NFL star Alvin Kamara credits God for success: ‘It’s nothing I’ve done by myself’

One of the NFL’s top running backs is crediting God for his success and reminding fans there’s more to life than football.

Alvin Kamara of New Orleans is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and the Saints’ all-time leading rusher, with 6,779 yards and 60 touchdowns as he enters his ninth year in the league. The 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back, though, takes no credit for the talent that regularly embarrasses NFL defenders with ankle-breaking moves.

“It is God,” he told the Sports Spectrum Podcast.

Without God’s grace and guidance, he would be nothing, Kamara said.

“Everything that I’ve been able to accomplish, everything that I’ve been able to provide for myself, my family – it’s all from God. It’s nothing I’ve done by myself. And I know that wholeheartedly.”

Kamara has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s premier dual threats, able to grind out tough yards on the ground and turn short passes into highlight-reel plays with his elusiveness. He regularly ranks among the NFL’s top running backs in rushing and receiving yards.

He turns 30 on July 25 – an age often seen as the twilight of a running back’s career. But Kamara is determined to prove the naysayers wrong.

“Personally, I feel great,” he told Sports Spectrum. “I think every year I’ve done a good job of just finding that next evolution in my training, in my habits, in my eating – I always just try to find something every year to give me a competitive advantage.”

He added of his retirement, “When God says it’s done, then it’s done.”

Meanwhile, Kamara is discovering other life interests in addition to his football career.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic when many sports were shuttered, he developed an interest in NASCAR – a sport that continued without fans in the stands. After NASCAR invited him to a race, he took an official role as NASCAR’s Growth and Engagement Advisor.

“My whole job is to get people to come and experience the sport – because I promise you once you get here in person, in the flesh and experience it, you’ll be a fan,” he said.

He also recently took a trip to Jordan and the Middle East, visiting cultural, historical and biblical sites.

Professional football players often hesitate to explore interests outside the sport, he said, fearing they’ll be seen as distracted or less committed. But Kamara argues hobbies such as NASCAR and travel have helped him grow into a more well-rounded person.

“There’s a time where I lock in, and you see it every Sunday,” he said. “But I think that for me, a lot more of my focus, especially the older I’ve gotten, has been on … not waiting until after my career to do the things that I feel like I’ll be doing for way longer in my life. You know, football is only a certain amount of time.”

He says it’s important to “stop and smell the roses” – a mindset in stark contrast to the “eat, sleep, breathe football” mantra he sees printed on T-shirts, a phrase he admits he hates.

“I’m more than a football player,” he said. “I’m just setting myself up for things beyond football.”

How much longer will Kamara play? Until the sport no longer brings him joy, he said.

“I’ll never do something that’s not fulfilling,” he said. “So as long as this is still fulfilling, I’ll do it.”

Featured image: By EuphoricOrca – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0