I graduated from The College of New Jersey with a B.A. in Journalism/Professional Writing, a Double Minor in Political Science and Communications and a 3.5 G.P.A. I can truly say that while I was in college, I made the most of every hand I was dealt and I dare say that I created some cards myself. Specifically, I was the only freshman football player to join Alpha Chi Rho, and the first in as long as anyone could remember at the chapter. In many ways, I carved out my own path at TCNJ. Here’s how I became the most recognizable face at TCNJ a few years back.

FRESHMAN YEAR

During my last high school football game, I got emotional on the sidelines. I thought to myself, “This isn’t going to be the last football game I play in my life.” Well, technically, it wasn’t. I got in for a few seconds during my time as a football player at TCNJ. The fall semester of my freshman year was a whirlwind for me because I liked to party, but I also wanted to improve my football game. I was getting in great shape by practicing and working out every day with the team, but at night I would cancel this hard work by going out. The result was a lean physique that could endure hours of practice without getting tired, but my mind wasn’t 100% in the game. In high school, I played defensive end and I only had a handful of plays to remember. In college, I was a linebacker and had to learn an entire playbook.

During football practice the linebacker coach, nicknamed “Murph,” called the freshmen linebackers “Pups,” a nickname given because they were young and hungry to make an impact. Eventually, he starting using the the term “Pup” to call my attention and give me directions. It stuck. Every coach and player called me and only me Pup by the time the freshman season had even started. That’s 100+ players on the roster plus all of the coaches, all (sometimes randomly) shouting Pup at me on the field and in the locker room. I was constantly thinking people were talking to me anytime a word sounded like Pup. Girls were calling me “Pup” and I’d even hear female voices screaming “Pup” during practice. Think about that, the entire team is running through a practice and they hear a woman yell “Pup” on her way to class.

Coach Murph told me one practice that whatever I wound up doing, I was going to be successful in and that I “ooze success.” These words stuck with me, but unfortunately, I couldn't keep my hands off the booze my first few months in college.

I clung to Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and by the spring I was pledging. There were no more than 3-4 football players who were also fraternity brothers at the time. It wasn’t a popular thing in the locker room. I was the only football player to pledge AXP that semester, and the first in as long as anyone could remember in the fraternity. I essentially isolated myself from the team. I was juggling writing for the Signal, pledging a fraternity, learning a new football position, getting bigger and faster, doing well in academics, making new friends and dealing with the highs and lows of freshmen college hookups.

SOPHOMORE YEAR

I decided to stay on the team sophomore year but at some point during training camp, I injured my ankle literally dancing at AXP. My coaches weren’t happy about that one. Once it healed, I hurt my ankle again, this time during football practice. It was during an indoor practice in the wrestling room where we were doing calisthenics barefoot, to be exact. My collegiate football career could’ve gone quite differently if we didn’t have that rare barefoot practice that day. By the end of sophomore year, I had acquired all of a few seconds of playing time as a linebacker. We had a new linebacker coach that year too, and he didn’t see as much promise in me as Murph. Junior year, I returned with the hopes of playing again. I went through the training camp but recall having another injury.

I heard the murmurs from players upon my arrival to camp, “I saw him, Pup is here. He’s back.” It’s as if they were shocked I was still on the team after they saw my dramatic transformation from promising freshman to full-blown frat star. It’s also worth noting that both men and women in other Greek organizations were curious about how I managed to juggle membership in both organizations. After all, I was the only student-athlete who would spend one night at both the AXP and football houses.

One day during practice, I sat by myself on the bench, stared down at my helmet, and knew that the end was near. Prior to the 2011-12 football season, I handed in my shoulder pads to Coach Eric Hamilton, one of the most successful coaches in Division III history. I should’ve stayed on the team just to learn from him. But I didn’t. I returned back to AXP central with the news and I heard two things: “Well, now you’ll have more time for us” and “You shouldn’t have quit, you were the only AXP brother on the team.” My brothers couldn’t have understood what I was going through, but in time, they were there to support me.

JUNIOR YEAR

My first year as just a student and not a student-athlete gave me mixed emotions. The football players were still greeting me in the halls as “Pup,” but my other collegiate identity would become the one I heard most often. That was my pledge name, “Joose,” and in AXP, we usually call each other by our pledge names, not first (given) names. By the end of junior year, two major things had happened:

1. I secured an internship at a major fitness magazine

2. I met my future (and now ex) girlfriend.

Overall, I was the glue that kept operations running smooth at AXP. I was the recruitment and intramural chair during the spring semester of my junior year. I was working out and playing sports with my brothers and potential recruits. Football became a memory. With that said, I missed football during the fall semester of junior year. So much, that as a member of Greek life, instead of tailgating, I sat in the stands by myself and watched the game, thinking about what could’ve been if I stuck it out.

SENIOR YEAR

I returned to TCNJ with a workout plan that I received from the Group Training Director at Muscle & Fitness so that kept me busy during the fall. I also continued to work as a freelancer during my senior year for M&F. I’d kept contact with Coach Hamilton and had interviewed him for various articles/productions I worked on as a student. I now had a girlfriend in Tri Sigma, but she was 20, so I only went to Rho a couple of times my senior year. My priorities had shifted from partying, to making money. I got a job at Express in the Quakerbridge Mall and immediately after graduation, literally the Monday after, returned to American Media Inc., and picked up where I left off as an Editorial Intern. The training knowledge I learned following the football strength and conditioning program always comes in handy for some articles.

POST-GRADUATION

I’d hear my football nickname once more during post-graduation. This was when I tried out for the Arena Football League. I was half there to write an article and half there to see if I had a legitimate shot at catching anyone’s eye. I tried out as a linebacker and lo and behold, I see a former TCNJ teammate, looking to extend his football career.

“What’s up, Pup?”

Four years removed from the team, and I’m still “Pup.” I know that life goes on and I may never speak with any of my former teammates again, but if I did, I want them to know that I’d give anything to go back in time and focus all of my efforts on football. One year after graduation I did my first Spartan Race and I loved it because of the “stop and go” nature of the event and the ability to truly show my physical ability. I’ve done 19 obstacle course races and counting. Athletically, I feel like a new me because guess what? I was a cigarette smoker from age 14 until I just quit this January for good. The only semester I didn’t smoke at all was fall of freshman year.

What’s the lesson here?

Smoking was partly responsible for my lack of athletic ability, susceptibility to injury and my taking for granted the time I had on the football team. Since quitting, I’ve accomplished things I’ve never done before athletically, including signing up for my first half-marathon in October. Obstacle course racing makes me fee like “Pup” again and it’s only a matter of time before I start oozing more success.