Michigan State Football Player Defying Odds With Added Motivation

Motivation is one the driving forces of our lives and we all receive our motivation from different things. Some of us are motivated by what we could achieve, some are motivated by the circumstances they are trying to get away from, and others experience trauma and other unfortunate events that create a drive within them.

College athletes all come from different walks of life meaning they are all motivated by different things. I think that most of us can agree that one of the main motivations for us is making out parents proud. Well, for some people this is heightened as their parent may be locked away for life or is no longer with us on Earth. That's the case for one Michigan State University (MSU) football player who now has a new motivating factor driving him.

Amorion Smith is a defensive back for the Michigan State Spartans who was already playing for his mother who was suffering through terminal breast cancer and had a GoFundMe set up in her honor. In August, everything changed as she lost her battle with the deadly disease and Amorion went from an older brother to a caretaker in a blink of an eye.

The GoFundMe that was once to help his mother pay for her medical bills was quickly shifted to help him take care of himself and his five younger siblings. The fundraiser has now brought in over $277,000 toward helping the young aspiring college athlete and his family continue to live their lives without their mother.

Smith’s 19-year-old sister, Aleion, runs the show at their Lansing home when he’s gone while watching over four younger siblings, ages 16, 15, 11 and 2. Which helps him focus on the football field and in the classroom, which really inspires his coaches and teammates. Here's what one of his coaches had to say about him:

“Man, you want to talk about inspiring,” “For him to have gone through what he’s gone through and he shows up and he works and he doesn’t say a whole lot. I coach football, he’s living life.”

The Michigan State community has fully jumped behind the team and the university in participating in fundraisers, offering rides to and from school/church, and even adopting the family for holidays. Smith also secured a name, image and likeness deal with HAP CareSource and has appeared in commercials for the health care organization.

They have dealt with homelessness and some other issues throughout their life and their main goal is to use the donations through GoFundMe and the other efforts to find their family a permanent residence which was their mother's dream.