’s my impression with Tim.”
“It’s Who I Am”
“Being outspoken about my faith isn’t just something that I do; it’s who I am because my faith isn’t just a little piece of my life. It is my life,” Tebow has said. “Living by faith is about when you do mess up, getting back up, brushing yourself off, and keep trying to improve where you mess up or where you have temptation.
Now retired from the NFL, Tebow is a college football analyst for ESPN, a speaker and a “New York Times” best-selling author. He also has his own foundation, which I featured in my post, “Christianity & Humanitarianism Can Go Hand in Hand,” on Patheos here. In it, I recount the unusual way Tebow uses his Heisman to raise money for humanitarian causes. You may read even more about Tebow in the Christian Science Monitor post here.
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