Would you give up an opportunity to play for one of the most storied college football programs in the country? If you had a chance to put a quarterback on his butt in front of 90,000 people every Saturday, could you give that up?

Oklahoma defensive tackle Carl Pendleton plans on playing out the rest of his junior season but will then hang up his spikes for good. Pendleton is a pretty good player for the Sooners, but he???s more focused on making his mark off the gridiron.

A finalist for the Draddy Trophy, an award for college football???s top scholar-athlete, Pendleton will receive at least an $18,000 scholarship for his accolades. If he wins the award, the scholarship will increase to $25,000. That???s enough money for Pendleton to retire his jersey and finish his degree free of charge.

Pendleton would probably finish his football career even with his academic scholarship, but he has other responsibilities he wants to give his full attention; he is the legal guardian for his 10-year old brother Kierstan.

The sociology major with a 3.86 GPA plans on starting graduate school and spending time with his little brother. Football just isn???t a priority for him anymore.

A model citizen and student-athlete, Carl Pendleton is giving up his last chance to be a kid in order to embrace his new responsibilities. He doesn???t see it as a choice; it???s something he has to do for his brother and his family.

Whether or not he wins the Draddy Trophy is irrelevant in my mind. Pendleton has already firmly established himself as the cream of the crop and a role model for us all.