49ers hall of fame weekend

“Legends are material to be moulded, and not facts to be recorded.” - Hervey Allen

Before you can be a legend, you have to do something legendary. 2007. The Draft. The Selection. The Dream. I remember being a young boy, praying about one day being a professional athlete. It took a lot faith - believing and knowing with each achievement, that I had not come this far to be done yet. There was always another level, another goal, another achievement.

I was the kid who didn’t have much growing up but I had what I needed … or at least I learned to need what I had and to work to earn the opportunity for more. I was told that I was too slow, too fat, not smart enough. That no one makes it to the pros from where I am from. That only 1.6% of football players make it to the NFL and that I wasn’t going to be one of the 1.6%. But I didn’t believe them. I was hungry. Hungry for more than what I had been told I could achieve. So I kept running. Running the woods, jumping the creeks, and chasing the rainbows through rural Tennessee to get the pot of gold.

“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy.” – Proverb

The path to this night - to being inducted into the 49ers Hall of Fame - was not easy but it was and has been worth it all! The journey to becoming a professional athlete was tough. All those long days and nights, heartaches, and headaches, the bumps and bruises, the wins and loses all made the journey unbelievable and improbable. I learned that there wasn’t one pot of gold but moments of light - sometimes a spark, a firework or a beacon - and while I couldn’t always see the path ahead clearly, I knew where I was headed.

“The best light which illuminates your path is your determination!” - Mehmet Murat ildan

And TONIGHT? This IS the pot of gold and I will forever be rich and wealthy. I would like to thank the 49ers organization for blessing me with the honor of induction into the 49ers Hall of Fame. I would like to thank my family, friends, teachers, Coaches, teammates, custodians, cafeteria workers, massage therapist - really anyone who has been on this path with me, thank you. I stand here today, not just for me but for all those who have ever been or ever will be a member of the 49ers. I am up here for all the 49ers Faithful! The love i have for you all, the way you cheered on game days at Candlestick Park was like no other! Being the last to run out of the tunnel, thinking to myself like a gladiator, “The arena gates are shutting now and there can only be one winner today. It is us or them.” That was the mentality. I once heard a teammate say you never know who is watching for the first time, so make a first great impression. Everything you are looking for to be great, you have inside of you now. You just have to be willing to put it on the line each and every opportunity.

Your light has illuminated the path for me, has showed me grace, goodness, and potential - and I am forever grateful and FOREVER a 49er. From the deepest part of my soul, thank you.

“When we are walking our chosen path, we walk elegantly, emanating light.” - Paulo Coelho