The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/116680
where are they now? NFL camps but released and I really was upset, depressed about how much it hurt," Underwood recalled. "Who wouldn't be? I knew my abilities and I worked hard. But that's what life gives you sometimes, even when you work hard. It was the card I was dealt." It wasn't the last card, though. His Michigan degree was still on the table, and academic advisor Susan TePaskeKing insisted he play it. She reminded him how much Hart thought of him when, as a true freshman trying to take his job, Hart still received Underwood's attention and mentorship. It hadn't been the first time Underwood had acted selflessly. He had gone out of his way in high school to mentor young kids back home in the small town of Madisonville, Texas. In 2012, TePaske-King would speak about Underwood as a success story in a seminar on the importance of education. The former prep All-American had heeded her ad- vice, becoming a certified trainer with Nike SPARQ, training kids to become better as players and students with his business Mach 5 Sports, and continuing to grow and expand his brand. It wasn't the path to success through the NFL he'd envisioned, but Underwood became a Michigan success story through his education — the other avenue he was promised when he committed to the Wolverines. "[TePaske-King] told me, 'David, just do this and this and graduate, and you'll be fine,'" he recalled. "She told me about how Mike talked about me, how much I helped and encouraged him as an incoming freshman and how he took off from there. She said, 'Maybe that's your calling in life.' "I can't take my injury back, but that's a part of life. That's my story, my testimony — it's part of who I am. It's also the reason why I'm running Mach 5 Sports, why I'm training [high-profile] kids. I always knew I'd realize calling in my life when it happened. I struggled to understand it at the time, but I always prayed there would be something greater down the road." He's worked to make it happen, just the way he has throughout his career. Underwood chiseled himself from 205 pounds to 223 of muscle prior to his junior year in high school, going from a 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore to double that a year later. Later, he and a handful of his Michigan teammates never rested in trying to improve before the 2003 season, one in which Gittleson and head coach Lloyd Carr challenged them to reach an elite level with Big Ten and national title contention. Gittleson pushed them harder than ever in the weight room, but they took his words to heart even when they left. "We committed ourselves in the summer, really worked hard, and I guess the history shows the result of that," Underwood said. "I'd do extra work-