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112 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f ral, showcasing each player's name and a word next to it. In the summer, players were asked to choose a word they would live by for the season. Appleby picked "breakthrough." It wasn't just for the obvious reason, that he wanted a personal one that resulted in an opportunity to log real playing time, not just the random end-of-game, down-by- a-bunch, chuck-it-around scenario. The word also was to serve as a constant reminder of how close he's been, but not fully surrendered, in other ar- eas of his life, as a student, a Christian, a son, a brother, a friend and, then, as a football player. It applied to the team, too, how it seemed so ready to kick the door down, instead of just knocking on it, he said. But Appleby knew there were obstacles to overcome to get his moment. He had to wait, and that was not easy initially. He's al- ways been about the work, finding out what he had to do, setting his mind to do it and then earning it. But that ap- proach wasn't working for the first 800-or-so days on cam- pus. And it bothered at him. "It was tough because you knew he was trying to do everything he could and he didn't really figure out where he was falling short. As a friend and a teammate, it was hard to see him go through that," senior tight end Dola- po Macarthy said. "He wasn't comfortable in his own skin because he felt like there was something he was doing wrong because he wasn't the guy out there calling the plays, running the show on Saturdays and that's what he came here for. Anything less than that was a failure to him. It was hard to see him go through that because sometimes he just wasn't himself. "But he did a good job of coming in every day prepar- ing like he was going to be the starter and always smil- ing, (with a) positive attitude. He's got high morale all the time, always encouraging everyone on the team and being really vocal. He's a friend to everyone out here. Now, he's himself and he's Austin. It was hard to see him not be him- self and go through that. It was just a test. Now he's where he wants to be." Macarthy was a considerable source of support during the rough times, as were Appleby's parents and Purdue team chaplain Marty Dittmar. They always directed Apple- by to the same place: God. Already a believer, Appleby found solace in that and went so far as to make rubber bracelets with what became his mantra, "Keep the faith." It's also stamped with Appleby's favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5, which reminds believers to trust in the Lord and lean not on one's own understanding. In other words: Some things are not in your control. "The ability to be patient, to continue to have to sit back and trust that God was going to provide helped me to grow with my character, my leadership, never taking a play for granted, making every single rep count, it helped me to grow as a Christian," Appleby said. "You've only got so much time to play this game and there have been so many people telling you to do a lot of different things, a lot people giving you advice to stay, to go, whatever, and at the end of the day, the thing that paid off the most was the ability to just put it in His hands and let Him take the wheel and watch Him work. "At the end of the day, I'm just a punk college kid who is trying to pass accounting class, and I play football. The more that you can submit and the more you can under- stand to let go and let God, the more I've seen blessings take place in my life. It's been pretty special." For Purdue, too. Since Appleby became the starter on Oct. 4 at Illinois, the offense strung together its three most productive C E L E B R A T E O U R S E N I O R S ! 94 th Purdue Football Senior Appreciation Banquet Sponsored by the Lafayette Kiwanis Club Sunday, December 7, 2014, 12:45 p.m. Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms Honoring the 2014 Boilermaker Football Team Media Partners Tickets available through Purdue Athletic Ticket Office (765-494-3194, Toll-Free 800-497-7678) or email sporttix@purdue. edu