Volunteering With Lions & Tigers Translates Into Toughness On The Field For Jenks Lineman

Jenks faces the Tigers Friday night in our Tulsa Tech Game of the Week, a team name meant to intimidate. But one Trojan has more experience with the real thing.

Toughness can be the difference between winning and losing but teaching it can often be easier said than done. 

Meet lineman Gustavo Patino-Uribe, who has become more than just a defender for the Jenks Trojans football team.

"You would never know, he is just quiet, goes around and does his thing and he has a passion for animals," said Jenks Head Coach Keith Riggs.

They say the heart of a lion can sometimes represent your offensive line. Patino-Uribe has taken it a step further, volunteering at an animal shelter and helping out with the big cats.

"I went to the safari out in BA and helped out with some of their lions and tigers and stuff and I loved it, so I asked them if I could volunteer and they were like here is the form," said Patino-Uribe.

"They love him. When they have an emergency or they are shorthanded, they are always calling him to come in and help him out," said Riggs.

"They have a little tiger, he is special needs, and I was always the biggest person over there helping, so they always had me carry him around and walk him on his leash," said Patino-Uribe.

His bond with animals is translating to the way that he pushes opposing teams around in games on Friday nights.

"Whenever he would try and drag me, I would have to set my feet really low and get my hips down and everything and that kind of correlates over to here and learning how to move my weight around to kind of fit them helps me out," said Patino-Uribe.