"Be Fearless: 'For God did not give us a spirit of timidity; but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.' — 2 Timothy 1:7.''
That was the first Twitter message LSU's homecoming queen, Morlan "Mo'' Isom, posted on Wednesday morning: a short, Biblical synopsis of her life encapsulated in 140 characters. Isom admitted that Hump Day would be her day of rest this week, "recovering and recharging,'' she said after a whirlwind day of trying her hand at a new sport.
Be fearless, indeed. Strapping on pads and running onto the football practice field with the defending SEC champions is no place for timidity, even for the most celebrated soccer goalkeeper in LSU history. Power and self-discipline will be paramount, especially as a walk-on kicker. And as a woman.
Tuesday was the first day of LSU walk-on tryouts, and the most famous female athlete in Baton Rouge — a girl-next-door beauty and homecoming queen whose face has appeared on billboards and recruiting posters — put on a helmet and attempted numerous field goals and kickoffs. The 10-15 mph winds made kicking difficult, but as she said afterward, "I had some great kickoffs between the 5-yard line and the goal line.''
No woman has kicked in major college football since Katie Hnida made two extra points for New Mexico in 2003. But this story is about so much more than a girl playing football.
"People's first assumption about this is that it's a media stunt or some attempt for attention and glory,'' Isom told Gannett News after her first practice. "That couldn't be further from the truth. I feel it was a goal God placed in my heart. It's just something I want to do.''
Mo knows it won't be easy. Life never is. Sure, she set all sort of goalkeeping records at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Ga., as well setting plenty at LSU. And, yes, she even scored a goal on a 90-yard, end-to-end kick as a freshman, becoming the first goalkeeper in LSU history to score. But despite obvious athletic skills, a wholesome charm and gregarious personality that has made Isom the darling of the Delta and a YouTube sensation with her "Meaux Vs.'' series, this is a young woman who understands hardship and sacrifice and "the spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.''
An unusually tall girl in middle and high school, Isom coped with the ubiquitous cruelty of teenage girls by starving herself. When that didn't work, she vomited 10 times a day. Then she hit the gym, working out for hours on end: anything to change. She speaks openly about all of it on her blog.
"Everything on the outside looked so great,'' Isom said. "I received so much praise, but inside my body was caught in a serious web of self-consumption.''
Faith brought her out of despair, and she never goes a day — rarely more than an hour or two — without praising God for everything she has in life.
Overcoming bulimia through prayer would, alone, be an inspiring story, but with Isom it is just the beginning. She was Tebowing before Tebow, taking a knee to offer thanks before every soccer game. Then she would make a zero with her hands, a sign of how many goals she expected to give up. For years, her father John would make the zero sign in return. Until, suddenly, he was gone.
On Jan. 2, 2009, just two days after watching LSU's football teambeat Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Mo's father checked into a Huntsville, Ala., hotel room and shot himself in the chest. According to numerous news reports at the time, John Isom, a lawyer and former college football player at Carson-Newman College, was facing sanctions and perhaps worse from the IRS. He left a note at home.
Mo's mother Heidi said, "I think he was heartbroken and wasn't able to forgive himself.''
Suicide of a parent can leave a hole that seemingly cannot be filled, especially for a daughter who was always daddy's girl. Mo returned to school and put on the best face possible, but the dark demon of depression soon overwhelmed her. It was a long, hard 10 months before she began to feel as though she had clawed her way back from despair.
Then, on Nov. 25, 2009, tragedy struck again. While driving home to Georgia from Baton Rouge, a deer jumped in front of her Jeep at about 1:30 in the morning. She jerked the vehicle into the median and then whipped the wheel back. The vehicle flipped three times, landing upside down. Mo dangled from the seatbelt with a broken neck and ribs, bruises on the brain and serious lung and liver damage.
When a passing motorist (who happened to be an EMT) stopped to help, he heard Mo chanting "God is beautiful.''
Raised a Methodist, Mo attends interdenominational services in Baton Rouge and is never far from the Word.
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity — 1 Timothy 4:12,'' she tweeted after lunch on Wednesday.
"This is not something frivolous for her,'' Heidi Isom told Gannett News on Tuesday. "She's a serious athlete and she's very serious about becoming a member of the football team.''
In August, she kicked a 51-yard field goal on the LSU practice field while working out with Tigers kicker Drew Alleman and punter Brad Wing (who joined teammates Tyrann Mathieu, Russell Shepard and Zach Mettenberger as featured foils in episodes of "Meaux Vs.").
"I would have no reservations playing her," coach Les Miles said Tuesday. "If she gave us an opportunity and an advantage, then certainly we would consider that. The good thing is she's an athlete. She understands the commitment. I would have much less reservation with her than I would any number of other people that, frankly, didn't know what they were getting into.''
Be fearless: For what can be worse than losing a parent to suicide, losing your identity to an eating disorder and almost losing your life in a car crash.
"I am not ashamed,'' Mo said. "I gain strength and compassion every day after what happened. My faith has carried me.''
And it will carry her now, no matter what happens. Tryouts continue on Thursday.
"I grew up in a football culture,'' she said. "It would mean so much to my heart to suit up on a Saturday night like my dad did in college."
No one with a heart will be pulling against her.
"I want to prove there are no limits on people,'' Mo said. "We can all do it.''
"I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.'' — Philippians 4:13.
She didn't tweet that verse on Wednesday. She lived it.
