What Football Means to Me

By: Braylan Shelby

What does football mean to me? It’s almost everything. I don’t want to say it’s everything, because it’s not everything, but it’s close to everything. 

It’s what I’ve been doing my entire life. 

It’s what I watched on TV growing up, and I imagined myself being there one day. 

I could say that football is joy and happiness but that would barely be explaining it. It’s a feeling that’s almost inexplicable. I wouldn’t even be able to imagine a life without football.

I started playing football when I was four. I grew up in a whole family of athletes. My dad was a lineman at Arkansas and my older brother, Ty, played defensive end at ULM and played in the NFL for a couple of years. My mom grew up playing sports and has continued to apply the lessons learned, discipline, hard work, to her daily routines. My sister is a volleyball player. My dad and brother are how I originally got my start in football and they showed me the roadmap of what it means to be a football player. How the game is supposed to look and how you get to where you want to go.

Seeing Ty play always made me want to get better myself. He set forth the perfect example of what I should be doing playing football. My dad was my first football coach and to this day he still gives me pointers, tips and tricks and helps me with my training and technique. 

The two of them helped make me into the player, and the man, that I am today. And because of the example that they set forth, I know that I have to put in work outside of organized practices and workouts if I want to achieve my goals, both for this coming season and beyond. 

During practice I’m getting coached up by Coach Henny and Coach Nua. I mean c’mon it doesn’t get any better than that. Outside of practice, I'm getting additional tips from my dad. What more could I ask for?

I’m training every day. I don’t want to be a one-trick pony so I’m working on footsteps, techniques, how to set up, building a strong base and adding skills on top of it. I’m working on all of it.

The obvious reason why is so that I can perform in the fall to the best of my ability, achieve my goals this season and continue growing as a football player to make it to the League. 

But more specifically than that, it’s because I want to sack some quarterbacks. 

When you get to the quarterback it’s the ultimate adrenaline rush. When you sack him and the crowd is going beserk, that feeling of getting him on the ground, knowing that you won, that feeling is something every d-lineman strives for. It’s what you work for. It’s what I am working for.

It’s not just me that feels this way. It’s our whole unit. We’re focused on improving our pass rush and we know it’s not just a one-man show. It’s about everyone doing their job, pushing, upping the pressure, until we get home.

Personally, I don’t feel any additional pressure coming off of last season because I know I just need to go out there and perform. I tell myself, ‘Bro, you know what you’re doing, just go do it.’ As my collegiate career has gone on, I’ve felt less and less pressure. But this year, the quarterbacks are going to be feeling way more.

I’m not forcing anything, but I’m always trying to get better, to take my game to the next level and continue proving myself. I’m also trying to absorb as much knowledge from our coaching staff as I can. 

I actually look forward to going to meetings. Coach Henny and Coach Nua are funny, but they’re real with us. And they teach us everything. Top to bottom. I’m always trying to understand why we’re doing something a specific way, why this pass rush works in this situation, why these specific skills are important. 

To me it all comes back to playing football the way it's supposed to be played, and preparing myself the way I know I’m supposed to prepare. 

My parents instilled these values in me, and I don’t feel like myself if I’m not disciplined about the things that I know I should be. When it comes to perfecting your craft there’s a certain mindset you need to approach it with and if you aren't locked in on trying to become the best that you can be, are you even really trying? 

Even if you’re the best, you can always get better. It’s one of the most important aspects of football. You can always get faster, stronger, smarter. Football is an intellectual game. Skills are important, but skill can only take you so far. 

I love football and I love playing football the right way. You don’t get to the moments of glory under the lights if you don’t put in the work the way you’re supposed to along the way. You don’t get the rush without the grind. Football… it just means the absolute world to me.