By Troy Vincent
NFL Player Engagement
“If I were a regular Joe, I don’t think people would hear what I need them to know about losing my scholarship at the University of Cincinnati, life on the streets, and being homeless. Now that I proudly wear the NFL shield on my jersey, they listen; they hear me. I think that is the reason why God put me here. I can share my journey and show kids how to fight through adversity and reach their dream.” ~ Philadelphia Eagle Mardy Gilyard
Coming back from insurmountable odds is as much about character as it is the process of building character.
Athletes don’t come back from difficult points in their lives and playing days unless they have strength of character, and they often cannot sustain their comeback without drawing on the lessons they learned during the process. Such is the case with Philadelphia Eagle Mardy Gilyard. In his own personal journey through adversity as a student-athlete at the University of Cincinnati, Mardy knew a complete turnaround was the only option that would put his life back on the right track.
Mardy, the youngest of 13 children and an all-state running back from Bunnell, Florida, received a full scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. Caught up in the excitement of playing college football, academics and studying were not a priority to him. By the end of his first year, his grades were so bad that his coach, Mark Dantonio, revoked his scholarship. Already registered for his sophomore year, but now off the team and out of school, Mardy also faced a $10,000 tuition bill he couldn’t pay.
Mardy was homeless and living out of a friend’s old car on the city streets of Cincinnati. He was strongly determined to get back in school and rejoin his team. Even when he felt he could no longer go on, he turned discouragement into determination. Working several jobs to pay his tuition bill, Mardy learned through his adversity what he could accomplish, if only he put his mind to it.
A year later, the new coach at Cincinnati, Brian Kelly, gave Mardy Gilyard his scholarship back; on the condition that he would keep his grades up.
And he did.
As a senior student-athlete at Cincinnati, he was as an All-American and All-Big East Conference first team selection leading the league and ranking second nationally with an average of 206.9 all-purpose yards per game, the 11th best season total in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history. A two year starter at Cincinnati, he finished his college playing career with 204 receptions for 3,003 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Mardy was a fourth round draft pick of St. Louis in 2010 and since signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in January 2012.
“I felt so blessed to be given that second chance. I got myself into the mess and I had to find a way out of it. It made me a better person. I appreciate and relish every multi-second I have doing what I do. There is no better feeling,” says Mardy reflecting on his turnaround which eventually led him to play for the NFL.
“I will tell my own story over and over again, if it will help someone else; even one other person. I want others to know that they can do it. If I can do it, they can, too.”