If you're a competitor, you want to win. That's enough to play for, simple as that.
I want to go where I'm the difference. I want to make something out of nothing. I want to be the reason someone is great.
I'm hard on myself. I'm my biggest critic.
I've always had high expectations of myself. I've never felt that there was anything I couldn't do in this world.
The game of football is something I dearly love, and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.
I've been through a lot off the field. I think that kind of translates onto the field. Football serves for a lot of life lessons, and so it allows me to stay humble and continue to work.
A few weeks after my mom passed in November of 2013, I came back from an injury and entered the Egg Bowl in the second half against Ole Miss. I'll never forget the feeling when I walked back out on the field. As I walked into the Egg Bowl, the crowd stood up and clapped like they were enveloping me in a giant hug.
I grew up in Haughton, Louisiana. I go to my white grandparents' house, and then I cross the railroad tracks and hang out with my black grandma. We have English teachers on my white side. My grandpa is a principal. And then you go to the other side, and people have been in jail.
If there's one perk, it's being the quarterback of America's team and being able to make a difference off the field.
If somebody says I'm a leader or notices the things I try to do to be a leader, it's the ultimate compliment.
I'm just trying to win games and give my team a chance, win as many as we can week in and week out.
I've been in situations where I was the only black guy. We're in a time now where nobody wants to see that. But it still happens.
When I chose Mississippi State, of course I dreamed about being a big-time college football player. But I'm so grateful that actually became a reality - and it became a reality in a small town.
On the field, I went from an anonymous redshirt to a short-yardage specialist to a Heisman Trophy candidate. Off the field, I showed up as a wild kid and grew up.
I don't really put too much pressure on myself. The only time people feel pressure is when they put it on themselves and listen to the outside stuff. I have great teammates and great coaches that do the right things around me that allows me to just focus on the game of football.
When I was younger, I used to pray that I would die before my mom. That's just how much my mom meant to me. I couldn't imagine being in this world without her. But then seeing cancer - seeing what it can do to somebody - as strong and as tough as she was, there was nothing she could do. Cancer is a dirty, dirty deal.
If we're doing a class project, then I'm going to be the one talking and taking the lead. I might not necessarily put all of the work in the project, but I want to help and do as much as I can and get everyone going in the right direction.
Being bi-racial and being from the country, I can talk to guys like Travis Frederick from Wisconsin and Doug Free from Wisconsin. And then I can go over and talk to Dez Bryant. I mean, think about the two different standpoints you need to have a real conversation with both, to really understand what they've been through.
Back when I was a senior in high school in Haughton, LA, I had a chance to go to LSU. Everyone I grew up with adored LSU, including my mom. But I chose to come to Mississippi State because I wanted to start a new tradition instead of perpetuating an established one.
I will never have a sip of alcohol and get behind the wheel again. Regardless if I'm 300% sure that I just had a sip and I can drive. It doesn't matter.
