THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING TY SUMMERS
Ty Summers is a linebacker with the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft by Green Bay (226th overall) and has found himself as a core special teams player in the NFL.
In college at Texas Christian, Summers received second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2016 and honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors in 2017 and 2018. He was selected as the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with a career-high 23 tackles (seven solo) in a 28-21 double-overtime victory over Baylor on Nov. 27, 2017.
He was also named one of the TCU Fellowship of Christian Athletes Bob Lilly Athletes of the Year award recipients for the 2017-18 academic year.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Summers about growing up a Dallas Cowboys fan, being a perfectionist, leading Bible studies, and the importance of taming your tongue.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson runs a drill at the NFL Combine on Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ty Simpson doesn’t know where he’ll be playing football next season. The former Alabama star is projected to be the second quarterback chosen — behind Indiana QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza — when the 2026 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday from Pittsburgh.
Soon, Simpson will have a new city he’ll call home, a new playbook to study, and a new coaching staff to begin learning under.
What he’s 100% sure of, however, is his salvation through his faith in Jesus Christ.
“I know where I’m going,” he said in December on “The Walk” podcast. “I have full confidence knowing where I’m going. That’s how I see it. We’re His children and we’re here to spread His Word because of what He did. But at the same time, if the Lord Jesus comes back tomorrow, like in Revelation and the earth dissolves like that, I know what’s going to happen.
“The question is, do you?”
After starring at Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee — where he led his team to Class 2A state championship his senior year — he signed with Alabama as a five-star recruit. Despite being a highly touted prospect in 2022, he served primarily as a backup until earning the starting job as a junior this past season.
A second-team All-SEC selection, he started 15 games and threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He led Alabama to a College Football Playoff berth, where it lost in the quarterfinals to eventual national-champion Indiana in the Rose Bowl.
Sitting the bench and not playing regularly was admittedly difficult for him, Simpson said. His identity had become wrapped up in his football performance and success.
“It just got no fun,” he said an interview with CBN Sports. “I just dreaded coming into the building every day, going to practice, going to meetings, because it just wasn’t very fun to me. I saw myself as a certain type of figure, and that was just football.”
He remembers a scrimmage going poorly, and when he got back to his apartment, his father, Jason, was there. Ty began tearing up and getting emotional. Jason has been the head football coach at the University of Tennessee-Martin since 2006, so he’s a resource for Ty when the young QB needs to discuss football. But his father is also a major source of encouragement in his walk with God.
Jason sends Ty scriptures over text messages each morning, and that day in the apartment Jason challenged his son about his faith — whether he was in the Word, involved in a local church, and praying regularly to seek guidance from God.
“It really kind of opened my eyes because I was like, ‘No, I’m not,'” Ty told CBN Sports. “I was more focused on how people saw me as a football player and how people perceived me as an athlete instead of how people saw me as a Christian and a person. I was living a type of way that I knew was wrong, but it was the one that I wanted to do.”
Jason has been there from the beginning of both Ty’s football career as well as his faith journey. Ty remembers being 7 or 8 years old sitting in a pew at church asking his father questions about the Christian faith. He asked what it meant to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Jason, who served as a deacon at the church, led him through the basics of what it meant to be a Christian, and how accepting Jesus as his Savior would secure eternal life in Heaven.
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” Ty told “The Walk” podcast. “Throwing a touchdown pass, getting married, none of that really matters compared to giving your life to Christ.
“I remember that pew that day. I tugged my dad’s khakis and I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to go up and talk to my pastor.’ We went up to talk to the pastor, took the steps forward, got saved and baptized later in the next couple of weeks. I remember it like it was yesterday just because it was a big step in my life and means a lot to me and that’s kind of how I am the person [that I am] today because of that.”
.@ty_simpson06 is ready to do whatever it takes to get his team the W 😎
That conversation with his dad in his apartment had a similar effect, but this time he was much older and more mature with an even better understanding of what his dad was saying. Later that night, Ty rededicated his life to the Lord.
“I kind of just sat back and prayed,” he told CBN Sports. “It was just a big sigh of relief off my shoulders — no anxiety, just felt free, honestly.”
That spiritual freedom allowed Simpson to play more free on the field with more peace in his heart and mind. His favorite verse is Micah 5:5, which says, “And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders.”
Simpson’s faith has allowed him to have peace in big games in front of large crowds, which won’t change as he moves on to the NFL.
“It just gave me a different perspective of, like, ‘Why would I be upset over how people look at me or how I played when knowing there’s such a bigger purpose?’ There’s a reason why I’m playing this game,” he told CBN Sports. “It’s not just because I’m good and whatever. There’s a reason why it’s working out the way it’s working out, and it’s not up to me.”
That reason?
“To use my platform to give the glory to the Lord,” he told CBN Sports. “We say this all the time — I want people to see me more as a Christian than as a football player.”
Tony Dungy (left) and Cooper Kupp. (Photo courtesy of X/@TonyDungy)
The first four months of 2026 have been good to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
In February, the 32-year-old won his second Super Bowl title when the Seahawks took down the New England Patriots, 29-13, in Super Bowl LX. Then on Friday at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, he was presented with the 2026 Uncommon Award by legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy.
Dungy presents the Uncommon Award annually to someone who, according to the event website, isn’t “afraid to take the tough road, to follow a higher calling or set a higher standard.” Dungy’s passion for living an uncommon life and calling others to do the same came from his father, his collegiate coach at Minnesota, Cal Stoll, and Jesus’ words in the Bible passage Matthew 7:13-14.
We’re at our 13th annual Uncommon Award dinner and this year we are honoring Cooper Kupp. Cooper is a 2 time Super Bowl champ and an amazing man as well. He’s been a great leader for the Rams & the Seahawks and a true community servant. Cooper has shown that you can be at the top… pic.twitter.com/GqiQKXdzJV
The presentation of the Uncommon Award to Kupp was followed Saturday morning by the Arise with the Guys men’s event, which was attended by nearly 4,000 men. The event seeks to prepare men to create meaningful change and live an uncommon life. Recently-retired Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham was one of the speakers, and the event concluded with a Gospel presentation.
The morning centered on Kupp and Dungy as they participated in a Q&A, where they talked about football and their shared faith in Christ.
“I was made to play the game of football,” Kupp said on the stage. “Not to go do great football things or to win Super Bowls. I was made to play football to be on a stage to be able to point to Jesus, to be able to call people to Him, to be able to live a life that reflects Jesus in every way. I know that I would not be here without Him.”
Kupp was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams out of Eastern Washington in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft and made an immediate splash in L.A. with 869 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. He continued to develop over the next few years, culminating in a historic 2021 campaign.
That season, he earned the NFL’s receiving “triple crown” in which he led the league in receptions (145), yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16). Kupp was named a Pro Bowler, a first-team All-Pro, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and he capped the season by leading his team to a 23-20 victory in Super Bowl LVI. He was the game’s MVP.
After three more seasons with the Rams, he was released and quickly re-signed by Seattle, where he continued to be a starter. His consistency and veteran leadership proved invaluable on the team’s journey to a Super Bowl title; he caught six passes for 61 yards in the big game.
Kupp’s full Q&A was featured in this week’s “Tuesday Morning RB” on the Sports Spectrum Podcast, and when asked about his release from the Rams only to be signed by the Seahawks and win a Super Bowl, he talked about trusting God’s goodness in the uncertainty.
“God has a plan for you that isn’t always going to be in alignment with what you want for yourself,” Kupp said. “But His plan is better. I promise you, it’s better. You know, I’ve lived that out. This year was a great example.”
Later, Kupp revealed that he signs autographs with one of his favorite Bible verses, 1 Corinthians 9:25, which says, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” After Kupp quoted it, he reflected on its significance to him.
“I’m working out at 7:00 in the morning. I’m here not because I’m getting ready for a game. I’m here because I’m representing Jesus on earth,” he said. “That is a mindset that is going to give you everything you need, all the motivation you need, to go out and be the best football player that you can possibly be. More than enough motivation.
“We should be the hardest workers in the world, because we’re working for an eternal prize.”
Kupp was asked about what the Lord taught him in the past year, from the low of being released to the high of winning a Super Bowl with his favorite childhood team.
“What God taught me is that He’s there,” Kupp said. “He’s there for us, and when you pursue Him, He’s going to answer the bell. He will answer the bell, I promise you. Do not leave. Just stay on the path that He has for you because He is there for you and He has a great plan for you.”
Whatever 2026-27 holds for Kupp, this year’s Uncommon Award winner will seek to continue to live the uncommon life God has called him to.
“Without Jesus, I’m nothing. Without His love and His care and His guidance just going through my whole life — the ups and downs that I’ve been through — He’s the only Truth and the Way to help me through.”
