I always knew that my identity wasn't in football. It wasn't in baseball. I knew it's always been in Christ and just my upbringing has always led me to have a tremendous faith that God was going to see me through and he would not give me too much that I couldn't bear.
I draw a lot of comparisons with Cam Newton and E.J. Manuel. But for the mental part, I like to view myself as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and those guys. Because they're so ahead of everyone else when it comes to that part of the game.
After I won the Heisman a lot of people were thinking I probably wouldn't set foot on a baseball field, but I love this game, too. That's what some people fail to realize.
I always was a guy that wanted to be liked. That wanted to be like everyone else, not really understanding that the platform that I had was different than others. Not really understanding that God expects more from his leaders that he does from people who are not really committed to Him.
Well, ever since I was six, I had a little notebook with coverages and notes on the mental aspect of a game, what it meant to be a leader and what type of attitude you had to have.
I'm really just excited to play football. It's a win-win situation for me. I just got to go out there and do what I do best. It's what God blessed me to do, so I've got to do it.
Me and Coach Koetter have a great relationship, first and foremost, and we've got the same goal when we go out there on that football field - and that's to win the football game.
One great lesson that I would just pass along to every young person out there or anybody that feels that they can handle everything by themselves, that feels all they need is themselves, their sheer will and their confidence, I would disagree with that.
Sometimes checking that ball down is the simple decision. It's about moving the chains. It's about a completion here and a completion there. And that's how you know the game really slows down is when you're able to do that, when it's just second nature.
My mother was the youngest of 11 kids and I grew up in her family's household. I was blessed to have my dad in my life and his family lived right down the street from the church.
God is teaching me to really just take small increments towards Him every single day. One thing about Jesus. He's always walking towards us because he wants to guide us. But all we have to do, we have to be willing to be vulnerable and take steps towards Him.
The thing about this league that I've learned is that you can't really harp too much on your last game. The next game is the most important game and you've got to prepare for that.