University of North Alabama (UNA) coaches and football players have a lion-sized belief in the importance of faith.
“There is not a game without faith,” said UNA offensive left tackle Zach Davis. “Every time you line up you have to have faith that something good is going to happen and that God is going to protect you.”
Quarterback Christian Lopez said faith has an added significance for him as a person and as a player.
“It is my family background,” Lopez said. “I lost my mom when I was young. There are a lot of [situations in life] where I fall back on faith.”
Center Cody Mann echoed Lopez’s thoughts.
“Faith is a big part of my life,” Mann said. “When everything is said and done I want to be in heaven. That is where I want to be.”
And offensive right tackle Ethan McMullan is one of the spiritual leaders on the team.
“Jesus is my Savior,” McMullan said. “Without Him nothing would be possible.”
Head coach Chris Willis appreciates the way McMullan uses his faith as a platform. The father of three sons, Willis said he hopes his sons emulate McMullan.
“I hope when they grow up they lead like Ethan leads his family and leads by example in public,” Willis said.
Opportunities and relationships
Willis has been part of the UNA program since 2002 and was named head coach in December 2016. He and his wife, Tara, are members of St. James United Methodist Church in Florence.
Graduate coaching assistant Jacob Tucker also values faith on the field. Tucker was an All-American quarterback at UNA and sparked the Lions to the 2016 Gulf South Conference championship. He joined the UNA coaching staff in 2018 as a graduate assistant working with running backs.
Prior to that he led the Potsdam Royals to the German Football League championship in 2017.
“I have been blessed with a lot of different opportunities, a lot of good things [and] a lot of bad things, but at the end of the day none of that really matters unless you have your faith,” Tucker said.
He said those who don’t believe in God who “created this earth, created you, created this life for you” are living a “pointless life.”
“He gives us relationships with family, friends, loved ones that we can enjoy,” Tucker said. “We can enjoy being loved and loving someone else. We can’t love unless God loves us and He does. That is why faith is really important to me.”
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