J.J. Watt donates money to a young man looking to make a positive difference

Being on defense usually implies you're protecting something. In the case of the NFL, the defense is protecting its endzone from the offense. They do this, usually, by attacking. That is what J.J. Watt did to protect his team's end zone from opposing players. The defensive lineman is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer for his ability to attack other quarterbacks.

Opposing players found out real fast that, while a sweetheart off the field, on it, Watt was a wrecking ball of a man. A force of constant pressure and attack, he was the farthest thing from a "defensive" player. He didn't worry about things like protecting anyone or anything, just ripping and tearing until he was through through offensive linemen who did their best to try and stop him.

Yet, he is a defender. If not, a supporter of them. Recently Watt's name popped up in a viral news story involving a young man out of the United Kingdom. Marcus Skeet is a young man in England who is hoping to make a small impact on the world. On Sept. 7, 2024, Skeet will run his first marathon (26.2 miles) and wants to make this attempt positive.

He's been raising money for the run and donating it to the mental health organization in the UK called MIND. The young lad has struggled with his mental health over the last few years and even lost a dear friend to similar struggles. So he has run a marathon to help raise money for a cause he believes in.

He'd raised quite a bit of money too, with the young man raising well over £10k (or $13k). This apparent amount of money had people talking about him locally and internationally, and it just so happened to catch the eyes of former Texans legend Watt.

Watt donated £5,000 (or $6,566), bringing the total to over £19,000. After posting about the initial donation, the young man was informed that the donator posted as "Justin Watt", was the Texans legend and current minority owner of the Burnley Football Club out of Lancashire, England.

Skeet then posted again, calling Watt an "inspiration" before Watt replied in the Twitter comment section, saying;

"Wishing you all the best on Saturday Marcus. Working hard to not only improve yourself, but also make the world a better place around you. That is truly commendable.

Keep inspiring people, you never know how far your efforts may reach. "

Watt may no longer be making an impact on the field (for now anyway), but it's good to see that the NFL icon still impacts others.