That path was not always such a clear one, but Atwater said he fully committed once he realized in college that the NFL was truly within reach.
“I don’t think it was until one of my buddies from college, he got drafted in the second round to the New York Giants,” Atwater said. “… I was like, ‘Wow, I think I can play on a similar level as him,’ and I got inspired. My wife, she’ll tell you, I was going out a little bit, I would drink a little bit here and there. After that, I was like, I’m not drinking anything, I’m not going out on Friday nights. I’m in my dorm room studying and trying to take care of business, because that’s the kind of focus I needed, and I was able to make it happen. Some people’s journey isn’t that drastic. Some people don’t have to do all that. Some people can just make it because they have the skills, they have the discipline and everything. But for me, I felt like I needed to really get focused in on what I needed to do in the classroom and get body into the best shape of my life, and my mind, too.”
Success came quickly to Atwater once he did make it to the NFL, but so too did adversity. The Broncos made it to the Super Bowl in his rookie season but then suffered a devastating loss to the 49ers. That challenge prompted Atwater to dig deeper to become a leader, even early in his career.
“Overcoming that, it was quite difficult for me, just because I had never gotten beat like that before,” Atwater said. “I think that in sports, many times the leadership is expected to come from the players on the team who play well, because unfortunately sometimes when players aren’t playing well, sometimes guys don’t listen. That’s just the way it is in football. … Over the years, I had been one of the leaders on my team in college at Arkansas, and I just felt the need to really just speak up when I felt something wasn’t right or someone wasn’t necessarily giving all their effort. At the same time, I tried to make sure I gave effort — great effort —…
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