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The Many Faces of Brock Huard
Brock Huard: “So many of these student-athletes are remarkable, right, of what they've overcome already in their lives, is they're trying to be students, they're trying to be athletes. And then what happens, those boosters or those companies are paying them … guess what they want? A piece of ‘em!”
Brock Huard looks past the pieces to a broader view, watching Name, Image, and Likeness - impact the college game. The former NFL and collegiate quarterback is a game analyst with Fox Sports and a sports-radio show host, with a sightline as dad to a pair of college student-athletes, and a third soon to navigate the evolving financial compensation of NIL and transfer portals.
Question: “Change - at a number of levels?”
Brock Huard: Yeah, college athletics has become transactional. It was developmental. My daughter went from the University of Montana to Oklahoma State, and we walked through this. I mean, this was really personal right up here in this home that we're in, because I made this commitment to this school. You finish what you started. And this whole deal is that's out the door from coaches to players to AD's to universities to conferences - It's all transactional! How do I navigate that?”
Question: “The student athlete - how do we come alongside them to support them?”
Brock Huard: “Transparency and being genuine! Watching my daughters they were both together at the university of Montana. Sugarcoating in this day and age does zero. But now everything is laid bare, it's open, life is lived on these phones and through social media and there's no more under the carpet. And for those church communities - truth is where life is. It's not, oh, I gotta be ‘buddy buddy’. It is speaking truth. Because on these college campuses, they're getting none of it.”
Question: “Where is the greatest crack in this foundation of NIL right now?”
BrockSOT3: Brock Huard he was tempted and the devil tempting him with his ego, with his likeness, with your power, with all of this. It's all about you, you, you, you, you. And Jesus, just as he had to thwart the enemy with truth - we've got to speak truth because it's all self-indulgence. It's all about me. It's my name, it's my image, and it’s my likeness. So you've got to just as Jesus did, combat it with truth. We have to do the same”.
Question: “And Brock, coupled with that window in life when our student athletes are at that age when they're trying to find themselves.”
Brock Huard: “Well, I remember that sitting in my dorm room at the University of Washington in 1995. Wow, I'm no longer under my parents' roof. I'm walking through it with my college aged daughters. And you could feel that, that wrestling, like, who am I? And now it is just further inflamed with all of, you know, this name, with all this money, with all these resources, with people all wanting a piece of you. There used to be at least some barrier between all the boosters and all the attention and all of it. And there are no longer barriers”.
Question: “Greed. How does it blind and paralyze from where you sit?”
Brock Huard: “Whew. Greed, when you just say the word, you think of big business. How and when have we ever connected greed with a high school kid? (Yeah) When? Never, never! We've seen it with young Hollywood stars, the catastrophes from that and the sadness and the hurt that comes from that is you're not equipped. No! An 18-year-old is like in an age of discovery of identity. How has God made me equip me, built me to, to live for him and now I've got this money? How do I even handle this? But how's a college kid to be a good steward with what he's been given? Man, is it a challenge.”
Question: “In each of our lives there's an NIL. We wanna make a good first impression, name, image, and likeness, but we can hide behind it. Speak as a dad to that, how do you address that with your kids?”
Brock Huard: That’s a great question! And especially in the world of sport and performance, right? So how do you go out and perform and not make it about you? Tom, from when I played, I’ve encouraged my kids a bunch. I always pray – and its so easy – Oh, I’m gonna play for an audience of one. Then you get on that court, or you get on that field, and you just feel like I gotta go compete, right! So, you’ve got to be infused from the inside out with the Holy Spirit! You gotta truly believe what Paul and others wrote to die to ourselves - to live for Him. Right! Move me outta the way. To die is gain, to move me outta the way! And just truly let me go live and perform for you. And yeah, it is a minute battle! Hey, man, every minute of every day I'm gonna die to myself and live for him.”
Question: “The uncertainty, the fear that comes with it. How do you confront change with both feet on the ground?”
Brock Huard: “You better do it on your knees. There’s a holy stirring, like ‘you gotta go’. You gotta go! For my daughter as we walked through that hard process there was a holy stirring like – there is more! So it is a profound question, not too different, like a lot of people watching this in their own lives – ‘how do I know the Lord has this for me?’ Because when you know it’s the Lord, and you feel it from the Lord, let’s go! I’ll run through those doors.”
Question: “This plays into a generation that is adaptable to be willing to say ‘I’m willing to go’?”
Brock Huard: “Yeah! Go therefore! And make disciples. Go! Right? One of the greatest last charges – Go! And I think, Tom, that's an astute point that as much and as hard as time we have with phones and technology. The unintended consequences of NIL and all this because now it starts earlier and earlier and earlier. But you know what equips 'em for, to your point: change! And they can be more nimble and they can pack up and go, take this step of faith, let me go where maybe the previous generations, could have never done that.”
Question: “Where is your rock amidst the change?”
Brock Huard: “Oh gosh, yeah. How many times we have to say, but God, God's got it. But where's our faith? This isn't happening on our time. Or there's this real frustration, or all these questions of ‘is this the right thing’. But God! And where’s our faith? There’s stress. There’s real live stuff. Where really is our Rock and our Faith? Is it really about dying to ourselves and really giving our life to him and realizing that every day is a gift that we have. If we pronounce that and we say it, we gotta walk it.”
Things Looked Permanent in The Natural
“…I felt as if, I felt as if God was saying, I heard you all this time…..”
Falling for no reason wasn’t the only thing Dawn Marie Vaughn would experience. Before long, she was also losing control of her bladder. ““it's embarrassing thing to say. But right there on the street, and I start to urinate on myself --- I'm looking around and I’m like, What am I gonna do?”” Dawn says. A month later in February of 2023, Dawn’s husband Robin took her to the doctor. They found out Dawn had spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal causing extreme back pain, weakness and numbness in the legs, and incontinence among other symptoms. Her doctor didn’t give much hope, saying “it’s not gonna go away. You could just do your physical therapy and we hope for the best.”
As Dawn’s condition continued to deteriorate over the next 7 months, it became more challenging for her to lean on her faith. “I was depressed a lot --- I wouldn't answer the phone, I wasn't responding to text messages; at one point I didn’t want to pray“, Dawn says. Despite the treatments and physical therapy, Dawn’s quality of life continued to plunge.
Then, on August 3rd, 6 months after her spinal stenosis diagnosis, she turned on the 700 Club and Ashley Key had a word of knowledge. Ashley said:
“There's somebody else watching with spinal stenosis, I'm not even sure what that condition entails but somebody has it and I believe God is healing you right now - The pain, the discomfort from that condition. God is healing you. He is correcting everything that has been not correct. You will be able to move like you haven't been avle to in a long time. Just receive this healing from the Lord, your God.”
When Dawn heard this she said she immediately got up and danced, with no pain, despite being in constant pain for several months with spinal stenosis. Since then, Dawn has not experienced even one relapse of her spinal stenosis symptoms! Her miraculous healing has encouraged not just her, but those around her to believe in God for their own miracles. “In Dawn’s words, “I forget all about spinal stenosis to tell you the truth”. She concludes saying “It was as if this bright light just shined on me. I felt as if, I felt as if God was saying, I heard you all this time.”
Since her healing, Dawn is now working with, Ascended Word Outreach and Mentoring, Inc. ( wordconnection.org ) and her novel, "Stellar”, can be found there as well.
Mocked Into Isolation
Living in a remote village in central India, Abhijeet’s parents couldn’t do anything to remove the cyst on their 5-year-old son’s forehead. It had completely covered his left eye.
Abhijeet’s mother said, “He often fell while walking, because he couldn’t see out of both eyes. One day, Abhijeet was running home to get some food and fell. He cut his lips and bled a lot.” With tears coming down, she continued, “My husband and I struggled, because one of us would have to take care of him while the other worked. I love my son. He is my shining star. Without him, I wouldn’t be alive.”
Abhijeet could barely stand looking at himself, and he knew others didn’t want to look at him either.
Abhijeet’s mother sobbed as she explained, “He used to throw stones in an open well when he saw his reflection. At school, he was teased and mocked, so he stopped going. We couldn’t afford the surgery he needed, and without it, his skin would continue to droop, making him go blind in his left eye.”
A medical outreach sponsored by a partner of Operation Blessing then came to their village. And thanks to you, he received the surgery to remove the cyst at a hospital free of charge.
“Now, he can see with both eyes,” exclaimed Abhijeet’s mother. “The whole village came to see him. They were so happy and encouraged us to send him back to school. He can read, write, and see the blackboard.”
Abhijeet has gained a new sense of independence, joy, and self-confidence.
His mother said with a big smile, “After the surgery, I am no longer scared for his future. He feeds himself, his health has improved, and he plays with his friends. He even visits us in the fields. I am grateful to everyone who contributed to my son’s life-changing surgery and gave him a new beginning.”
What a beautiful example of how CBN partners share the love of Jesus around the world with people in need! If you’re not yet a partner, we invite you to join us today. Help bring God’s love through initiatives like clean water wells, medical missions, feeding programs, and so much more—all in the name of Jesus! Join us today and become a part of what God’s doing through CBN partners.
David’s Superbook Summer Transformation
This summer, 10-year-old David from Sumy, Ukraine, embarked on an adventure that would change his life. For the first time, he attended the Superbook Invincibles camp program, a decision that brought both excitement and relief to his mother. Concerned about David spending his days alone at home, glued to his phone while she worked, she was thrilled to find a program that promised supervision by an experienced team and engaging activities for her son.
Initially, David was detached and uninterested. Used to the solitary world of computer games, he found the camp’s outdoor activities and social interactions unfamiliar and unappealing. The camp had a strict policy of keeping all children’s phones in a box in the administration room, which added to David’s initial discomfort. However, the camp’s mission was to introduce children to the richness of life and the importance of face-to-face communication.
On the third day of the camp, David began to show interest in the Bible stories and started engaging with his peers. The Superbook series, with its exciting biblical adventures, captivated him. He came to life, becoming more sociable, active, and happy. Each day, he eagerly shared the day’s stories and activities with his mother, a stark contrast to the first days when he was bored and longed to return to his digital world.
Those five days at the Superbook Invincibles camp were transformative for David. He learned valuable life lessons from biblical heroes, which helped him build healthy relationships with his new friends. On the final day, David’s joy was obvious. He spoke passionately about his time at the camp and expressed a strong desire to return. The big hugs he gave to the camp staff were a testament to the deep impact the program had on him.
David is just one of millions of children whose lives have been changed for the better thanks to Superbook and CBN Animation. If you want to help CBN continue to reach young lives like David with the Gospel, please prayerfully consider giving to CBN Animation’s Superbook ministry through the link below.