 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Chris Hall")
For the Christians on the undefeated Longhorn football team, worshipping is a round-the-clock lifestyle.
It’s Colt McCoy gushing to Chris Hall over Psalm 119 after their game in Stillwater.
It’s Sam Acho learning about strength and faithfulness from Joshua and other warriors in the Bible, or Earl Thomas behind the drum set and keyboard at his local church.
It can even happen unexpectedly. Like two weeks ago in the Columbia airport during a two-hour flight delay after beating Missouri.
And amid the shuffling of footsteps and squeaking luggage wheels were the booming voices and joyful spirits of a Sunday morning church service thanks to a choir of Horns singing hymns.
They didn’t get home until 4:30 a.m. that Sunday morning. It was a good way to pass the time.
“I love the [Christian] influence of this team, and it’s been so encouraging to enjoy the Lord and also enjoy the season together,” said junior defensive lineman Sam Acho. “Singing in the airport was just amazing.”
Sam Acho, along with Hall, younger brother Emmanuel, John Gold and Jamison Berryhill led the group of singers that night in one of many visible instances of the influence of Christianity on the team.
“For the Christian brothers, we have a sweet time,” Hall said. “We are constantly nourishing our spirits with prayer and the Bible together.”
When the Horns aren’t waiting in an airport, a group of them meets every Thursday after their workout to pray for strength and focus. They also talk about their responsibility as student athletes and more importantly their responsibilities as Christians.
Hall, a senior center, grew up admiring his father Tim’s relationship with the Lord from the dinner table as well as a pew. Tim Hall is the pastor at New Beginnings Fellowship in Irving, Texas, but it wasn’t until Chris’ freshmen year at UT that he fully felt his Christian faith, he said. He even took a six-day trip to Israel and Jerusalem.
“I was regenerated and finally got a taste of what my dad had,” Hall said. “It felt so good to know him as my father, but then to also know him as my brother in the Lord was even greater.”
Now Hall quotes scripture as if the Bible were in front of him. He doesn’t stop smiling, and he’s the first to compliment his teammates and brush away personal recognition.
“Chris is the most humble guy you’ll meet, and he loves the Lord with all his heart,” Sam said. “If you try to give him any sort of accolades, he just rejects them.”
Hall isn’t the only Texas player whose religion has taken him outside the United States. McCoy, last season’s Heisman runner-up, has spent the past two spring breaks in Peru working with children who live in grass huts and sleep on dirt floors. While on the tip, McCoy played football, soccer and also read Bible stories with the children every day with the help of an interpreter.
“You can really see Christ in Colt, in all situations,” Hall said. “When you think about his character, it really is God being expressed.”
This isn’t the first group of Horns for whom faith has played a major role in their lives. The team has seen a tradition of veteran players sharing their faith with younger teammates.
“I remember Trevor Walker reaching out to me when I first got here,” Sam said. “You don’t realize that just saying a few words, you could change someone’s life. That’s what I want the younger players to remember about me.”
Above all, it’s their faith that some might say keeps them togethe — from in the weight room where no one is watching, to in the end zone in front of 100,000 fans. It’s even there, they say, when it can’t get any worse — when an undefeated season abruptly ends on a last second touchdown far from home.
“We all go through hard times, and the Tech loss is a perfect example,” Hall said. “It is in the middle of those times that Christ conforms us to look like him, and we learn from those times down the line.”
So far, the Horns have learned from last season’s lone slip-up. And in a season where anything is possible, the Longhorn “brothers” are enjoying the peace and strength of their faith, no matter what life throws their way.
