Antonio Rodriguez '23 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Antonio Rodriguez. I am a 18yr old from Camden, New Jersey but I currently live in Brooklyn, New York. I been playing football since I was a young child. I come from a family that plays sports. Things that influenced my life and made me become the person I am today was watching my mother be strong minded and take care of me and my two younger siblings at a young age all by herself. I became interested in football at the age of 6, when my friends and I would all come outside and play tag football in the streets. Playing sports was also a way that kept me out of the streets and getting into trouble. Playing sports has taught me so much about myself, most importantly how much of a leader and influential person I can be to my peers. My senior year my teammates were new to the sport football and even when we where loosing bad I still always encouraged them to keep their head up and keep playing. Sometimes I would take on other positions if my teammates got hurt and we had no one else to do it. I overcame many obstacles to get where I am at now in my life. At the age of 13 my siblings and I had to be split up because we lost our home. I went to stay with my mom's oldest brother who taught me so much with being a man. It was hard being away from my mother and brothers and the the pandemic came. I got a little depressed because it was no more in person school, no more sports on top of missing my mom and brothers so I started working with my uncle learning a trade in the flooring business. A part of me was missing I was just focused on getting a trade to get a decent job and then that's when things changed. My mom relocated to New York where she was working for two years and I decided to move back with her and my brothers. That was not only one of my happiest moments but I also got to get back on the football field and do what I love. Even though I didn't know anyone at my new school I wasn't afraid to show my hard work and dedication to the game, I had people come just to watch me because they herd of a new player who is 6'4 250 lbs and loved every moment showing them my skills. My unique skills is that I am a leader and I've learned how to keep myself and my friends out of trouble by always telling them, "We won't be the next statistics dead or in jail!" I know I still have a lot to learn but I am proud of the young determined man I am soon to become.