Superbowl Champion Torrey Smith and former NFL Cheerleader Dana Hargrove discuss their faith and college experiences

Super Bowl Champion Torrey Smith and former NFL Cheerleader Dana Hargrove joined Pastor Kevin Gresham II to discuss their faith on and off the field at the University of Maryland’s “Faith on the Field of Life” panel.

Three former college athletes spoke at a panel hosted by the Black Student Ministries at the University of Maryland in the Garden Chapel on Nov.16. The speakers detailed how their college experience impacted their relationships with God.

Torrey Smith was a wide receiver for the Terps before getting drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2011. Since then, Smith became a two time Superbowl Champion, winning with the Ravens in 2013 and Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He was also nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for his commitment to community involvement while on the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 and currently runs a charitable foundation with his wife Chanel called LEVEL82.

Dana Hargrove served as the captain of the varsity co-ed cheerleading team at Virginia Tech University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She cheered for the Ravens from 2011 to 2017, representing them in the 2017 Pro Bowl. She also has worked as a systems engineer and program manager for multiple government defense contractors such as General Dynamics Corp.

Kevin Gresham II serves as the Chaplain of the Black Student Ministries and is the Executive Pastor of the Greater St. John Cathedral in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He also played football at this university as a wide receiver from 2006 to 2008

Each of them said that their journeys with their faith started at different times but college was one space that tested it. They talked about college as a space where many people may struggle with temptations and mental health.

Smith said he began to build his relationship with God when his mother was incarcerated while he was in college. He realized that he had to be intentional about doing the right thing. Smith said that he was living out his goals but realized that there were other aspects he needed discipline in.

“So while I was extremely disciplined as an athlete and as a student, I wasn’t necessarily the best when it came with my walk,” Smith said. 

He later opened up about his mental health struggles, detailing his diagnoses with depression during some of the highs of his NFL career. He sought therapy despite growing up thinking it was a weakness.

One student asked about seeing a therapist while as a Christian, referencing the negative stigma around talking to a therapist while also looking to God for help. The panelist all agreed that therapy is helpful and cited the Book of Isaiah which encourages Christians to seek counseling. 

“Emotion is not a sin,” Hargrove said.

She spoke about her experience with therapy and graduating from therapy through different seasons of her life. Hargrove told the audience that it was better to get some form of help rather than not getting help at all.

Hargrove compared therapy to visiting the doctor for a broken arm, saying a person would not only pray for their arm to be fixed but go to the doctor as well. She said that we may have something that needs to be fixed and a therapist may be an answer.

When asked about giving into temptation, Hargrove said that students should give themselves grace. Gresham II told the audience to be careful to not take God’s grace for granted, for making the wrong decision knowing God will forgive you cheapens the grace. 

For Hargrove, grace came from separating who she was professionally from who she was as a person and said that her faith was the foundation for that understanding. 

“[Faith] helped me not tie my worth to what I was doing,” Hargrove said. “I was Dana and I was whole in Christ and who was outside of all of those things,”

Smith said that as an athlete he often was faced with temptation and had to give himself grace. 

“I think an understanding that the beautiful thing is that you wake up, you get another chance, and it’s about trying not to make the same mistake twice,” Smith said.

Gresham II said that college transformed him from a fan of God into a follower. As a football player, he dealt with moments where he decided to step away from situations that did not align with his beliefs including situations involving parties or women. 

The panelists all agreed that college is the time to make mistakes. They closed with saying that although college may be difficult, finding a community and practicing grace helped in their walk with Christ.