When Tyrus Thompson steps on the field for practice every day, he is thinking about one thing: his family.
He will tell you there are many reasons people play football: for pride, for money, for a pure love of the game. But for Thompson, those things are only secondary.
“All those things count for me, too,” Thompson said, “but I know that I’m playing for more than just myself. Sometimes you are in pain, or things get stressful, and you want to stop — but you know there are other people depending on you. That gives you the extra motivation to keep pushing.