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By ADRIAN BEECHER
In life, opportunities present themselves in many different forms as we live forward to achieve our dreams. One man will take another step in the journey of achieving his goals in life this weekend as he makes the first-ever professional football start of his career when he lines up under center for the Las Vegas Outlaws (3-5) as they head into battle against the Philadelphia Soul (8-1) this Saturday in Atlantic City, NJ in the DraftKings Boardwalk Bowl.
This man is none other than 23-year-old Sean Brackett, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound dual-threat quarterback out of the Ivy League's Columbia University in the City of New York. During his time at Columbia, he threw for 6,273 yards and 46 touchdowns while rushing for 11 more. In addition, he was a multi-time All-Ivy selection. Brackett was a two-sport athlete in high school, excelling in both football and basketball. He was named captain for two years during his time on the basketball team and was the captain for the football team his senior year in high school.
When he got to Columbia University, he left basketball behind to pursue his football dreams. His family's strong ties and passion for the gridiron helped lead Sean on the path of the pigskin rather than the hardwood.
"Football's been in my family," Brackett said. "My dad played. My brother played. It's huge in my whole family. My uncle was the head coach the year before I got to high school, so football is very big in the Brackett household. This is what I've always wanted to do."
Being a four-year starter on the football team at Griswold High in Connecticut helped groom him into the player he is today. Brackett compiled nearly 10,000 total yards of offense in his four years at Griswold, totaling 7,473 passing yards and 2,081 rushing yards, along with 90 total touchdowns -- 33 of which came on the ground.
Bracket's ability to run the ball and find holes in the defense shined through at a young age.
"It's always really came natural to me," Brackett said. "When I was growing up playing in Pee-Wees, I was a running back until I was probably nine-years-old when I switched over to quarterback. I've always had that in my repertoire, so growing up it was always easier to be a dual-threat guy."
He credits much of his early success to his parents.
"God bless my mother, she would always bring us to every practice after school. She actually was my middle school teacher, so she'd have to deal with me and my brother all day. My dad was always involved with coaching, so he's been one of my biggest coaches and that was always a great thing."
Football was not just a routine in the Brackett family; it was a way of life.
"Go to school, have practice, come home eat dinner, talk about practice," Brackett said of the daily routine in the household as a kid. "The other thing was, my mom was always on me about academics. If I didn't have my homework done I couldn't go to practice."
With how much the game of football means to Sean and his family, it's only fitting that his first professional start will be just 280 miles away from where the dream started for him.
"It worked out great," Brackett said. "I'm an East Coast guy. I have a lot of my family and friends coming to the game. It worked out perfectly. It's my first start in the League and probably one of the only games where I can actually have family and friends in attendance. I'm really excited"
Sean's big dream is to make it to the NFL one day, but right now he is dedicated to focusing on living in the moment, being a team player and sticking to the process to give his team the best chance to win
"Right now I just want to win. That's the biggest thing. I think winning brings everything else that you want to come," Brackett said. "Everyone has a big dream to play in the NFL, but I think if you can win in this League, it will help bring you more opportunities. So right now, that's all were focusing on. That's all I'm focusing on personally. That's all were focusing on as a team, is going out there and winning games."
Brackett will have his hands full on Saturday, as he faces the top-passing defense in the AFL. Philadelphia has 12 interceptions and a plus-11 turnover margin on the season. The Soul have also defended the end zone exceptionally well, allowing opponents an average of 45.9 points per game, while their offense scores nearly 60 points per game. However, Brackett's ability to escape the pocket could pose a problem for the Soul, as they sit in the bottom half of the League in rush defense and allow more yards per carry than any other team in the AFL.
One thing is for sure, the Brackett family will get to see one of Sean's dreams come to fruition Saturday night when he makes his first start and fans will get their first full look at the young signal-caller from Brooklyn, CT. Only time will tell the end of this story.
Sean Brackett's next chapter will unfold live on CBS Sports Network with a 6 p.m. ET scheduled kickoff.
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