Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles professed his Christian faith long before leading his team to victory at Super Bowl LII on Sunday night. Here are some of the most prominent faith-filled moments on the road to the 29-year-old's rise to superstardom on the big Super Bowl stage.
1. Foles Takes Courses at Liberty University
Foles is taking graduate courses under Liberty University's online education program at the Rawlings School of Divinity, according to the website for the Christian college, located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Now, he holds the honor of being the first Liberty student to quarterback a winning Super Bowl team.
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell took to Twitter to make the announcement and congratulate Foles.
"Congratulations to Liberty student @NFoles_9 on an incredible performance tonight and on becoming the first @LibertyU student to quarterback a winning @SuperBowl team! Amazing job by @Eagles," Falwell tweeted. "Great game and a real testament to the character and perseverance of the Eagles team!"
Foles has stated that after football, he is thinking of becoming a pastor.
2. Faith Kept Nick From Retiring
Foles is a Super Bowl champion but there was once a time he lost his passion for the NFL and contemplated retirement. In the YouVersion plan, "Professional Football Players On Humility & Surrender," the Eagles third round draft pick in 2012 revealed that God told him to take a leap of faith with his career to ultimately glorify Him.
"At that moment, through that prayer, He said, 'Hey, just take a step of faith.' You're either going to stop playing the game of football and you're going to go onto a different area of your life and I'm going to be with you," he said.
"I'm going to be the most important thing in your life, or you're going to step back into football and you're going to continue to play and I'm going to be with you every step of the way and you're going to play to glorify me."
3. Nick's Wife Reaffirms His Faith
Foles and his wife, Tori, have been married for close to four years after meeting as students at the University of Arizona years ago. When making his media rounds ahead of Super Bowl LII, he cited Tori and their infant, Lily James, as his inspiration.
"When I think about this journey and everything, I get home ... and I get to see her. I get to see my wife," Foles told reporters last week, according to Page Six. "I see her and my wife, just in her face and in her mannerisms, that's what it's about. I know that every time I step on the field, every single thing I do, there's going to be some days she looks and wants to know who her daddy was and what he did."
Tori has gone on record to call life with her husband nothing short of a blessing.
"We've been on a wild journey in this NFL life, but we are blessed to be in the situation we are in," she previously wrote in The Increase Women. "We've learned it is best to just embrace this crazy lifestyle and enjoy the process that God is constantly crafting."
4. Nick Wears WWJD Bracelet
Since taking over for former starting QB Carson Wentz after a season ending injury in Week 14, Foles has been giving God the glory. On Super Bowl Sunday, he was spotted wearing a WWJD bracelet.
After leading his Eagles to a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night, Foles made sure to give God the glory after being named the Most Valuable Player of the game.
"Unbelievable. All glory to God," he said when receiving the honor.
Weeks before, Foles echoed similar sentiments when receiving the NFC Championship trophy last month.
"Words can't describe what I feel right now. I said it out there, all glory belongs to God," he said at a press conference last month, according to NFL.com. "I wouldn't be here without any of that. I'm grateful and humbled to be a part of this team, to be in this moment, to share it with our family and fans. All the people that love this franchise. It's unbelievable. Words can't describe."
