Dan Dodd has coached some of the most elite Division I football players during his 40-year coaching career. From Arkansas State to Tulane to TCU, Dodd has seen the best of the best come through his programs, and has developed a sharp eye for talent and for what it takes to play football at the
Steven Rhodes graduated from Middle Tennessee University last May as a student-athlete, an NFL prospect, a father of two, and a veteran of the Marine Corps.
Steven Rhodes, a native of Antioch Tennessee, graduated from high school in 2007. He didn’t play football his senior year, and when he joined the Marine Corps out of high school in 2008, he had no intention of pursuing college football. However, while in the Marine Corps, Rhodes began to play in a casual football league
Brandon McCoy had a difficult start. He was kicked out of high school his senior year for cheating and had to complete his GED in summer school. He was kicked out of his home for drug abuse, online casino playing and ended up living in a house riddled with drugs for a year. When his father suggested the Army, Brandon seized the opportunity to pull himself together.
“Sam embodied everything we want in a student-athlete at Clark. His selflessness, leadership and commitment were a shining example of the true essence of a Division III student-athlete.” – Director of Athletics Trish Cronin The Swampscott High School boys’ lacrosse team in Massachusetts won their first ever playoff game in school history in 2007. The
Kevin Price, a Louisiana native, a husband, a father of two, and a former Army Ranger, walked onto the Dartmouth College football team his senior year at age thirty-one. Before it all, Kevin was a struggling high school student, who didn’t take his academics seriously and just barely graduated. The summer after graduating high school,
In 2008, after attending a cousin’s graduation on an Air Force base in San Antonio, Tehuti Miles at age 17 decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. Two years later Miles found himself at Fort Drum in New York, and a month after that, thousands of miles away in Afghanistan. After his four years, Miles
Hank Goff was a standout high school football player, and it led him to a Division I program at South Dakota State, where he started as a freshman at defensive end in 2005. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long—after persistent shenanigans and neglected academics, Hank flunked out in 2006. Soon after, Goff enlisted in the Marine
Julian Smith’s first attempt at playing college basketball didn’t go as planned. He made it through just one semester of school at South Plains, a community college in Texas. His second attempt was better, but after a year of playing basketball at DIII Southern Vermont, Smith left because it was too expensive. His third shot
One of the first funerals Alex Findura remembers attending as a body bearer for the United States Marine Corps was one that has stuck with him ever since. It was a funeral for a service member’s child. “I remember it sunk in when I saw how small the casket was,” Findura says. Findura has attended
Military members never accept failure, and they focus on the task at hand until it’s complete. They can spend months training for a single mission, just like college athletes spend months training for their next season. College coaches are constantly seeking players who have the determination that veterans naturally form in the military. Coaches want
