By Mallory Mattingly
Texas Longhorns receiver Matthew Golden gave the credit to God when it came to getting drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round.
“Just the way it happened, I feel like God made it happen like that for a reason. That’s something that’s going to stick with me forever,” he told Fox News Digital of getting drafted.
Golden grew up with a family of believers, which enticed him to learn to play the drums for his church.
Without his faith and family, Golden knows he wouldn’t have made it to the NFL.
“There were times adversity did hit me and God was the one who was there for me,” he said. “There were times people doubted me, and I did want to give up sometimes. But going back to God, He definitely helped me get here.”
One of those adversity-filled moments came in 2023 when Golden’s season got cut short due to a foot injury.
“That was the first time football got taken away from me,” the athlete explained. “So, I didn’t know how to cope with it, and I was frustrated. But at that time, my relationship with God grew a lot stronger, and I started to understand it happened for a reason.”
“Now looking back, it definitely makes sense, and like I said, God put me through everything I went through in my life for a reason,” he added. “I feel like that’s truly what made me who I am today and that’s why I am who I am.”
When Golden was picked by the Packers, he also received a special message from his mother.
“Well, hello, son. I just want to say, I am so proud of you. You have worked really, really hard to get to this moment,” Golden’s mom said. “You’ve made it, and you’ve done such a wonderful job just keeping the faith and staying level-headed and just trusting the process. Just being that little boy playing football and getting those six touchdowns in your little league games. Just being able to hear you say, ‘Mama, I want to play football. I want to go to the NFL.’ Seeing you hustle so hard to get to this moment. This isn’t easy, and that is one thing that I’m so proud of, is that you never gave up.”
The first thing Golden did when he got drafted was buy back his grandma’s house, a place his entire family spent time at growing up.
“We lost our property a couple years ago,” Golden said at the draft. “That’s somewhere I grew up when I was younger, and it’d be a blessing to get that back for my family.”
Through not only Golden’s hard work and dedication to football, but also his faith in God and the support of his family, his NFL dreams came true.
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