How football and faith have come together for this University of Michigan lineman

On the field, Andrew Gentry is a ‘beast’; off the field he’s a shepherd in his Latter-day Saint YSA ward

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Last January, University of Michigan offensive lineman Andrew Gentry was asked to serve as the first counselor of a Latter-day Saint young single adult ward bishopric.

A counselor assists the bishop as he presides over a local congregation.

The call came as a bit of a shock, Gentry said, but he was willing and committed to serving the Lord. The 6-foot-7, 327-pound sophomore opted not to tell his coaches about his new religious responsibility because he didn’t want them to worry that it would take time away from football.

When his new Church calling was reported in the Church News a few months later, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh saw the article and approached Gentry in the weight room.

“He saw me and pulled me aside. He’s like, ‘I saw this article about you. You are in some bishopbic? What is a bishopbic?’

“‘Oh, you mean bishopric,’ and I explained it to him,” Gentry said. “Coach Harbaugh was so excited and really cool about it.”

Harbaugh followed up by asking Gentry how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is doing in Ann Arbor. Gentry said the work was going well.

“He’s like, ‘There is always room for more, go find more,’ which was awesome,” Gentry said. “Coach Harbaugh himself is a religious man and has always been supportive of my faith, but it was a pretty funny conversation to have.”

It’s one example of how football and faith have come together for Gentry during his time at Michigan, and the overall experience continues to strengthen his testimony of the gospel.

“When I came in, I decided I don’t want [my faith] to ever be something I am ashamed of. I want people to know that is who I am,” he told the Church News in an interview on Nov 5. “And that is who people do know me as — a returned missionary and member of the Church of Jesus Christ.”

 

‘This is what I love’
Athletics and competition run deep in Gentry’s family.

His grandfather, Lowell Madsen, played on BYU’s offensive line in the early 1950s. His father, Todd Gentry, played basketball at BYU and Utah State. His brother, J.T. Gentry, played football at BYU. His sister, Elizabeth Gentry, recently signed to play basketball at Creighton. An uncle, Michael Madsen, also played football at BYU.

Andrew played both sports at a young age until he realized he was 60 pounds heavier and a foot taller than everyone else. He had an epiphany.

“Running up and down the court is tiring. I can push guys around a lot easier in football,” he said.

During a fifth-grade championship game, Gentry was playing on the defensive line when he intercepted a screen pass with one hand and returned it for a touchdown. Something about the experience changed him.

“Before that, I was timid, I didn’t want to hurt anybody,” he said. “It was like a switch flipped — ‘Wow, sports can be a lot of fun when you are good at them.’”