Sylvester Williams

Sylvester Williams’ journey to the NFL is anything but ordinary. After a less than easy upbringing and playing just one season of football, he worked in a radiator factory before enrolling at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. He paid his own way and quickly made waves on the football field, …

Jason Smith

He grew up in a small town in Colorado, stayed in state for college, was drafted 20th overall in 2007 and tripled the length of a typical NBA career by staying in the league for 12 years.   Jason Smith thought he was going to be the only “short” person in his family when he got to 5’10” in middle…

Kapri Bibbs

Kapri Bibbs’ journey from a challenging childhood to the NFL is a story of faith, family, mistakes and second chances. Raised by a single mom in a large family, Kapri relied on his faith to guide him through difficult times, including a mistake his senior year of high school that cost him a Divisio…

Ryan Sutter

Ryan Sutter's name is usually connected with a reality TV show, but before the words "Trista and Ryan" became a household phrase, Ryan was a Vail firefighter who grew up in Fort Collins, played football at the University of Colorado as a walk on and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.   His NFL …

John-Michael Liles

14 years in any professional sport is an eternity, especially in the very physical National Hockey League. John-Michael Liles grew up in Indiana and by the time he was in high school, it was apparent that hockey was his sport. He played on some elite teams during his teenage years and after high sc…

Montee Ball

Montee Ball’s story was supposed to be something like this: “Star running back and Heisman Trophy finalist out of Wisconsin goes on to break rushing records in the NFL with his favorite team growing up.” Instead, it was “Star running back and Heisman Trophy finalist out of Wisconsin goes on to be d…

Bobby Pesavento

Bobby Pesavento entertained the idea of football once when he was in middle school. When he couldn’t up seed the coach’s quarterback son, he moved on to basketball. Then one day in high school, his football buddies asked him to throw some passes their way when their quarterback didn’t show up for s…

Garrett Atkins

After batting .557 and setting a school record with 13 home runs his senior year of high school in California, Garrett Atkins was drafted by the New York Mets. He was also courted by several colleges including Oklahoma State, USC, Cal State, Pepperdine and UCLA. Garrett chose to wait for Major Leag…

Dan Hinote

Had he grown up where he was born, chances are Dan Hinote would not have experienced a decade-plus pro hockey career. Afterall, Florida isn’t really a hotbed for hockey players. Case in point: Dan became the first Florida born player to score a goal in an NHL game.   When Dan was very young, he m…

Keith Bishop

Keith Bishop chooses his words wisely: when he speaks, people listen. That came in handy during his decade career with the Broncos as an offensive lineman, especially when the Broncos were on the 2-yard line in Cleveland needing a 98 drive to tie the Browns in the AFC Championship game in 1987. Kei…