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Eric Kendricks

by Colby from Mission Viejo

"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."-Vince Lombardi
Photo of Eric Kendricks at a press conference. (http://ucla.scout.com/story/1469484-video-kendrick ())
Photo of Eric Kendricks at a press conference. (http://ucla.scout.com/story/1469484-video-kendrick ())

It was the season opener of a very promising 2015 college football season. UCLA vs. Virginia. On first down, the quarterback drops back to pass, rolls out, and throws. INTERCEPTED! Eric Kendricks returns the pic for six (interception returned for a touchdown), a 37 yd. touchdown return. My personal hero, Eric Kendricks, was introduced to me his first game as a starter for the UCLA Bruins football team. My mother and my father both graduated from UCLA and my family has gone to and watched every UCLA football came since then. During the pregame of the 2011 UCLA vs. USC football game, every starter on the defense was introduced on the big screen. There was a new face up on the screen so I asked my dad who he was. He said, "That's Eric Kendricks, he plays linebacker and he is an awesome player" (Jose Fojas). Since then, I have been following him constantly and he is my 2nd all-time favorite UCLA football player only behind the NFL star, Maurice Jones-Drew. Also, just like Eric I have played football and baseball in my life and I would love to follow his footsteps and play at the Division I collegiate level, especially at UCLA. He is also not only an amazing football player but an amazing person and he is an amazing role model.

One aspect of Kendricks' great success is his work ethic. Eric is always to be one of the hardest workers on the field in practice, in the weight room, and in the film room, watching his game play and the games of the other teams. College athletes and football players especially have to work extremely hard to maintain good grades while practicing and some even have to do a job on top of that. It is very hard to be able to maintain all of these things at the same time is very tough. As a college athlete, the NCAA rules state that it is illegal for collegiate athletes to make money for their play (NCAA). However, many articles written by major sports companies such as ESPN and FOX sports have reported Kendricks is a first round prospect for the NFL draft. This means he will make lots of money when he starts playing in the National Football League and is one of the top-32 players in all of division I college football. It takes a lot to be a football player including lots of physical and mental hardships, 2 practices a day, little time to spend with friends and for schoolwork, and an injury prone sport. However, with recent developments of rules and equipment, the lives of football players are getting better and the injuries are becoming less and less.

He was born on February 29, 1992, in Clovis, California and as a young boy, Eric did not have a father figure in his life. Despite this setback, he still managed to stay positive and happy in his life. By the time he started high school at Herbert Hoover High school in Fresno, California; his father had cleaned himself up and once again became invested in Kendricks' life. He had great success in high school as it lead him to be accepted into UCLA and play football all four years of his career. In his career, he has achieved many awards including, Butkus Award (2014), Lott Trophy (2014), Second-team All-American (2014), Second-team All-Pac-12 (2014), Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP (2015), and UCLA career tackles leader. He had great success in college and these awards recognized him for his play and his character. Dan Kadar of SB nation football website states, "Eric Kendricks of UCLA, however, grades out higher as a personal favorite. Kendricks doesn't have the size McKinney does, but his instincts are off the charts." He is almost a confirmed NFL player and is training and preparing for the NFL draft in April, to see what professional football team he will play for.

My Personal Career Hero won the Lott IMPACT award in 2014. The Lott IMPACT award is given to the collegiate defensive IMPACT player of the year. The acronym IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. Kendricks won the award for these reasons proving he is not only amazing on the field but an amazing person off of it. He is said to be a great football player, and even a better person. He is the only winner of this award in all of college football and received it when Ronnie Lott, one of the greatest defensive football players of all time, surprised him at the UCLA football practice. This was such an honor for Kendricks that he says, "I will treasure this moment for the rest of my life."

To be like my personal career hero, I have many things I need to do. As a scholar, I want to have an above 4.0 GPA and participate in ASB and many AP classes. I want to major in Aerospace Engineering so I am taking Calculus and Physics to study for this major. As an athlete, I want to be captain of the football team my senior year on varsity, I want to be voted All-State for football, and I want to win an award for my play and my character on the team. In college, I would like to attend UCLA, just like Eric and both of my parents, or attend Wisconsin, another division I football school. If I follow my hero's example I will be successful especially if I can make it into the NFL. After or during the NFL I want to have a family and save money for a stable future for my wife and kids. With the amount of character Kendricks has, if I follow his example, I will be a respected athlete and person and take part in the league for years to come.


  Works Cited

"Eric Kendricks Biography." Uclabruins.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

"Eric Kendricks." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

"NCAA.com - The Official Website of NCAA Championships." NCAA.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

"NFL Draft 2015 inside Linebacker Rankings: A Deep Position Headlined by Eric Kendricks." SBNation.com. N.p., 03 Dec. 2014. Web. 01 May 2015.

"2015 NFL Draft Profile: Eric Kendricks." NFL.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

Page created on 6/5/2015 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 6/5/2015 12:00:00 AM

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