He may be an offensive lineman who's reached the pennacle of his profession, playing in the Superbowl in his first year in the NFL. But at 6-6 and 325 pounds, Justin Britt, teaching at his own camp this week back at his high school alma mater of Lebanon, can still show the wrestling moves that served him well back in 2009 when he finished an undefeated season by winning a state championship. Skills that also helped him on the gridiron.
"It helps your foot quickness, your balance, your competitiveness," Britt explained. "It just helps turn you into an overall athlete. If I could give any advice to young kids who want to play football, I would say wrestling is probably where you wanna go."
But even back in high school as an all-stater in both football and wrestling, his preference was already clear.
"Football has always been my number one sport because you can mouth," Britt said back in a 2009 interview. "That's what I like to do is mouth and get into people's heads."
Five years later, after a successful career at Mizzou, Britt's life changed forever on NFL draft day.
"I'm still living the dream I dreamed about as a kid," he said.
And even though he now lives in Washington, he comes back home to do these camps because he wants these kids to dream big.
"Just to impact lives," he says in answering why he comes back. "Whenever I grew up I wish there was somebody that came from where I came from that I could look up to that I could aspire to be like."
With just two years as a pro, Britt says he's still aspiring for better things in the highly competitive NFL where he faces players with far more experience.
"In the NFL I think it's more of a chess match than anything," he said. "It's trying to outsmart your opponent rather than trying to out-physical them."
And if you're worrying about Justin forgetting his small town roots in the bright lights of stardom, just listen to the way he intros himself on national TV…
"Justin Britt…L-H-S….M-I-Z" he exclaims.
"I'm not out there buying Bentleys or anything like that," Justin says of his new life in the limelight. "I'm a Lebanon boy and a Missouri guy who's gonna stay that way forever."
