Sport and Position: Football, Quarterback

Favorite Film: Favorite movie is tough! Probably Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith

Favorite Musician: Chris Brown

KZ: What’s your favorite meal?

BM: Favorite meal would be a big plate of spicy crab sushi.

KZ: What are your favorite hobbies?

BM: My favorite hobbies include golf, because it’s a great sport where you can clear your mind and just play. My favorite College of DuPage memory was when we beat Ellsworth in the final seconds of the game. I’m good on the grill, I can cook a good steak and burger, but other than that there’s nothing special about my culinary skills.

KZ: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what has brought you to College of DuPage?

BM: I have a 13-year-old sister named Braxten. I was about 4 years old when I started soccer, which I would soon give up to play football. I moved from Kentucky to Illinois in the summer of 2018.

KZ: Wow! That’s a big move! Were you excited? Directly out of high school? Is your family here, too? Or did you come by yourself? Who do you live with here?

BM: It’s about an 8-hour drive from here. I was excited for the next chapter of my life, because I broke my foot going into my senior season at my high school. My family is still home in Kentucky with my little sister, and I’m up in Illinois trying to chase the dream. I live with three other football players in an apartment about 5 minutes from the school.

KZ: How has your healing process affected your playing? Are you 100% healed? How do you like living with the other players? Tell us (myself and the readers) what a typical weekend is like for you? Do you like your classes and have homework?

BM: Well, I’m a red shirt freshman. So I was on the team last year, but I didn’t play due to the process of getting back from my injury. So after a full year back, this, technically, is my freshman year on the football field. I am 100% healed; praise the Lord. I love living with football players, because we each understand the struggle of waking up at 6 a.m. for workouts and film. A typical weekend in my apartment would be all of us going to an indoor facility down the road and throwing football on the turf. After that it’s a lot of hanging out and Madden. I love my classes here and feel that they are challenging yet achievable with effort. As for homework, it’s a package deal. No one likes it, but the homework will get done.

KZ: Who are your heroes? Who do you wish to be like and model after?

How do the coaches influence you? Who keeps you motivated? How do you speak to yourself and what are your goals for the future?

BM: Someone that I know who I look up to is my dad. He is my definition of the perfect dad. He’s shown me what it means to sacrifice so others can have. Someone I don’t know who I look up to would be Tim Tebow. As an athlete I’ve always wanted to be him. He was a great player and teammate on the field who could do damage to the other team but never bragged. He’s shown me how to be humble, and he uses his football gift to glorify to the Lord. The coaches on this team have influenced me greatly. They have helped me mold my game into some of the best football I’ve played in a while. They’ve helped me with the speed of the game while teaching me there is more to life than just football, such as being active in the community and giving to others. My family in Kentucky keeps me motivated. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think about my grandparents, mom, dad and sister. At the end of the day, I work hard because they work hard for me to be here in Illinois to help me chase my dream. My goals for the future are to earn a spot at a Division 1 school to play football, while also pursuing a dental career in orthodontics.

KZ: What has been your favorite class at COD?

BM: My favorite class was my English 1101 and 1102 with Susan Wielgoss. She was a great teacher and really helped me become a better and more confident writer.

KZ: What’s your New Years’ resolution?

BM: My resolution is to change my eating lifestyle.

KZ: What degree are you pursuing?

BM: The degree I am pursuing is Orthodontics. I’ve always loved the dentist and to make people have a healthy and straight smile can bring confidence to those who are not so confident.

KZ: What’s one of your favorite quotes from the coaches?

BM: Coach Foster always says, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.” I’ve never heard it before until he said it; so it stuck.