Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class William Weinert | Army Sgt. Duriel Randolph prepares to start his daily fitness workout, Dec. 27....... read more read more
Subscribe
Randolph Rises to the Challenges in Sports and in the Service
By Petty Officer 3rd Class William Weinert
JTF Guantanamo Public Affairs
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – All over Guantanamo Bay there are stories of sporting glory in Troopers' pasts, but few match the accomplishments of Army Sgt. Duriel Randolph.
Randolph has trekked nearly as high as his dreams have taken him. Throughout his life, he has experienced all the ups and downs both the civilian and sporting worlds could throw at him before facing the challenge of serving his country.
Before joining the Army, Randolph had professional football aspirations. His football career started in high school, where he only played one year. Though he may have been inexperienced, he had potential. His talent pushed him to play football for a series of teams including the Langston University Lions in Langston, Okla., the arena football Tulsa Talons and the semi-professional Iowa Barnstormers.
"One day, I got the call from the Dallas Cowboys," said Randolph. "That actually came about by accident."
A friend of Randolph's, Noel Scarlett, had been traded by the Minnesota Vikings to the Dallas Cowboys and showed his new coaches and teammates some old films from when he and Randolph played together. "I guess I sparked their interest and they wanted to see what I really had so they gave me a call," Randolph said.
Randolph was asked to come to the Cowboy's training camp with another five players. He and one other player excelled enough to move on to a series of drills called 'the gauntlet.'
"It was fun and it gave me the chance to meet a lot of big name people like Emmett Smith, Larry Allen, Dave Campo and Michael Irvin," said Randolph.
"According to the numbers, between the other defensive tackle and I, I had him beat hands down. He ended up with a half a million dollar contract and they offered me practice squad," Randolph explained. Insulted by the offer, he turned it down.
After his experience in Dallas, Randolph worked various odd jobs trying to make ends meet, including a brief stint as a bouncer. Acting on the urging of his active duty Army mother, he looked into the Army as a career option.
"I joined in 2002, right after the birth of my son," said Randolph. "He was the reason things happened the way they did. After my experience in Dallas, I never wanted to play football again and needed to find something steady."
Since joining the Army Randolph has shifted his success from the football field to the battlefield. Trained as a mental health specialist, Randolph is currently serving as part of the Joint Task Force's Behavioral Science Conservation Team.
This is Randolph's second deployment. Previously, he served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006. While working as a mental health specialist in Iraq he assisted Soldiers in the field, offering them assistance in suicide prevention, stress relief and relaxation, one-on-one counseling, drug and alcohol counseling and anything else he could to help them deal with the stresses of combat.
"It was similar to JSMART [Joint Stress Mitigation and Restoration Team], but in a combat zone. Instead of people coming to us, we went to them," said Randolph.
Currently Randolph is half way through a six month deployment and is looking forward to spending next summer in Washington with his five year old son. Long range, Randolph has aspirations of coaching college football.
"College football gives you the opportunity to go out to get the talent and see different players. Also in college, you're the middle man; you can help them develop as players," Randolph said.
In his spare time, Randolph enjoys reading, playing video games and working out. While competing in a recent MWR sponsored weight lifting competition, he astonished the crowd with a winning bench press of 505 pounds. In January he will start college classes to finish his bachelor's degree in psychology.
| Date Taken: | 12.21.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2007 10:10 |
| Story ID: | 15081 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 407 |
| Downloads: | 235 |
This work, Randolph Rises to the Challenges in Sports and in the Service, by PO3 William Weinert, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
