“Red 34,” “Green 19,” and “Omaha” are just a few of the calls that Bible teacher Josh Kimberlin and student support teacher Rudy Wilson have heard on the field. 

Many students at Mount Pisgah don’t realize that their very own teachers played football for some of their favorite colleges. Kimberlin played for Samford and Wilson played for Ole Miss. 

College football is a sport that many Americans love to come together to watch and even to play, but it’s more than just the game on Saturday afternoons. College football takes nonstop training and hours of devotion. 

“The biggest misconception about college football is that it is always fun,” Wilson said. “It is not. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

While college football has its hardships, there are also so many great moments that come from it. Being able to play football at such a high level allows players to compete against some of the best athletes. 

“I played against Lamar Jackson when he was at Louisville,” Kimberlin said. “I’m actually on his [Jackson’s] highlight reel.” 

Preparing for such big games in college football not only takes physical training but also mental toughness. A big part of a player’s routine is how they spend the hours before kickoff.

“Normally I would listen to some Christian rap, Lecrae, or something like that just to get me motivated,” Kimberlin said. “Right before the game I would always pray with my kicker.”

College is a great time for athletes to improve in their sport as well as learn many valuable lessons. Kimberlin and Wilson both implied that college is only for a short period of your life, you gain lessons to last a lifetime. 

“I learned that nothing is given in life. Everything desired requires consistent time, commitment, dedication and sacrifice.” Wilson said.

College football has proven to be difficult and very time consuming. With Nick Speros committed to play at Samford and Coleman Smith committed to play at Birmingham-Southern college, they have to be mindful of how they spend their time. 

“Make sure that you are diligent and intentional about your time management,” Wilson said. “Poor time management can cause a great deal of stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed.” 

Before their years in college football both Wilson and Kimberlin grew up learning about the sport. An inspirational force common for both men were their fathers. 

“I got my first helmet and shoulder pads when I was a little kid from him,” Kimberlin said. “He loved the game and the lessons it taught for life.”

While football occupied most of Wilson and Kimberlin’s time, they still had some off time to join in on some common club activities around their schools. 

“In my off time I would have worship nights,” Kimberlin said. “We would also have prayer nights, and go grab food together at Buffalo Wild Wings.”

Being able to play college football taught Kimberlin and Wilson some valuable lessons on how to coach Mount Pisgah teams. 

“Playing football affects the way that I coach because I make sure that I implement the parts of coaching that worked and were good for me.” Wilson said.