A legacy of sacrifice fuels Notre Dame's Francis Brewu. He channels his parents' resilient work ethic onto the field, proving his grit and earning his success.
One of the many things that fans love about college football are the backstories of the athletes they watch on some of the biggest stages week in and week out. For Notre Dame defensive lineman Francis Brewu his journey to South Bend and as a college football player started in his youth, and he modeled his work ethic after his parent's example.
"All of it comes from my parents," Brewu said when asked about his work ethic. "My mom had a tough life. My dad had a tough life as a kid, because he was an immigrant from Ghana, had a whole bunch of siblings, lived in a shack in a poor village, as rough as it gets and had no running water. Before school he would have to walk two miles to the water well, get water then walk two miles back. To this day he's still working 12-hour days, six days a week in a hot steel factory."
"Now my mom, she grew up in a rough part of Columbus, Ohio," Brewu continued. "Her mom died when she was young. She had a bunch of siblings. She had to bounce from house to house when she was young, and she had take care of herself from a real young age. She works in a nursing home to this day, taking care of people who can't take care of themselves and really strains herself to help other people and take care us. Knowing what they did, the sacrifices they had to make to take care of us motivates me every day to sacrifice. One day I know I'll be able to take of them."
Thankfully, one of the better sides of this day and age in college football, collegiate athletes don't have to wait until they're playing on Sundays to given back to their families. Brewu has been able to help out both of his parents due to his success on the football field.
"That's the best part of this whole NIL thing; being able to help out and take care of the people who took care of you," Brewu explained. "And it's important, that's a really important aspect of it, to make sure you get the value that you're worth so you can take care of those people you care about, because that's what it's for at the end of the day, to take care my family."
Now, Brewu has the opportunity to learn and grow under a familiar face, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge who recruited Brewu while he was with the Pitt Panthers. The two remained in contact while Partridge was coaching in the NFL and now have the opportunity to reunite in South Bend for the next few seasons. The 6-2, 280-pound defensive tackle is poised for a big season along the interior of Notre Dame's defensive line. His role has yet to be defined, but what we do know will be the level of work he puts into his craft thanks to the influence of his parents.
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