By Mallory Mattingly
Recently, football players from Arizona State have experience the transforming power of Jesus Christ, and many of them have been baptized.
“It’s my job to introduce them to Jesus. And for those guys that know Jesus, it’s to help them to grow in their relationship,” Steve Watson, the team’s chaplain, said in a video posted on X by Jon Root.
One player said, “This team is just — we’re very faith-based. It’s beautiful to see how the team’s grown from the beginning to now.”
“Just hearing people talk about how their identity wasn’t in their sport but in Christ,” another player continued, “that changed my life.”
A third talked about how his faith wasn’t active as a child, but that changed when he came to Arizona.
Related: Ohio State Football Team Transforms Campus for Christ
“I never really put in the faith. John 2, end of John 2, faith without works is dead,” the player said. “So I really just started putting in the work, started putting in the work in the Bible, and really just dove all the way in. Got baptized — that was a big part, born again. So yeah, like, as soon as Steve got a hold of me and all my friends that are big in their faith got a hold of me, it was over. Like, I just jumped all the way in.”
Watson is blessed to see the athletes give their lives to Christ.
“That’s the really cool part about the job — you get to be a part of something special like that,” Watson shared at the end of the video. “In these past baptisms, one of the things that I found the most joyful and cool to see is the teammates that show up to support him. Just by one player — even one player — just, they see him go to church or they see him wearing the Jesus Won shirt, it makes them want to come do the same stuff.”
“There’s over 10 guys that have committed their lives to Jesus on the team,” he added. “And it’s been the joy of my life to be able to witness that. And really, it is — it’s just witnessing. Because I show up and I give them the word of God. And the word of God is what’s working on this team.”
Whether working with college athletes or younger players, Watson never shies away from his faith.
Last year, while coaching at a youth football camp in Arizona, he sported a “Jesus Won” hoodie.
“We do football camps a little different here in the Valley. Loved working with this crew!! #john16:33 #jesuswon,” Watson wrote.
ASU football’s revival isn’t the first football team to experience God’s presence. Last year, Ohio State players including receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau and former wide receiver Kamryn Babb baptized students in August 2024 ahead of the championship-winning season.
With the help of Watson and the Lord, ASU’s team will continue to see God transform the hearts and minds of the athletes.
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