Zayden Cundiff '26 Recruiting Profile

On the first day of peewee football, our coach told us that we needed to live by 4 words and those 4 words have impacted my athletic career to this day: heart, hustle, discipline, and respect. 

Heart represents the passion you need to have for the sport you’re playing. I am constantly learning and improving my skills by watching training videos, going to skills camps, and setting goals for my academic and athletic future and asking for help to make sure I reach these goals.

Hustle means that you give 100% of yourself everyday on and off the field. In the classroom, I strive to do the best I can, and I am not afraid to ask for help. On the field, I give all I have no matter if it is practice or a game. If you are not hustling to the huddle, then you are not giving yourself completely to the team.

Discipline is very personal to me. Without discipline, I would not be able to reach my goal of playing collegiate football. I focus on my grades to ensure I will be able to attend an accredited college who has a competitive football program. I focus on my physical health and strength by following meal plans and following a strength and conditioning regiment developed by an athletic trainer. When we are not disciplined in life than we become lazy, goals are not meet by being lazy they are meet by hard work and discipline.

Respect begins with respecting yourself and knowing your worth. You need to show your team that you respect yourself before they will respect you. My coaches now and any future coaches I have will have my complete respect. I find it hard not to have the Ut most respect for a coach whose goal is to make me the best I can be. As the cliche goes, there is no ‘I” in team and I believe that. I can not earn the respect of my teammates and coaches by focusing only on myself.