9-Fly, Kill

By Brady Russell

As a kid, I wanted nothing more than to play football for a living. 

Consequently, the teachers I had growing up hearing this dream would often ask, “Well Brady, what else do you like?” The lack of support started the fire within me from the start.

As I got into high school, I was fairly small and started my freshman year off as a slot receiver weighing 140. 

Through a lot of time and tedious work throughout a couple of years and off-seasons, I was able to pack on the weight and by junior year I was starting at defensive end weighing 205.

At that time, I started getting some looks from the local schools. Those being: CSU, Wyoming, and CU. 

All were inviting me to camps and sending me the usual college pamphlet mail. After junior year, it seemed sure-fire that I would get an offer, yet everyone was holding out on me. Being in Fort Collins, CSU was the one that puzzled me the most. I was in their backyard and for whatever reason, they just wouldn’t pull the trigger.

Going into senior year I had a chip on my shoulder.

I was tired of being led on, having schools act as they wanted me, but clearly, it wasn’t the case. CU was the one school that clearly said, “You will have to walk on, we don’t have a spot for you.” 

This was respectable to me. While I thought they were wrong in who they took instead of me, at least they were honest.

My senior football season ended and all I got were a few D1 AA offers.

I knew in my heart I could play at a higher level than that. 

That’s when I got back in touch with one of my high school coaches, Corey Sample. 

Corey at the time was still training to play in the CFL, and I was training to prove someone wrong. 

If you ask me, both our goals went hand in hand. So we decided to work out together.

For the entirety of my senior year post-football, it was Corey and I at the gym at 5 am, 5-6 days a week, then I was off to school at 7:30. Senior year classes ended at 12:30 so I worked from 1-4 in construction every day, then back out to the field at night with Coach Sample once again. 

It was essentially a 12-13 hour day, every day, with a rest on Sundays. 

We grinded, both of us just searching for a chance. 

That’s the thing though. 

We were searching for chances…opportunities, not the most comfortable positions and situations. 

Our work together finally culminated as Coach went on to become a trainer in Northern Colorado, and I went on to switch positions and earn the starting tight end job at CU.

I always had a good work ethic, but working with Coach Sample that year truly taught me the value of never being outworked. 

I also learned the value of betting on myself.

Backtracking slightly, signing day came around a senior year and I still had no options. 

A few days after signing day, CU’s offensive coordinator came by my school to see if I still wanted a spot on the team, even though I was going to have to pay for it.

I went home, had some long conversations with my parents, and the next thing you know I was going to my uncle’s alma mater at CU. My dad being in the military, had 2 years of free school left also known as the eGI bill, which meant that I had 2 years to try and earn a scholarship. 

My parents weren’t completely sold with my decision.

After all, I had offers, it was just two smaller schools. 

But I knew what I was capable of, but they may not have completely trusted that at the time.

I had this strange gut feeling telling me the University of Colorado is where I needed to be, now I know that was the Holy Spirit pushing me in the right direction.

With that being said, I got to CU on a mission.

That first fall, as most walk-ons would know, I didn’t get a chance. I was just tossed down at the bottom of the depth chart in fall camp and by the time season came around I was playing scout team.

However, one thing I knew for sure was no one was going to have better scout team footage than me. 

I was going to let them know they made a mistake not letting me play that year. I took it personally. 

I went on to win scout team player of the year as a freshman, still the greatest achievement I’ll probably ever have in my career because of the circumstances surrounding the effort. 

Spring ball then rolled around, and by then I was third-string behind last year’s starter. They also added a new juco kid they brought in. 

Of course, the juco kid got put ahead of me in the depth chart immediately, but that was expected, as I was still a walk-on. 

Next thing you know, it’s fall camp again and after an offseason of work, I was

finally getting to show what I was capable of.

I quickly took over the second string spot and was starting when we were in 12-personal practice. 

By the end of fall camp, it was almost inevitable I would get a scholarship with how much time I would spend on the field that season.

At the end of fall camp, they finally awarded it to me. That season I would go on to become the starter by game 7 and never looked back.

Now three years later, I’m going into my senior season, although I have two years of eligibility

left because of Covid-19. I’m coming off a season-ending ankle injury that required surgery and I’m here to say, this journey is far from over.

If everything in my past hasn’t set me back, neither will this injury. 

Hopefully, this story will remind you to trust God’s control over everything.

None of us grow up dreaming to endure the hardships and change of plans along the way.

However, I know they’ve all shaped me into the man I am now.

They’ve made me comfortable with knowing I’m not in control and brought me into a deeper relationship with Christ than I would have ever imagined.

Whatever your journey looks like, own it. Own all the ups, downs, and space in between. There is no straight line to success. I may have run quite a few 9-flies in my career, but life certainly isn’t a straight line route. So don’t be afraid to kill that play and move on to the next.

When things get tough you gotta stick to the only things you can control…hard work and effort.

Whether you’re sidelined by an injury, a coaching decision, or a depth chart, you must keep going. 

Chances are your heroes and role models took very difficult paths to get to where they are today.

So keep betting on yourself and sharpening your skills. Your opportunity in difficult times that could alter the course of your career and life awaits you. Seize it!

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God Bless.