I always sing “Amazing Grace”, which is really cool because it gives me a chance to talk about growing up as a pastor’s kid, and explain why I’m singing “Amazing Grace”. I grew up in the church, singing in the church, and I go riff off a few verses of “Amazing Grace” and they just go nuts. That’s the last thing they’re expecting, is for a football player to sing.
It’s interesting because nobody complains about the faith aspect. It’s almost like, because it’s presented out of love, and presented with the support of being a professional athlete, it really bridges that gap, that sensitivity that people have. It’s really cool to see how God does that.
What are your plans for the future of your two careers?
I’m going into my 6th year in the NFL, which, praise God, is awesome because the average career in the NFL now is two and a half years. I hope to play four more; I’d like to play for ten. That would be my dream - if my body allows me to.
I think, for me, my hope is that the Lord can provide a ministry in music, and over the next 3 to 4 years I can create a steady fan base so that I can make that transition after football into doing this for the rest of my life because I love it.
How did you decide to make the move into music?
I grew up in a very musical family. My dad was a vocal music major in college, before he went into the ministry. It was always around my sister and I. My mum is a wonderful singer, so we grew up with it. I started singing in church when I was in 4th or 5th grade. It was always a passion, something I always knew would be a part of my life no matter what I did.
How did your team and coach react to your decision? Were they supportive?
So supportive. I received my quote from Coach Dungy and I was almost speechless because I didn’t realise the support that I had until I read it. It was amazing to see how God allowed players to really see how much it meant to me, and once they saw that there was a lot of respect and support.
I’ve gotten the same reaction from the Cincinnati Bengals - a lot of support once people realise that it’s not a gimmick. I came down to Nashville with my demos, and I got a lot of that. Just sitting down with Word Distribution and my manager, even they told me, “Listen, we listened to this to do a favour to your manager, because we thought it was a gimmick, but wow, you can really sing. You’ve got a lot of passion.” That’s what has been most exciting for me. When people realise that it’s reality, and it’s my heart, they have a lot of respect for it.
