Eli Herring

Several years ago I lived in Littleton Colorado where Ronnie Green lived. Ronnie was the aunt of Eli Herring. Now you might ask who is Eli Herring. He is one of the best linemen ever to play football in college. He earned the Outland Trophy. The Outland Trophy is equivalent to the Heisman except it is for linemen.

Eli indicated that he did not want to play professional football because they played on Sunday, and that the NFL should save their efforts in trying to recruit him. He was still drafted in the 6th round by the Oakland Raiders with an initial offer of $500000. He said no.

Ronnie Green was descended from people who were involved in a violent lifestyle and organized crime. She and Eli's mother determined from the time they married that they would break the cycle of violence and crime. They made a concerted effort to teach their children to be kind and helpful. They resolved difficulties with love and persuasion instead of fear and punishment. Ronnie invited Eli to come talk at a youth devotional in the late 1990's. She said that it was interesting to watch Eli on the football field. He would perform with high energy and knock people down. After he knocked them down he would go pick them up and apologize for having knocked them down. She said that he had an internal conflict of the training for football and the training from his mother.

I am not a small person, but next to Eli I felt tiny. It was fun to hear him talk about how the spiritual things were more important than the prestige and money that would come from playing professional football.

Eli is now held up as an example of those that have chosen to serve the Lord.