Former BYU wide receiver Devon Blackmon is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But he spent enough time around his teammates who were members—many of themreturned missionaries—that he came to appreciate the maturity and perspective that full-time mission service brought to their lives and to their playing on the field.
In an interview with Ben Criddle on ESPN960 yesterday, Blackmon commented, “A mission is something we probably all need. … It makes you realize life from a different perspective. … Now that I’m not playing football anymore, what do I have to make up for that? It’s more [about] character and I think the mission puts that into perspective. And if more players had that, we’d be great players on the field—we’d be even greater.”
BYU THIS HOW I FEEL ABOUT MISSIONS ❤️❤️✅ pic.twitter.com/CyjD6zyYtK
— Devon Blackmon (@D_BLACK19) January 11, 2022
Criddle also joked about Blackmon being called to serve in the Provo Utah Mission and how awesome he would be as a missionary.
“I probably [would] fall in love with turning people to God, and helping them do the right thing, and bringing that energy. You can’t get the same gratification playing football as you do serving people. You can’t really find that anywhere else.“
You can listen to the entire interview in the player below:
