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 \u201cgods\u201d of football.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t a stretch to imagine that such hero worship seduces even the best young men. Yet, some don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Despite the rarified atmosphere in which star football players live, especially in the Bible belt, Daniels, Young and Tebow readily acknowledge God\u2019s role in their athletic success.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019s NCAA division.<\/p>\n That\u2019s enough to turn a young man\u2019s head.<\/p>\n Daniels could have thought, \u201cLook at me! I\u2019m the greatest!\u201d But he seemed to remember that football is a team<\/u> sport and that his own talent comes from God.<\/p>\n In fact, Daniels used his Heisman acceptance speech to praise God. \u201cHe blessed me with the talents and ability to get here (and) all the special people here to develop these skills\u2026.. He\u2019s my rock, my Savior,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n LSU has this to say about Daniels, aka \u201cthat kid.\u201d \u201cThat kid<\/i> 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\u2019s his heart that makes him immeasurable.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it\u2019s the way that whenever people sing his praises, he\u2019s 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<\/i> can.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Trying to figure out life on a national stage could \u201cmake some people crumble,\u201d according to LSU\u2019s statement. But that kid<\/i> didn\u2019t. \u201cDaniels 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.\u201d<\/p>\n In Arizona, he was close to his family in California. \u201cSo, when I decided to come out here (to LSU), I\u2019m like, \u2018Alright. I\u2019m out here on my own, really.\u2019 It forced me to figure out me, who I am as a person, who I am as a human being. I can\u2019t rely on one phone call away or that somebody\u2019s going to come help me. I had to figure stuff out.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniels credits LSU player relations manager Sherman Wilson with helping. \u201cBeing around him, I kind of got back into my faith more, always giving glory to God. The young man\u2019s focus on God is \u201ca large part of the reason why Daniels has been playing so free,\u201d LSU said. \u201cWhen he remembers his true identity in Christ, there\u2019s no space for overthinking or self-doubt. He trusts himself to walk in the freedom to do what he loves, and he knows there\u2019s no sense worrying about things before they happen, because then you worry twice.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniels explained, \u201cI don\u2019t worry about things I can\u2019t control. There\u2019s some stuff where it\u2019s just human nature to have anxiety; you get nervous about it because you don\u2019t know what the outcome is going to be. You can\u2019t predict the unpredictable. So, as I mature, grow up more and dive deeper into my faith, I just know that it\u2019s God\u2019s plan with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he still smiles. You feel it,\u201d the school said. \u201cThat smile and his easy, calming presence ignite hope in every person he touches. He effortlessly reminds people why there\u2019s nothing to ever worry about, and why we can always choose joy. All that by being that kid.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Asked how he wants to be remembered, Daniels summed up his thoughts in three words: Humble, legendary and joyful.<\/p>\n \u201cHappiness is an emotion that changes with circumstances,\u201d according to the school. \u201cJoy is everlasting, rooted in faith in Jesus. Daniels epitomizes this in the most pure, genuine sense. You can\u2019t help but feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps that kid<\/i> is no longer a suitable nickname for Daniels. Perhaps that young man<\/i> is more appropriate as Daniels stands on the threshold of what could be an outstanding NFL career.<\/p>\n Read more about Jayden Daniels on the LSU sports website\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner was another Southeastern Conference quarterback, Bryce Young of Alabama. \u201cI work to be the best version of myself that I can be and to embody Christ in all that I do,\u201d Young said in an interview with \u201cSports Spectrum,\u201d which spotlights Christian athletes.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, for me, regardless of how someone else views me, whatever award (or) accolade, what someone may say, negative or positive \u2013 at the end of the day, what motives me and pushes me is to model myself after the Lord,\u201d he said in 2022.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s top player, as well as the Davey O\u2019Brien and Manning awards as the top quarterback.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst and foremost, I\u2019d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, I couldn\u2019t be here, and through Him all things are possible,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely goes to my roots. I\u2019ve been based in faith. I\u2019m blessed to have the family that introduced me\u2026. Throughout my life, my relationship has grown with the Lord and my faith has improved,\u201d Young explained.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cGod flows in everything that you\u2019re doing, everything that you\u2019re thinking, everything that goes on,\u201d Young added. \u201cI work hard and try to do my best to represent God through football. Whether it\u2019s small things, big things, whatever it is, I understand that God\u2019s with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryce Young currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. Read more about him on the team\u2019s website here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe New York Times\u201d has called Tim Tebow \u201ca preacher in a football player\u2019s body.\u201d It\u2019s 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 \u2014 the first sophomore to ever win it.<\/p>\n And the \u201cChristian Science Monitor\u201d has this to say: \u201cReligion and football have long coexisted without too much comment \u2013 from perfunctory praise in sideline interviews to postgame prayer huddles. But Tebow has gone further, making his career a sermon for his Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n The son of Christian missionaries, Tim Tebow evokes strong feelings \u2013 pro and con \u2013 \u201cChristian Science Monitor\u201d added. \u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n And that has happened to some extent. However, he has seen attacks on his religious beliefs as badges of honor. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t fear failure,\u201d according to Walt Day, former chaplain to the New England Patriots. \u201cHe feels loved and accepted by his God no matter what. His success in life isn\u2019t based on his performance\u2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThose who can relax and get the most out of their skills are the ones who can get to the higher levels of succeeding,\u201d Day added. \u201cThat\u2019s my impression with Tim.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeing outspoken about my faith isn\u2019t just something that I do; it\u2019s who I am because my faith isn\u2019t just a little piece of my life. It is my life,\u201d Tebow has said. \u201cLiving 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.<\/p>\n Now retired from the NFL, Tebow is a college football analyst for ESPN, a speaker and a \u201cNew York Times\u201d best-selling author. He also has his own foundation, which I featured in my post, \u201cChristianity & Humanitarianism Can Go Hand in Hand,\u201d on Patheos here.<\/a> 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.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0What 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 \u201cgods\u201d of football. It isn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4662,"featured_media":4383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1479],"tags":[1488,1482,1494,1485,1491],"class_list":["post-4380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion-and-football","tag-bryce-young","tag-focus-on-god","tag-heisman-and-god","tag-jayden-daniels","tag-tim-tebow"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1491\/2024\/01\/football-2368168_640-232x300.jpg\")
Jayden Daniels<\/h2>\n
A Golden Arm<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n
Daniels\u2019 Focus on God<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
That Kid<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n
\n\u201c(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.\u201d<\/p>\nGod\u2019s Plan<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\u201cYou Feel It\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
Bryce Young<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe Best Version of Myself\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
Heisman-worthy Stats<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
Young\u2019s Focus on God<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
Tim Tebow<\/h2>\n
\u201cA Preacher in a Football Player\u2019s Body\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
Strong Feelings \u2013 Pro and Con<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Who I Am\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n