2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeAfter seven years of service, Lopez still chasing his dream
By Jeff Westfall
Posted: 8/26/08, 12:35 AM EST Section: Sports
When Edwin Lopez was given his University of Arizona uniform, it felt different in his hands than the one he had worn for the past seven years. That one didn't have his name on the back, and it sure didn't breathe as well. There was only one name, and it was on the front - the U.S. Air Force.
Last season, Lopez, a seven-year U.S. Air Force veteran, walked onto the Arizona football team as a linebacker trying to chase down a dream he has had since he was 17 years old: the dream of playing college football.
"I made the decision the year before I got out that I was going to go to school full-time when I got out of the military," Lopez said. "I was going to walk on somewhere to get on a football team. I made my mind up."
As a teen, Lopez attended four different high schools while his single mother moved his family anywhere she could find work. The constant moving hindered his ability to be recruited as Division I football prospect.
Nonetheless, Lopez received interest from a handful of Division II schools. He chose however to follow the footsteps of his older sister and join the Air Force.
"What I did was I looked at the scenario and it wasn't a guarantee that I was going to college," Lopez said. "I was an 18-year-old kid, very low income family, I would need a vehicle and money to eat and the Air Force provided me with stability."
Lopez spent the next seven years thousands of miles away from the Friday night football games he had once lived for. Working as an Air Force civil engineer and setting up military bases, Lopez traveled across five continents, serving in both Korea and Iraq. Unable to escape lingering memories of high school football, Lopez longed to be fighting in different types of trenches.
"I still remember my last game in high school, the last game when we played our biggest rival," Lopez said. "It pretty much ran through my mind that that could be the last time I would play football."
Feeling his time in the Air Force coming to an end, Lopez began sculpting his body for the football field. Already on a military conditioning program, Lopez took up weight training and powerlifting to ready himself for the grind of college football. He reported to Wildcats' camp at 5 feet 10 inches, 237 pounds.
Last season, Lopez, a seven-year U.S. Air Force veteran, walked onto the Arizona football team as a linebacker trying to chase down a dream he has had since he was 17 years old: the dream of playing college football.
"I made the decision the year before I got out that I was going to go to school full-time when I got out of the military," Lopez said. "I was going to walk on somewhere to get on a football team. I made my mind up."
As a teen, Lopez attended four different high schools while his single mother moved his family anywhere she could find work. The constant moving hindered his ability to be recruited as Division I football prospect.
Nonetheless, Lopez received interest from a handful of Division II schools. He chose however to follow the footsteps of his older sister and join the Air Force.
"What I did was I looked at the scenario and it wasn't a guarantee that I was going to college," Lopez said. "I was an 18-year-old kid, very low income family, I would need a vehicle and money to eat and the Air Force provided me with stability."
Lopez spent the next seven years thousands of miles away from the Friday night football games he had once lived for. Working as an Air Force civil engineer and setting up military bases, Lopez traveled across five continents, serving in both Korea and Iraq. Unable to escape lingering memories of high school football, Lopez longed to be fighting in different types of trenches.
"I still remember my last game in high school, the last game when we played our biggest rival," Lopez said. "It pretty much ran through my mind that that could be the last time I would play football."
Feeling his time in the Air Force coming to an end, Lopez began sculpting his body for the football field. Already on a military conditioning program, Lopez took up weight training and powerlifting to ready himself for the grind of college football. He reported to Wildcats' camp at 5 feet 10 inches, 237 pounds.
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