Football requires deep dedication from its players.
The time and effort required to be successful in the sport is enormous, and some players remind themselves of that through a permanent commitment of ink on their bodies.
Junior defensive tackle Ego Ferguson has the words “sacrifice” and “dedication” tattooed on the inside of each bicep to remind him of what it took to achieve what he has in football.
“Those are the words I live by,” Ferguson said. “Cause I feel like for the game of football I’ve sacrificed a lot, just coming from where I came from, I’ve dedicated my life to this.”
Sacrifice isn’t exclusive to football for Ferguson, and it’s something that means so much to him he feels the permanent reminders motivate him to always strive for greatness.
Ferguson’s other tattoos include the phrases “The greatest glory is not in the rise, but in the rise after the fall,” and, “All scars become the marks that push us to greatness.”
“I just feel like after falling for so many times, it makes you a stronger person,” Ferguson said. “I just feel like you always need to keep striving for success.”
Sophomore running back Jeremy Hill also uses his body as a canvas to show his mentality when he steps between the hashmarks. Along his right arm, Hill has figures from throughout history who mean something to him.
The running back, known for his bruising style on the field, has taken lessons from figures in ancient history and applied them to his on-field demeanor.
“Definitely all the ones on my right arm, it’s just the mentality that I take on. I have an Aztec warrior [on the right forearm] and I have St. Michael [on the outside of the right bicep],” Hill said. “I follow history very well, so all of them mean something to me, the history that these figures have, how they took on everything head on, how creative and innovative they were, I just take those lessons and try to apply them to my life.”
The relationship to the game of football isn’t the only thing players chose to represent through ink.
Family and religion are two things sophomore cornerback Jalen Mills and junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry have represented on their bodies.
Mills’ relationship with his mother has played a large part in his life. So when they were going through a rough patch during his high school career, the Texas native chose to get a tattoo on his right forearm to show his mother how much he cared about her.
“[My favorite tattoo] has to be my mother’s name. I mean, I think it was probably the first or second tattoo I ever got and it was on her birthday,” Mills said. “We were going through a hard time at that point in time so I was just really trying to show her that I loved her. Ever since then it’s just been love between us.”
For Landry, the first tattoo he got not only represents the relationship he has with God, but also the relationship he has with his family, which has deep religious ties.
The tattoo of Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
“I was raised in a religious type of family, so it just kind of carried over,” Landry said. “From my first tattoo to my last tattoo, all of them are symbolic, all of them mean something to me.”
“[My favorite tattoo] has to be my mother’s name, I mean I think it was probably the first or second tattoo I ever got and it was on her birthday … We were going through a hard time at that point in time so I was just really trying to show her that I loved her, ever since then its just been love between us.”