Aiken Provides Maturity for ASU
Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:24 am
Defensive tackle, 26, served two tours in Iraq with U.S. Army
Chris Aiken wasn’t even thinking about college when he played his one and only season of high-school football as a senior nine years ago. That came later, after he had served two tours in Iraq as an Army specialist, and after a late growth spurt.
“In high school, I was like 5-8, and the only school that was even looking at me was a Division III school,” said Aiken, a defensive tackle at Appalachian State who now stands 6-2 and weighs 300 pounds. “The crazy thing is, my mom is 6-0, and I wasn’t taller than her until I was about 21.”
Aiken, now 26, lends not only size but also maturity and a wealth of world experience to his ASU teammates. He is the third Iraq war veteran to play for the Mountaineers, after Marine Corps veterans Wayne Norman (2005) and Brian Stokes (2005-06).
He joined the Army as soon as he turned 18, wanting to secure a steady income. He served as a military policeman and spent 2005 and 2006 in Iraq.
Aiken, from Austin, Texas, said he seriously considering reenlisting but had been thinking “what if” he could give football another try.
“My drill sergeant, he played semi-pro in Europe, told me if I really wanted to play football, I should go to a junior college, and, if I was good, a larger school would pick me up,” Aiken said. “So that night, right before I had to make a decision, I prayed, went to sleep and when I woke up my lieutenant had clipped an article and put it by my bed. It was about two veterans, one was 23 and one was 30, who walked on at Florida State. I looked at that as a sign, so I turned down the money, turned down the reenlistment and decided to go for it.”
He had the support of his mom, Patricia, a high-school principal in Texas, who liked the idea of her son immediately pursuing a college education. She had been through a harrowing experience, being told by a friend of a news report that Chris had been killed in Iraq. The report turned out to be about another Christopher Aiken, also from Austin.
http://www2.journalnow.com/sports/2010/ ... ar-440376/
Chris Aiken wasn’t even thinking about college when he played his one and only season of high-school football as a senior nine years ago. That came later, after he had served two tours in Iraq as an Army specialist, and after a late growth spurt.
“In high school, I was like 5-8, and the only school that was even looking at me was a Division III school,” said Aiken, a defensive tackle at Appalachian State who now stands 6-2 and weighs 300 pounds. “The crazy thing is, my mom is 6-0, and I wasn’t taller than her until I was about 21.”
Aiken, now 26, lends not only size but also maturity and a wealth of world experience to his ASU teammates. He is the third Iraq war veteran to play for the Mountaineers, after Marine Corps veterans Wayne Norman (2005) and Brian Stokes (2005-06).
He joined the Army as soon as he turned 18, wanting to secure a steady income. He served as a military policeman and spent 2005 and 2006 in Iraq.
Aiken, from Austin, Texas, said he seriously considering reenlisting but had been thinking “what if” he could give football another try.
“My drill sergeant, he played semi-pro in Europe, told me if I really wanted to play football, I should go to a junior college, and, if I was good, a larger school would pick me up,” Aiken said. “So that night, right before I had to make a decision, I prayed, went to sleep and when I woke up my lieutenant had clipped an article and put it by my bed. It was about two veterans, one was 23 and one was 30, who walked on at Florida State. I looked at that as a sign, so I turned down the money, turned down the reenlistment and decided to go for it.”
He had the support of his mom, Patricia, a high-school principal in Texas, who liked the idea of her son immediately pursuing a college education. She had been through a harrowing experience, being told by a friend of a news report that Chris had been killed in Iraq. The report turned out to be about another Christopher Aiken, also from Austin.
http://www2.journalnow.com/sports/2010/ ... ar-440376/