If you’re preparing for the NFL Draft weekend, I know exactly how you feel. Here’s what I wish I’d known.
I wish I knew that it was all going to be OK. That I would go to the right team, at the right time. I wish I knew how to tune out the noise. The agents, the friends, even the family. I wish I had truly trusted God with the outcome. Because He had me covered.
My draft story was 15 years ago. I was coming out of the University of Texas as an All-American on the field and in the classroom. I had trained for the NFL Combine, visited teams, sat down with coaches and general managers. I had dominated the Senior Bowl. I had done everything my agent said I needed to do. I’d checked every box. All that was left was the wait. And that’s where I made my first mistake: I thought I was in control.
Teams will tell you they are going to draft you. They will not. They have plans, but plans change on the clock. So don’t get your hopes up. But also, keep your pride down.
My pride was out of control by Day 2. So much so that God had to humble me by putting a huge pimple right in the center of my forehead. One of those deep ones that didn’t go away for a week. In hindsight, that pimple was hilarious. At the time? I was furious, or more accurately, puffed up.
I was sure I’d hear my name on Day 2. My agent told me. The coaches told me. Everyone told me — except God. I had a draft party planned for Day 1 and Day 2. Nothing planned for Day 3. Those rounds were reserved for other people, or so I thought.
None of it happened on my timeline. All of it happened on His. You don’t have to be what anyone says you need to be. Be faithful. God will provide.
I didn’t feel sick when my name wasn’t called; I felt betrayed. I felt duped. I felt like I had been lied to. I went to my room and cried. And then I did something I wish I’d done from the start: I cried out to God.
“God,” I pleaded. “You know my heart. You know I’m not in it for the fame, the women, or the money. God, I just want to make Your name famous. Lord, please give me a chance. I don’t care if I get drafted, just give me a chance.”
God heard my prayer. He had stripped the pride out of me. “Humble yourselves before the Lord,” Scripture says, “and he will lift you up.”
The next morning, I slept in. I wasn’t even sure when Day 3 started, but I was somber. I knew that if God gave me a chance, I would be grateful. He had burned away my pride in my heart and let me start from ground zero. There is no better place to start.
I want you to hear this: Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Getting drafted was a gift. “Falling” to the fourth round was a gift — the one I needed. That fall launched a nine-year NFL career, and it’s the reason I’m still in the game today, working in media and helping athletes build wealth. None of it happened on my timeline. All of it happened on His. You don’t have to be what anyone says you need to be. Be faithful. God will provide.
So, if you’re reading this right now, have hope. You’ve already done more than 99% of your peers. You’ve done your best — trust God with the rest.
Sam Acho is a former NFL linebacker, current ESPN analyst, author, and Family Office Advisor at AWM Capital. He played nine seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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