Rise Quotes

“Our culture has become so obsessed with celebrity that it’s easy to confuse fame with success. They are not the same thing.”
― Daniel Rodriguez, Rise: A Soldier, a Dream, and a Promise Kept

“Appearances can be misleading. You just never know what’s inside someone until he’s tested.”
― Daniel Rodriguez, Rise: A Soldier, a Dream, and a Promise Kept

“When you’re as small as I am, people don’t expect you to be much of an athlete. You either wilt under the weight of low expectations, or you rise above them.”
― Daniel Rodriguez, Rise: A Soldier, a Dream, and a Promise Kept

“Look, I get it. Clemson is a Southern school, and there is a strong military tradition in the region. I don’t doubt for a second that everyone associated with the football program and the university recognized the potential for a public relations windfall. They really had nothing to lose: give the decorated Army vet a uniform and let him take classes. Everybody wins. I suppose they never expected that I’d become anything other than a practice player and a goodwill ambassador for Clemson football. But I aspired to something more than that.”
― Daniel Rodriguez, Rise: A Soldier, a Dream, and a Promise Kept