CJ Baxter: 77 yards and glory to God
The running back tore three ligaments in 2024, restarted his career and now scores with John 13:7 under his eyes.
CJ Baxter scored twice and Kentucky beat No. 10 LSU in overtime on Saturday, October 10, at Kroger Field. After the game, the running back gave glory to God, according to KY Insider.
The LSU kicker opened the scoring with a field goal after a 14-play, 69-yard drive. On Kentucky's first offensive play, Baxter broke off 77 yards; on the next play he scored his seventh touchdown of the season, in front of more than 60,000 people.
In overtime he scored again and left the Wildcats one point behind the Tigers. Kenny Minchey converted the two-point conversion and Kentucky knocked off the No. 10 team in the country. Fans stormed the field; Baxter stayed back for a moment, watching. With the win, Kentucky improved to 5-1.
«Faith does not hand out trophies: it sustains in the process.»
The knee that forced him to restart
In 2024, his right knee gave out: anterior cruciate, lateral and posterior ligaments. He had to restart his career and undergo a long rehabilitation before stepping back onto the gridiron. During that time there was no field or scoreboard: only daily work and patience.
When the game ended, the memory of the hit on the turf in 2024 came back to his mind. Baxter got emotional to the point of almost crying. He said they took away the game he loves and that he has been through a lot. He also thanked Will Stein and Joe Sloan, his coaches, for giving him another chance.
Glory to God, without formulas
"All the glory is for God… I don't say it just to say it, I mean it," he told KY Insider (Sígueme translation). He said his faith was tested during the injuries and that God was the one who brought him through.
He also valued the fresh start he found with the team and attributed to that faith what he is today as a player, son, boyfriend and brother.
It is worth listening to him carefully. An athlete who honors God in public does not automatically become a teacher or a role model: that is measured by what he says and how he lives, not by touchdowns. Neither the win makes him an idol nor the injury a punishment.
His story does not work as a formula either. The injury came anyway and no game is won by believing. Faith does not hand out trophies: it sustains in the process, also when the scoreboard does not go your way.
The verse under his eyes
Under his eyes he wore John 13:7, written with a silver marker on his eye black. "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand" (John 13:7, ESV).
Baxter admitted he did not have answers and that, when he got injured, he did not understand what was happening. He did not disguise it either: he spoke of an emotional moment and a restart he is grateful for today. When he steps back on the field, that verse will still be there.
If something you love has been taken from you, you do not have to pretend you understand it. Tell God how you feel, find someone to walk with you and show up again, even if the result takes time. What will you do with what you have left while the "afterward" comes?
