An American hero wants to trade his army fatigues for a football jersey, and he wants to do it at Virginia Tech.
Daniel Rodriguez is getting a lot of attention on YouTube, Facebook, and now from Coach Frank Beamer.
Rodriguez is at a disadvantage because he's 24.
But when people hear his life story they can't help but root for him.
Daniel Rodriguez wants to play college football so bad he hired a production company to make a recruiting video.
His story is pretty amazing. At 24, he has served his country in two wars -- Iraq and Afghanistan -- and has the battle scars to prove it.
"I was hit pretty good in Afghanistan and at the age of 21 I got shrapnel in both of my legs and peppered in my neck and a bullet fragment of something through my shoulder," Rodriguez said.
He made it, some of his friends did not.
They're the reason why he wants to play football.
"I promised one of my best friends I would and he was killed in action in front of me so I had to send him home in a body bag," Rodriguez said. "But I just kinda thrive off of that and do it for him."
Rodriguez wants to play at Virginia Tech.
Hokie football coach Frank Beamer has seen the video and has shown interest in bringing Rodriguez onto the team as a walk-on.
"I would think a guy with a military background and been through a couple of different wars and been through a lot of different experiences certainly would bring something to your team," Beamer said.
NCAA rules prohibit Beamer from talking about Rodriguez's chances of actually playing for the Hokies, but the coach acknowledges a story like his is inspiring to him and the team.
"All Virginia Tech football players need to be thankful for those guys over there protecting us, putting their lives on the line everyday and bullets flying. I think we need to be thankful to those guys," Beamer said.
In the end, whether Rodriguez will actually play football here will depend on if he actually gets accepted to Virginia Tech and his ability to play the game.
You can watch Rodriguez's workout video by clicking here.
