Even through their careers in the National Football League, brothers Virgil and Jeremiah Green still reflect on their journey playing football at the University of Nevada, Reno as one of the most challenging experiences they have ever faced.
“When I came to Nevada, I realized how tough football was going to be,” Virgil Green said.
Now, with the Green brothers back at Nevada, they reflect on what their previous journey here was like.
Both recruited by coach Barry Sacks, the brothers had similar experiences once at Nevada, realizing how hard they would have to work to get through their collegiate career and prepare for a future in football.
“Playing for Nevada was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do and try to accomplish,” Jeremiah Green said. “You get your limit gets pushed every day.”
Though difficult, the brothers believe a lot of their success in their professional and post-football careers came from the challenges they were able to overcome at Nevada and the rigorous, demanding practices led by coach Chris Ault.
“He was a very stern, disciplined coach, and if you didn’t adhere to his demands, you weren’t going to last.” Virgil Green said.
“By playing football here and with Coach Ault being my coach, I realized that I can get through anything,” Jeremiah Green said.
Virgil Green, drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos, recalls the lessons he learned from Nevada Football and coach Ault.
“The way Coach Ault made us work here in college, once I got to the NFL, even though I felt like I wasn’t as good as I needed to be, I knew I was tough enough to handle the adversity that would come my way,” Virgil Green said. “I was willing to do whatever it took to make the roster and compete.”
Jeremiah Green, an un-drafted free agent picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014, had his football career end when he got cut after the third preseason game of the 2014 season.
After going back to school at Nevada and getting his degree in criminal justice, Jeremiah Green went on to pursue a career in law enforcement where he still credits his success to his experience at Nevada.
“Coach Ault played a huge role in me understanding that I know how to push my limit and I’m not afraid to work,” Jeremiah Green said. “I think that’s what helped me in my law enforcement career that I’m in.”
After their football careers, the decision to come back to Nevada was not difficult for either of the brothers.
“Nevada has always been like home to me, being at UNR it feels like home,” Jeremiah Green said. “It doesn’t feel like a foreign place. It feels like I’m right where I need to be.”
After 10 years in the NFL, Virgil Green, living in Los Angeles at the time, suffered an ankle injury which led him to be placed on injury reserve with the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I get hurt at the end of October, and my wife starts asking me, what do you want to do? Where do you want to live?” Virgil Green said. “And I told her, let me start praying about it. Started praying about it. And like my brother said, Nevada, just to me, has always felt like home.”
As difficult as their time playing football at Nevada may have been, Virgil and Jeremiah Green not only chose to come back to Reno, but they came back to the University as well.
“I was kind of praying that my brother would come here.” Jeremiah Green said.
Virgil Green is currently the tight end coach at Nevada and while the position came unexpectedly, his ability to coach came right from the shared experience he has with who he is coaching.
“Would I ever leave? No,” Virgil Green said. “Because of my knowledge with football, and not just my knowledge with football, but my knowledge with dealing with the same things these kids are dealing with and having success with it.”
Now working for UNRPD, Jeremiah Green has settled into living here in Reno with his wife, Christina Green, who played women’s basketball here at Nevada alongside Virgil Green’s wife, Marianne Green.
“I think we’re kind of really setting the roots in the ground of where we are,” Jeremiah Green said. “My wife and my brother’s wife, we’re connected as a family.”
One of the ways the Greens have set the roots here in Nevada is through their foundation, The Green Family Foundation which is in partnership with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Nevada.
“God has always played a significant role in our lives.” Jeremiah Green said.
Their inspiration for starting this foundation, especially here at Nevada, came from understanding how their faith impacted their careers and helped them to overcome the tough experience of playing football at Nevada.
“Without God, without His provision and His direction,” Virgil Green said. “Me and him (Jeremiah) both wouldn’t be where we’re at now.”
Maddie Gomes can be reached via email at dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or X @MaddieGomes06
