This College Football Coach Is ‘All In’ for Jesus Christ

All season, Scott Frost, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Oregon, has been leading and mentoring a group of five quarterbacks, including Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, to ready them for last week’s game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Though they lost to Ohio State, the coach is still all in. 

Earlier this fall, Frost sat down with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) to talk about what that means—both on and off the field.

“When you’re ‘All In’ in your faith, then you’re also completely committed to Jesus,” Frost told FCA. “Being a good teammate is vital to being ‘All In’ and to being completely committed. Here at Oregon, we talk about taking care of the soldier on your left and the soldier on your right and being more worried about the person next to you than about yourself. Anytime in football or outside of football that you have that kind of mentality and you’re putting other people first, I think you have a great chance to have a great team.”

Added Les Steckel, President and CEO of FCA, “The Oregon Ducks’ success this season is an awesome testament to the leadership Scott Frost has provided to his players. Coach Frost knows—and has instilled in his players—that football, and life in general, is not all about the big, game-winning moments. It’s about what we do with the gifts God has given each of us. We are so excited to watch two Christ-followers, Marcus Mariota and Scott Frost, take the field Monday in the National Championship. It’s been a pleasure to watch them play and lead all season, and we know their light will shine no matter what the scoreboard reads at the end of four quarters.”

Frost added that this season he’s had the privilege to coach five quarterbacks who are not only great players, but great people—all putting their faith in Christ.

“We’re commanded to love our Lord first and love one another second,” he said, “and my guys really live that out. … They’re 100 percent in support of one another. … I think God knows our hearts and He knows when we’re trying, when we’ve got Him at No. 1 in our lives and when we’re striving to do the best we can for Him. It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about doing everything right; it’s about improving on yourself every day.”

Frost added that he’s been blessed to be able to impact others—both players and coaches—through football.

“We have an unbelievable opportunity as coaches to be around guys and have an impact on guys and to change lives,” Frost said. “There [are] good coaches and there [are] great coaches, and it doesn’t always have to do with football and X’s and O’s and wins and losses.

“If football is the most important thing, if I’m ‘All In’ for football and football is first,” Frost continued, “then I’ve built my house on the sand, and once something goes wrong with that, then you’re completely miserable and your whole world gets turned upside down. It’s very powerful if you can be ‘All In’ for God first and then ‘All In’ for football second because then, no matter what happens with football, even if you’re competing for a national title and you lose a game, if you’re ‘All In’ for God first, your foundation’s on the Rock and you’re not going to be shaken.”

For more information about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, visit fca.org.