FRISCO, Texas – Some roads are smooth and straight, while some are windy and bumpy. The latter has been the case throughout LB Justin March-Lillard’s life journey to the Dallas Cowboys. He has faced adverse circumstances on the way but weathered the storms and stayed on course pursuing his dreams. This is the story of No. 53.
Justin grew up in the small town of Danville Illinois in a tight knit community where everyone knows everyone and you cannot leave the house without seeing someone you know. He grew up playing both football and basketball beginning at the age of five.
“I took a year off from football in seventh grade because I was playing o-line and d-line and it was not very much fun for me. I was a lot bigger back then. I took that year off and focused on baseball. I went to Cooperstown NY with my traveling baseball team, and I actually lost some weight. So I came back and started playing linebacker and running back and it became fun again. I played all throughout high school and life chose football by itself. When I was a freshman, I played varsity football but I didn’t in baseball. That was an awakening. “
He developed the mindset early on in high school that if he worked hard and stayed focused during his college career doing everything he could feasibly do, he would have his shot at the NFL. He had faith in taking it one day at a time and having a tunnel vision of being locked in on each moment and making the most of each opportunity that came his way.
His hard worked paid off. After playing four years at the University of Akron recording 122 solo tackles, 123 assists, 14.0 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, and four interceptions, Justin was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent after the 2015 NFL Draft. However, the excitement was short lived after a knee injury during his first preseason game landed him on injured reserve.
“I had just started rotating in with the starters, had worked with special teams as a rookie. Everything was looking up and up. I remember playing against the Arizona Cardinals in a preseason game and I came off kind of waggling. My knee got buckled and I did not think anything of it. We had a linebacker go down so I am in with Eric Berry and in with these guys and I am playing. All the adrenaline was flowing and I got on the flight and my knee puffed up and then after that it was like a grenade went off in my knee. I had surgery and could not put pressure on my knee for two months. “
He had his first major setback following his first big break, but he kept battling not knowing or ever imagining what trials lay ahead of him. On November 19th 2016, his dad passed away after a brutal battle with cancer. His father had three different rounds and five open-heart surgeries. In dealing with his father’s death, he also had the career struggle of being moved from team to team in the league and being away from his family:
Kansas City Chiefs (2015-2016), Miami Dolphins (2017), Seattle Seahawks (2017).
“ My son kept me going during that season. He was born in July, I was in Kansas City, and once August finished I ended up being claimed by the Dolphins. When I was there I was away from my son, I was away from my wife, so those were two people who kept me motivated the entire time to keep working hard. There were a lot of downs at that moment. I ended up going to Seattle, I face timed my little brother right when I got claimed by Seattle, played my first game and found out he passed away that night right after the game. That was even more motivation to keep going. “
In 2017 the Dallas Cowboys signed Justin. The day he received the call, was the day he laid his brother’s casket in the ground.
He hit the biggest bumps in the road all at one time. He lost two immediate family members, and doors kept closing in his face on his dream of playing professional football in the National Football League.
He has dealt with more in his life in a span of three years, than most people could fathom. Having lost my sister back in 2008, I can attest and relate to the pain of loosing a sibling and the ache you feel in places you did not know you had inside you. Life immediately changes and your perspective on it will never be the same. The loss stories you always read or hear about have become the reality and subject line of your own.
I cannot even begin to comprehend the suffering he has been through. Justin lost two family members and faced career disappointment after disappointment. Most people would have thrown in the towel at that point and given up, but not Justin March-Lillard. He put his sense of identity in something greater than the circumstances surrounding him- his faith in God. The low points developed a greater need and dependence on God and the family support system around him to get him from day-to-day.
“Faith is the biggest thing for me. My dad was a huge believer. We always went to church and he always brought us along. My family, they constantly keep me motivated and were there for me. My wife played a huge part, when I was not able to pray for myself, she prayed for me. When I was not able to eat, she made sure I was fed. It was definitely tough. The days I did not want to wake up, she would make sure she set an alarm to wake me up. My wife is a huge testament but also my siblings and my mom. They made sure I knew that this is what my brother and dad would have wanted for me to keep going. My faith and knowing where I am in my walk with Christ, that is what kept me focused. “
His wife and faith became the rocks with which he was able to stand and get from one day to the next during that period of affliction. He used the inspiration of his brother and dad to motivate him each day to continue on his journey of pursuing his dream of playing professional football. He hyphenated his name to March-Lillard to represent his dad’s name ‘Lillard’ and to carry a piece of him wherever he goes. Now that name is on a jersey with a Star for the Dallas Cowboys.
His life motto and the verse that has gotten him through is Proverbs 14:23, “ All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. “
He has been through extreme adversity to get to the point he is at in the locker room for “America’s Team, “ but he never gave up. He continues to smile and impact those around him in any way he can by lending a helping hand or a listening ear.
“For me all hard work brings profit. That is what I am constantly telling myself. If I work hard not only in my spiritual walk but also in life, it will be rewarded in some aspect. Whether I meet someone that I work for, or I play with the Cowboys in the future, or whether I meet someone who needed me. That is a reward in itself. That is what I lean towards. “
There is a story behind every person. We all have roads we must take to get to where we want to be. Everyone will face hardship at some point; it is how you react to the adversity that defines who a person is. There is much more than the game of football and Justin March-Lillard is a prime example. The name on the back of his jersey says it all. That is who he is: The heartache of two family deaths, the disappointment of being waived from three teams in a month span, the setback of injuries, the uncontainable joy when he was married and his son was born, the poetry writing in his free time and traveling with his wife to San Diego. All of these things have shaped the man wearing No.53.
He has persevered through it all and lives each day to the fullest knowing well tomorrow is not promised. Justin March-Lillard has an emotional and triumphant story that has led him to Dallas: No one more deserving of being in that locker room. Sending prayers your way and the best of luck in the future!!
