Jerry Tillery is one amazing young man

[IRISH_FRIAR]

I was beyond surprised we beat LSU for this incredible student-athlete. This article explains why we did.

Against conventional wisdom on careers, Tillery does not see a conundrum in wanting to be both a professional football player and a doctor.

“Why can’t you do both?” he said. “I don’t think I’m the first one with those aspirations.

“I’m handling coursework and doing pretty well on the field. Why can’t I have both?”

Tillery considers himself deeper, smarter, an intellectual.

“I like to think so,” he said. “I enjoy the finer things. It’s something I take pride in. I focus on my studies as much as football, so it’s a balance.”

Not many recruits that are as highly rated by scouts as Tillery was escape SEC country. He was a two-way star at Evangel Christian High School. And LSU pursued.

“LSU did their job; I was from Louisiana, why wouldn’t they?” Tillery said. “And I love Shreveport: the culture, the food, everything. It is where I was born and raised. I get back every chance I can.

“But I knew what I wanted (in choosing a college). That’s why I’m here. I was aware of Notre Dame from the start.”

One of Tillery’s sisters is a nurse, and both his parents work in the medical field. If South Bend was the place to pair academic reputation with athletic achievement, he was willing to come far from home.

“He’s a unique cat,” Irish linebacker Joe Schmidt said. “He’s an intellectual guy. It’s been a fun journey with Jerry.”

 

[FightingIrish44]

He sounds awesome and he's been playing pretty well.

 

[BigFellaFan]

Good kid at a great school with a stupendous future. A forty year decision!

 

[South Bender]

Terry Jillery!!!

 

[IRISHJD98]

Good story.

And he's right; he can have both. Just ask ND's former three-time first-team All-American (and College Football Hall of Fame inductee) tight end Dr. Ken MacAfee, M.D.

 

[THUNDERSTRUCK111]

Great kid well donefriar

 

[artemis gordon]

Good story.

And he's right; he can have both. Just ask ND's former three-time first-team All-American (and College Football Hall of Fame inductee) tight end Dr. Ken MacAfee, M.D.

I thought McAfee was a dentist?

 

[BGI User 1596]

As one great alum said: “Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein.”

 

[TeddyOH]

Agree with OP but on the Showtime series, they are really laying it on thick with him. It's starting to tip over into him seeming arrogant or obnoxious. The whole focus on him going to Ireland to meet with a business guru in the medical field made me gag.

Sorry. Huge fan, but Showtime needs to reign it in. Or at least show similar accomplishments from some of the many other VERY bright kids on this team.

 

[South Bender]

Agree with OP but on the Showtime series, they are really laying it on thick with him. It's starting to tip over into him seeming arrogant or obnoxious. The whole focus on him going to Ireland to meet with a business guru in the medical field made me gag.

Sorry. Huge fan, but Showtime needs to reign it in. Or at least show similar accomplishments from some of the many other VERY bright kids on this team.

Why would that make you gag?

I agree, the Tillery coverage on this show is borderline "stalking", but the Ireland
trip was an interesting story of what a member of the team did over the break.
It's not like anyone else on the team went to Ireland. Tillery was going, so they
went with him.

 

[IRISHJD98]

I thought McAfee was a dentist?

Ken MacAfee is an oral surgeon. He went to medical school and worked in a hospital with my own oral surgeon, who is both a DMD and an MD. Maybe MacAfee is just a DMD. For what its worth, his name is actually spelled MacAfee even though its routinely misspelled McAfee (like in the article below). Whatever his degree, he's the type of guy Tillery seems to want to follow.

Ex-Grid Star Ken McAfee Now an Oral Surgeon
February 24, 1985

DANVILLE, Pa. — Former Notre Dame All-America Ken McAfee, who entered the NFL amid great fanfare but left in relative obscurity, had prepared for life after football. Unfortunately, he says, many players do not.

"Players have to prepare for a career after football because something can happen at any moment and you're out of the game," he said. "It happens more often than people think."

McAfee, now an oral surgeon at a prestigious Pennsylvania hospital, said he prepared for the end of his career by attending medical school in the off-season. He contended his San Francisco 49ers coaches were not pleased with his springtime endeavor.

"The coaches at San Francisco thought that since I was going to medical school in the off-season, I had a lack of interest in football," he said recently. "Bill Walsh just didn't feel like I was interested in the game. I told him, 'For six months, I'll give you everything I have.' "

Walsh declined comment on the topic, according to a 49ers team spokesman.

McAfee, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end, was a first-team All-America for three straight years. In 1977, he was a member of Notre Dame's national championship team and finished third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy--bestowed on the nation's top collegiate player.

McAfee, now 28, said some coaches discourage players from pursuing a career outside of football, but players must take the initiative. He also said that although virtually every football player went to college, many ignore the advantages of a free education.

"Just about every person playing pro football went to college," he said. "They had a chance for a free education and they waste it--they either don't get a degree or don't learn anything."

Many fans view McAfee as a bust in the NFL, another of those highly touted college stars that couldn't adapt to the professional game.

He said he initially was bothered by people saying he never "made it" in pro football. Then, he thought about it.

"What is considered 'making it?"' McAfee asked. "I was the seventh pick in the college draft, a first-round choice. The salary I made with the pros paid for my medical school.

"Just because I didn't play 10 or 15 years and didn't make All-Pro certainly doesn't mean that I didn't make it," he said.

 

[NDCap]

The showtime special really ties the personalities of the team with the fans. Tillery is mature beyond his years. The players have great respect for each other . A true brotherhood . I give credit to BK and his staff for keeping this team together with all of the injuries. Complete the mission has been their battle cry. It would be some story.