Trent Toone - No Excuses, No Regrets: The Eric Weddle Story

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Toone, Trent, author.

No excuses, no regrets : the Eric Weddle story / Trent Toone.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60907-395-4 (hardbound : alk. paper)

1. Weddle, Eric, 1985 2. Football playersBiography. 3. Mormon athletesBiography. 4. San Diego Chargers (Football team)Biography. I. Title.

GV939.W363T66 2013

796.332092dc23

[B]2013003186

Printed in the United States of America

Lake Book Manufacturing, Inc., Melrose Park, Illinois

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedication

To Chanel, Brooklyn, Gaige, and Silver.

As you live each day to the fullest, may this book inspire you to go and do something totally amazing.

Eric Weddle

I still remember [my mothers] advice to me given on that day long ago when my team lost a football game:

Come what may, and love it.

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Foreword

By Kyle Whittingham

Over the past twenty-five years I have had the opportunity to coach many outstanding college football players. From the all-Americans to the guys who didnt make the headlines, their contributions have brought notoriety and respect to our program at the University of Utah. Many of these former players have gone on to professional careers in the National Football League.

One who ranks among the best to ever don the Utah uniform is Eric Weddle.

In 2001, my recruiting area included Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California. I vividly remember the first time I sized Eric up. He was hardly an imposing figure, at just a shade under six feet tall and weighing maybe 185 pounds, with slicked-back hair. His game film, however, revealed a player who was multitalented and had some of the best instincts of any of the players I had ever evaluated. Eric was all over the field, playing a multitude of positions. He made play after play, and it was no wonder that he would later be named the offensive and defensive MVP of his league.

At that point in time, Eric was drawing moderate interest from several schools in the PAC-10 as well as many other smaller schools, and I put him on my list as a guy that I wanted to follow up on in the fall.

Six months later, I was surprised to learn that not one of the PAC-10 schools had offered him a scholarship. This seemed very strange since virtually every coach in his league raved that he was the best player in the area.

So why hadnt any big-name schools offered him a scholarship? I researched Eric further to make sure there were no character issues or heinous crimes in his past. When all this checked out okay, I was convinced that, regardless of his lack of recruitment by the PAC-10, he would be a great fit for our program. When he visited our campus, we made the scholarship offer and he accepted. Even so, Urban Meyer, our head coach at the time, was a little skeptical that Eric was a guy that could help us win.

It didnt take us long to realize we had a special player on our hands. By the fourth game of his freshman year, Eric had already cracked the starting lineup.

One of Erics many strong suits was his humility. Even with his early success, he would never boast or brag. He was also a perfectionist. Regardless of his high level of performance, he always felt there was room for improvement. Confidence, character, class, consistency, toughness, competitiveness, intelligence, compassion, the ability to overcome adversityall are qualities that describe Eric Weddle. Hes a guy who does things the right way in both his approach to the game of football and to life.

I have always been impressed with Erics competitiveness. Following his rookie season with the San Diego Chargers, we invited Eric back to be an honorary coach in our annual Red and White spring game on April 19, 2008. Not only did his white squad win, he also did something that was quintessential competitive Eric.

After the white squad scored a touchdown, we put Eric out there to kick the PAT, which was about the only thing he hadnt done for us in his time at Utah. Perhaps that was a good thing, because his kick was low and was easily blocked. The ball bounced toward the sideline, where it was scooped up by a player from the red squad. As the defensive player began to run it back, Eric, dressed in shorts, a golf shirt, and untied sneakers, with a cell phone on his belt and a hat on backwards, bolted after him. But just before Eric could make the tackle, the defensive player pitched the ball back to one of his teammates. With several thousand Ute fans cheering, Eric took off in pursuit of the player and, some 50 yards later, Eric finally caught him just before he reached the other end zone and playfully fell on top of him.

I was praying the entire time that Eric wouldnt get hurt and that the Chargers would never get wind of the incident. But it was a prime example of Erics competitive spirit.

During his career at Utah, Eric was always a class act. His generous gesture at the end of the 2006 BYU game typifies his character and what he is all about. At the end of the game, Eric went out of his way to congratulate the Cougars winning quarterback, even though it had been very difficult for him to lose his final home game as a Ute. Very few players would have had the presence of mind to do what he did in that situation.

As good as Eric is on the field, he is an even better person off. His commitment to his religious beliefs, his family, his friends, and his community are his priorities. During his time at Utah, he visited sick children in hospitals, went to see those with special needs, and spent time talking with troubled youth at juvenile correction facilities. He cares about people.

Another thing I admire about Eric is the love and dedication he has for his family. Eric and his wife, Chanel, are the parents of three adorable children: daughter Brooklyn, son Gaige, and a second daughter, Silver. Eric credits his parents, Steve and Debbie Weddle, with teaching him the life lessons, values, and principles that have helped him become the husband and father he is today. Even with all the praise and accolades he has received for his play on the football field, Eric will be the first totell you that his family is his greatest source of happiness.

Since leaving the University of Utah for the NFL, Eric has been a great ambassador for our program. He has stayed involved and continues to offer a helping hand when time permits.

It is a privilege to have Eric as a friend, and coaching him was an honor. I continue to watch his career unfold and am elated at the success he is having as a member of the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League. Eric is truly one of the great ones.

Prologue

The Safety That Was Too Short

This wasnt the way Eric Weddle imagined it would be.

Growing up about fifty miles east of the UCLA campus, he had often aspired to one day be playing football for the Bruins. Over the course of countless Saturdays, he had religiously watched the great ones such as Troy Aikman, Cade McNown, and DeShaun Foster, then mimicked their moves in Pop Warner ball. He wore a blue-and-gold jersey to school, where his dreams of pigskin greatness helped him survive high school algebra. Honestly, it was more interesting to visualize himself running into the Rose Bowl stadium to the roar of a hundred thousand fans than it was to solve for X and Y. At Alta Loma High School, he had been a three-sport athlete, but football was his passion. As a sophomore he started in the varsitys defensive secondary. As a junior he started at safety and quickly developed into an electrifying wide receiver. That year, he was named the Mount Baldy Leagues MVP, and recruiting mail poured in from the PAC-10, the Big 12, and even Notre Dame.