Ty Simpson said he remembers a day when he didn’t feel like himself. He was fighting for the job of quarterback at the University of Alabama, and he wasn’t playing his best. He felt like he had lost his way.
“I remember coming home one day to my apartment … I just came in and started crying,” Simpson said.
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His dad was there, and he started asking Simpson questions: How’s your faith? How are you with God? Are you in the Word? Are you trusting Him?
Simpson admitted he hadn’t been. But that changed that day. He knew he needed the anchor that God had been in his life ever since he was an 8-year-old kid tugging on his dad’s khakis and telling him he wanted to walk down the aisle at church.
“No matter if I start a game for Alabama, go to the NFL, throw however many touchdowns, break how many records, none of that matters,” Simpson said. “Our job on this earth is to change people’s lives and introduce them to Jesus, so if I do that and don’t throw a touchdown pass, that’ll be OK because that was my job.”
‘He never left my side’
Simpson shared this story on a recent podcast by The Walk Foundation, which aims to provide a platform for athletes to share their faith stories.
He said when he goes out on the field, the most important thing is to be who he is in Christ.
His teammate Wilkin Formby said the same thing.
“Early in the season I had some struggles in a game, and I was really down on myself,” said Formby, who plays offensive tackle. “A lot of people were upset with me, and that got to me at first.”
But anchoring himself in his identity in Christ changed everything.
“As the season went on, going through those low lows just made my relationship with God so strong,” Formby said. “You hear people say you have to lean on the Lord, but until you actually experience that, it feels like everyone’s against you except Him, and He never left my side … I would be in a middle of a game and I’m just having a conversation with God, just praying trying to stay calm, and that would help me stay calm.”
‘Just growing each season’
He said he meets often with team chaplain Jeremiah Castille to help him stay grounded.
“He’s a huge mentor to me,” Formby said. “And building a church community, me and Germie Bernard and a couple of others, we go to the same church. And every Sunday after church we meet with the college pastor there and we get to fellowship and spend time with each other, so that’s been a big part of my walk with the Lord this year.”
Bernard, a wide receiver for UA, also shared his story in a recent podcast with The Walk Foundation. He said he felt like a year ago he was walking in his faith, but now he feels like he’s “jogging a little bit.”
“I’m just growing each season, and I’m just excited to be on this path and understand Him more and more and seek after what He wants me to do with my life,” he said. “There’s always going to be trials, but when you’re seeking Jesus and you have that intimate relationship with Him, you know that the bad things are things that He wants you to go through so you can learn and understand why He put you through that.”
He said for him, being a Christian on the UA football team means “being a leader, being vocalized about my faith, letting people know that you don’t have to feel ashamed about coming to God … God loves you where you are, who you are, so don’t be afraid to just come to Him.”
Helping others succeed
Bernard said he wants to be “a light to other people” and help them seek after Jesus, noting that it’s about “serving other people and giving back, serving my teammates however I can.”
Formby said for him, it’s also about serving.
“When you play O line, you’re a servant … you’re serving your teammates,” he said. “I don’t score touchdowns. We’re trying to help other people succeed, and I take joy in that.”
He said he wants to emulate Jesus’ servant nature as he spends time with his team.
“He was a leader, but He was as servant at the same time,” Formby said. “Being able to have that meekness and be humble but be able to serve your teammates and the people around you, a lot of people don’t think of that as leadership, but it still is.”
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