In
1996, Danny Wuerffel received the highest honor bestowed on any college
football player -- The Heisman Trophy. The star quarterback already
owned one of the most impressive college resumes in the country. At the
University of South Florida, Wuerffel had broken school records for
yardage and scoring totals. He won numerous awards, honors, and
accolades, and was named Academic All-American Player of the Year, All
Southeastern Conference first team and Offensive Player of the Year.
In 1997, Wuerffel was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. He had made it to the big-time, the NFL. But in spite of his outstanding achievements and the national attention he received as a result, Wuerffel seemed unfazed by his success. "You know, the world just pounds the message into your brain that if you make enough money and if you’re successful in your field, that’s all you need. But you can ask just about anybody who’s been successful--somehow there always seems to be a longing for something more. I believe we were made to find fulfillment in our relationship with God," he explains. "When we look for it in other places, we come up empty."
Wuerffel got a head start in his search. "I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. My father is a chaplain in the airforce and my mother has always been active in the church. From the time I was very little, I didn’t question God’s existence, because we talked to Him every time we ate a meal. He was a very real part of our lives. So as I grew up and went into high school and then college, the question was not ‘Does God exist?’, but ‘To what extent?’ What part does He play in my life? What does He want from me? What is my relationship with Him supposed to be like? Those were the questions I wrestled with." In college, out on his own for the first time, Danny began to take a good hard