Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood is a good man. Flood, who ascended to the Scarlet Knights’ head coaching position in 2012, has always been committed to the Special Olympics, a personal quest that he has helped spread to the broader Rutgers program. In addition to his team’s involved in the state of New Jersey’s Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies across recent years, Flood has also hosted a football camp for some 300 middle school and high school campers as part of the SONJ (Special Olympics of New Jerey) Play Unified School Partnership Program.
It was in the 2015 edition of the SONJ Play Unified camp where Flood received one of his most touching commitment of all-time, per Flood’s personal Twitter account. In the middle of the camp, one of the special needs campers came up to Flood and made a “verbal commitment” to Rutgers.
It was a touching gesture, and a fitting one given the involved of Flood and his program. While the identity of the young man in question hasn’t come to light, Rutgers could do a lot worse than incorporating him in the team’s procedures. If a college athlete can’t be inspired by the passion and commitment of a Special Olympian who is just desperate to be like them, they may be playing for the wrong reasons.