UAB Coach Trent Dilfer Shares the Moment He Encountered Christ
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former NFL quarterback and current University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) football coach Trent Dilfer shared his testimony on Sports Spectrum’s “I Once Was” series.
“I was 10-years old, and my dad was looking to get rid of me for the summer,” Dilfer shared in the video. “So, he sent me to a church camp in the Santa Cruz mountains called, Camp Hammer. One of the final nights I felt a really strong tug on my heart to receive the Lord, and I walked forward. It was an authentic commitment at the time to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior.”
The former NFL star revealed that he only lived for himself for the next decade. But everything changed when he was invited to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) camp in Thousand Oaks.
“I got to see 30 other college athletes living authentic lives for Jesus but more importantly for others, and it was at that camp that I decided to make Jesus not just my savior but my Lord and Savior,” Dilfer revealed.
“Since that moment, this walk with Jesus is really about serving others and living others-centered, not for myself,” he explained. “That’s been the biggest transformational piece of my walk, when I’m spending time on my knees close to Jesus, I find that the overflow of that is a life to really serve.”
Dilfer was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1st round of the 1994 NFL draft (6th overall). He made one Pro Bowl appearance with the Buccaneers but was later traded to the Baltimore Ravens. There, Dilfer earned his way into the starting line-up and helped lead the team to its first-ever Super Bowl win (XXXV).
In his first season as head coach for UAB, Dilfer has used his influence to help fight childhood cancer.
Dilfer recently shared on his Instagram, “Game 3- #MyCauseMyShoe. Smile-A-Mile supports those in Alabama who are affected by childhood cancer, providing them with meaningful and educational programs. Camp SAM, as it’s affectionately known, started as a single summer camp session 35 years ago. The organization has evolved into a year-round program that serves families through diagnosis and treatment.”
UAB football is currently 1-2 on the season and will face the No. 1 ranked team, the Georgia Bulldogs, this Saturday, September 23.