NFL wide receiver and LA Rams Super Bowl champion Cooper Kupp had no big-time college scholarship offers coming out of high school, even though he’d grown a bit since weighing in his freshman year at 119 pounds — with ankle weights under his jeans.
But that didn’t stop him from trying to achieve, Kupp reveals in a moving video testimony to his work ethic and how he approaches success that quickly reached nearly a million views soon after it was posted and shared by the NFL.
The key to Kupp’s success has been an unflagging work ethic that begins with never giving in to a feeling that “I’ve done enough, I’ve arrived and deserve to play.”
Cooper Kupp talks about the mindset that took him from a high school kid with no college offers to a Super Bowl champion.
“I’m going to go earn it again, every single day.” (via @CooperKupp) pic.twitter.com/ChvxBFoEpJ
— NFL (@NFL) July 8, 2024
It also helps to have some help, Kupp reveals, saying that on days in his youth when he ran home from school for fitness reasons, his mom would go pick up his backpack. And Kupp is telling all this to his wife of nearly a decade, Anna Croskey, who has been with him on his dream chase since college at Eastern Washington — a long way from collegiate football powerhouses like USC and Alabama.
That non-elite college background was part of the reason Kupp was selected in the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL draft with the 69th pick, only to prove those selectors shortsighted when in 2021 Kupp received the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and was named the MVP of Super Bowl LVI.
The day after the Super Bowl, Kupp evidently woke up and asked himself how can I get better? Which is why his inspiring video is going viral. “I’m going to go earn it again, every single day” is Kupp’s mantra. The reaction has been as inspired as Kupp’s journey.
He has a powerful testimony to never giving up and the rewards of working hard to reach your goals. Amazing man. Congratulations to Mr. Kupp and your life is inspirational to me and most who read how you achieved your goals.
— David White (@SkilldJA) July 8, 2024