| | LANSING, Mich. -- Dimitrius Underwood's work in the weight
room during his junior year earned him Michigan State's Iron Man Award for weight training.
But Underwood's commitment to football began to waver somewhere
along the way.
He sat out his senior year after spraining his ankle during an
August practice. The Minnesota Vikings drafted him in the first
round and signed him Aug. 1 to a five-year, $5.3 million contract.
He showed up at camp for one day and then left without telling
anyone.
He went to a Philadelphia hotel where he said he spent days
wrestling with whether he should play football or serve God.
"Deep down in my heart, I know I was not called to do that kind
of" ministry, Underwood told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.
"But recently, in the last month, I feel the Lord's been pulling
me there. And I know that that is a huge conflict of interest,
because what am I going to do in order to support my family?"
Then when Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson called, Underwood
decided he'd give football another chance, in part because of his
responsibilities to his 17-month-old twins living with their mother
in Lansing. He made it to two days of camp before dislocating his
left shoulder in his first game.
And after a trip back to Lansing, the iron man shattered.
Now Underwood is in a Lansing hospital, receiving treatment for
the gash he reportedly sliced across his neck Sunday with a knife.
Only Underwood knows what drove him to injure himself and no one
who has spoken to him since is divulging his secrets.
Underwood's mother, Eileen Underwood, told The Miami Herald on
Monday that she believed "a cult that's posing as a church," has
been influencing her son's erratic behavior.
Ms. Underwood declined to name the church, which she said
Underwood began attending while he was at Michigan State.
What Underwood has made abundantly clear is how much of a
struggle he's faced over his choice between a high-paying football
career and what he sees as God's call for him to lead a different
life.
"There's a higher power than money," he said after deciding to
play for the Dolphins. "The NFL is a great thing, but what wakes
people up every day is not the same thing for everybody. Some wake
up for the money. I wake up to a different beat -- the beat of
God."
That wasn't always the case. At one time, getting into the NFL
was almost an obsession with Underwood, said Michigan State sports
information director John Lewandowski.
"That's all he ever talked about" his junior year, Lewandowski
said. "He worked hard to take care of his body, he worked hard in
the weight room. Obviously there's something that happened between
that fall in '97 when he was obsessed about making it, and now."
Underwood's ankle healed during his senior season, but he never
asked to play, Lewandowski said. Nor did he hang out with the team.
"Normally those (injured) guys are out there ... giving their
moral support," Lewandowski said. "He wasn't around. He distanced
himself from the football program."
Nonetheless, the Vikings liked what they saw and made him their
second first-round draft choice. Underwood discussed with former
Green Bay Packer and minister Reggie White how he could combine
football and faith. But in the end, football in Minnesota lost out.
When he did decide to go with the Dolphins, Underwood missed his
first practice. The 6-foot-6 defensive end reported to camp at 270
pounds, a few less than his playing weight. Wind sprints at the end
of practice left him gasping, and he acknowledged he needed to get into shape.
Two days later, he was injured during the Dolphins' Sept. 2
preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. And football was
again put on hold for a little while. He was scheduled to begin
practice again this week.
Football could have brought the paycheck Underwood needed to
support his children and provide financial to his mother, brother
and sister in Philadelphia.
Or it could have brought despair over a career he didn't want.
He'd had a solid three years at Michigan State. He had played in
35 games, made 103 tackles, had 13 sacks and had cost other teams
116 yards in lost ground, placing him second among Michigan State's
defensive linemen. He'd been an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick
his junior year.
But by the start of his senior year, that fire for football was
gone, Lewandowski said.
"Here's a guy who elected not to play football. ... He never
wanted to come back." | |
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Underwood's neck wound self-inflicted, police say
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