Teven Jenkins shares emotional motivation from late mother originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
When players are drafted into the NFL, you often hear players say that they would have never succeeded without the support of their family, and Bears rookie Teven Jenkins is no different. But for Jenkins, the support he received from his family up to draft night goes above and beyond what you typically hear from NCAA prospects.
Jenkins shared his emotional story in the Bears’ season premiere of “Meet The Rookies,” a YouTube show.
“Once I actually heard my name on the television and heard the announcer say my name, there's like a slight heart drop, like that's what I've been waiting for,” Jenkins said in the video.. “Looking over to see my dad, you know, he is over there trying to hold back tears. That was the first person I hugged, my dad, because of how much he means to me. Growing up, my dad was like— after the age of eight, when my mom passed— he was a single father. He had to make some sacrifices.
“You know, I've never seen this man take a vacation. Basically all the way up to high school, me and my brothers, his vacation days were spent on us. He was taking us to our sporting events on the weekends, weekdays, anything like that. Him sacrificing his relaxation time and doing all that, because that's how he was raised and how he wanted us to be raised.”
Jenkins’ mother died in 2006, when he was 8 years old. But his father, Brad Jenkins, said many family members rallied around them to help when they needed it the most.
“I got a lot of help from her side of the family, my mom did a lot,” said Brad. “It was tough, and obviously I'd love for her to be here, but that's made all of us stronger. She was diagnosed when he was three, so he watched her go through all the pain and chemo and she changed her appearance... It had to be one of the toughest things to tell my son that she was no longer with us, you know, she's passed away.
“He had a lot of support from both sides of the family, school and counselors and stuff. Both of my sons played a lot of sports. We always tried to keep them busy, active, and I think that helped a lot. That was the first year we got him into football.”
Today, Teven carries his late mother with him, always. Not just in his heart, but on his arm, with a memorial tattoo.
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“That's that's one thing that's always going to be pushing and motivating me every day, just looking at my arm,” Teven said. “Just looking at her and showing her that I can do whatever needs to be done because of what she's been through. And that's how I really want to attack every week, every day, every practice, every snap. That's really how I want to play for the rest of my career.”
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