Fight On
Michael Pittman Jr. and Tom Hager
In partnership with Athletes For God
I used to be so mad.
Hood up. Headphones on. And tuned out to what anybody had to say.
Multiple injuries will do that to just about anyone.
First there was the collarbone injury. Then there was the hand injury. Then there was the shoulder injury, and somewhere down the line I started getting frustrated. It felt like one rehab session after another, and as soon as I was starting to get healthy again, something else would happen. I had realized that football is a lot about how much you're willing to put yourself through, and I was going through a lot.
When I committed to play at USC, I felt like I had unlimited potential. There had been a steady line of great receivers to walk through these doors, and I felt like I had a chance to set the bar even higher.
Within two years of that day, I had yet to reach my potential, and it was starting to wear on me.
But the thing is, things always turn around, because God is always there with us. That doesn't mean that I'll catch every pass or win every game, but it means that God will either make the path become easier, or He'll make me strong enough to handle it when the path doesn't.
My name is Michael Pittman Jr., and I am a starting receiver at USC. I'm also a Christian, which helped me overcome all my adversities. Before I ever became a potential NFL pick, I was once a backup receiver trying to just stay healthy.
I never thought I would go through that many injuries in just two years.
When I got to USC, my main concern was just getting big. I still remember when I was doing workouts with the other receivers, I noticed I was smaller than almost everybody. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steven Mitchell, Issac Whitney...I just starting going down the line. I don't look like him. I don't look like him either. And I definitely don't look like him.
They were all swole with rock-hard bodies, and here I was. I had the worst combination possible, because I was skinny but had a little belly at the same time. I thought to myself I have no idea how I'm going to fit into this group for playing time.
The thing was, I was fast.
But here's the thing about being fast...it's only effective when you're healthy. And for my first two years at USC, that was almost never the case.
The injuries my freshman year were tough, but I could accept waiting a season to get some playing time. That was the case with plenty of guys, especially at a school like USC.
It was really my sophomore year when things started to go downhill. Not only was I getting hurt, it was happening consistently. I remember I started to ask...why is this happening to me?
Every Christian has to battle thoughts like that, but that actually wasn't the worst thought that came into my mind. The worst thought was when I projected my thoughts onto others.
Why can't this happen to somebody else?
I kept that thought to myself, but I had just gotten to the point where I was exhausted. I was tired of missing the field and tired of my body hurting all the time.
I relied on my faith, because I knew that God had a plan for everything that was going on. Every injury and every setback had some purpose in God's plan. I also relied on my family, because it was around that time my dad decided to show me some tough love.
"You have one more week to be hurt," he told me. "And then you're not hurt no more."
For those who don't remember watching him on tv, my dad is Michael Pittman, Sr. He played for 11 seasons in the NFL and rushed for 5,627 yards in his career. Those numbers don't even include the 124 yards he rushed for in Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Raiders 48-21.
I never felt the need to compete with my dad or have a better career than him, but I knew that I had a younger brother who was looking up to me, to see how I would handle everything. And somehow, when my dad told me I had only one week left to be hurt, it somehow worked.
When I stepped back on the field, I started performing.
I had one catch against Utah, then two catches against Arizona State. I then added three catches against Arizona and four against Colorado, and when our team was playing in the Pac-12 Championship Game, I had 7 catches for 146 yards.
More importantly, our team beat Stanford that night 31-28. Things were finally turning a corner.
Or so I had thought.
For the first half of last season, I just couldn't find my rhythm...through the first five games of the season I had caught just 11 passes.
Maybe I hadn't turned the corner after all.
But I think that's just the devil trying to plant that doubt in my mind...I feel like of all the tools satan has at his disposal, doubt is his most potent. Once doubt starts to set in, it opens the door for everything else to come in. Hatred. Jealousy. Selfishness. All of that stems from doubt. Doubt of my own abilities, or doubt that who I am isn’t good enough.
I could have fallen into another dark place, but I had some incredible people who kept me from going down that path.
First there was my girlfriend. She has been with me for nearly six years, and loved me long before I ever stepped foot on USC. Plus, we have a rule that we never compare each other to other guys/girls...she's doesn't need to change anything about who she is, and she makes me feel the same. Regardless of whether I'm scoring touchdowns or not.
She also goes to church with me, and helps keep my identity in Christ, not in football. It's easy to try and wrap up your identity as a football player at USC, but there's more to me than that.
I'm also lucky enough to have teammates who feel the same way. On gameday, after we watch a hype video to pump us up, and after I listen to some songs by the Christian band Casting Crowns to put me in a good place, we say a prayer in the locker room as a team. Then we'll go back out on the field and take a knee to say another prayer, just to make sure we represent Christ in the way we play and the way we treat our opponent.
That support system kept my head in the right place, and I started to play like I had never played before. I had 155 yards against Colorado, then 107 against Utah, 90 against Arizona State, 106 against UCLA, and 91 against Notre Dame. I had barely touched the ball the first half of the season, and now I was actually helping our team.
The only problem was that we lost four of our last five games to finish the season with a 5-7 record. We're used to double-digit win seasons here, and to finish with a losing record is almost unheard of. But just as those teammates helped me out, I'm helping my teammates out in return.
First, I made sure to keep encouraging my quarterback, J.T. Daniels, who faced more attention and pressure than anyone his age. He finished high school an entire year early so he could play quarterback here, which meant he was facing redshirt-seniors four or five years older than him last season.
I was frustrated early in the year, because I wasn't getting the amount of looks I had hoped, but I knew that I had to look at things from J.T.'s point of view. He should have been in high school, and yet here he was, learning an entire new playbook and trying to face defenses that were coming after him.
And since I enrolled at USC a semester early, I actually see a lot of myself in him. Plus, by the end of the season we showed what it can look like when we get on the same page. The good news is that we have another year to show to what we can do together, because I decided to come back for my senior year.
I was projected as a third round pick, and the thought was definitely tempting, especially because there were a lot of people telling me to leave and get out now. That the program is going downhill, and I should get out while I can. But I'm proof that players can thrive when they're given time, and I know J.T. is going to light it up next season.
I know that I'm leaving a signing bonus on the table by coming back, but I don't just play for money. I play for respect. One of my biggest motivators was that I wouldn't become the player that I was capable of, and thanks to my girlfriend, my dad, and my teammates, I think I can put that thought to rest.
But if I'm going to stay here for another season, I may as well make the most of my time here - both on and off the field. Now that I've matured, I've realized the injuries I faced earlier in my career are nothing compared to some of the struggles people face...including right here in Los Angeles.
When I started to realize that this world is bigger than just about me, and that people are actually struggling, I'm thankful I'm in the position to do something about it. Any opportunity that I get to work with the Helton Foundation and do work in the community, I'm there. Even when the kids don't know who I am, they know what this jersey represents, and they realize that maybe that dream is more attainable than they previously thought.
I think the coolest experience I had, however, was helping someone who probably had never heard of USC or watched football at all. I decided to sponsor a 16-year-old in Indonesia, and for just $43 a month, I'm able to help keep her in school and provide her with her daily needs. But I feel like I’m the biggest beneficiary, because not that long ago she sent a letter to me. It was in Indonesian, but I knew she was grateful for everything, and when I read the translated version the agency gave me, it confirmed exactly what I had thought. I can tell you that getting a letter like that makes you feel fortunate to be in the position to help.
One thing that's been on my mind is that nobody's life is more important than another's. I'm not any more important than anybody else God put on this planet. But what God did is He gave me a special talent to play football and a platform to make a difference in people's lives. And if people can see God's love in the way I treat them, then I think I've done my part.
And for all those young kids who have faced adversity in their careers, we have a saying here at USC called "Fight On". It's the name of our fight song, but I also think it's the approach God wants us to take with our adversity. So hopefully when you see me in the end zone this fall, flashing the "V" for victory, just know that I didn't get here on my own.
Images courtesy of University of Southern California