Calling veterans “America’s true heroes,” Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Tyler Eifert honored the most recent K9s For Warriors graduating class during a ceremony Thursday, Jan. 21.
Prior to the graduation, the former Cincinnati Bengal and University of Notre Dame All-American had an opportunity to tour the campus and see firsthand the work being done by the organization that he has actively supported for the past three years.
“They’re saving people’s lives, our veterans’ lives,” Eifert said. “It’s awesome.”
K9s For Warriors is the nation’s largest provider of service dogs for disabled veterans. Its team rescues and trains shelter dogs and pairs them with veterans who may have experienced post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury or military sexual trauma.
The graduations signify the moment a veteran has completed the training portion of that pairing. Thursday’s event brought to 650 the number of veterans who have successfully completed the program.
During the ceremony, Eifert presented past graduate Carlos Cruz with a pair of cleats bearing the 20-year U.S. Army veteran’s name, as well as the name of Cruz’s service dog, Hannah. Eifert wore the cleats during the Jaguars’ Sept. 20 game against the Tennessee Titans — the first NFL game Cruz had attended and the one in which Eifert made his first touchdown for the team.
Eifert selected K9s For Warriors as his organization in the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” program, which gives players a chance to honor the causes they are passionate about and raise money for those causes.
Cruz expressed appreciation for Eifert’s support of veterans.
“He stands for really good stuff that I believe in, being retired military, being law enforcement while I was in the military,” said Cruz. “It was really hard to see all the things going on throughout the summer, all the bad things, all the negativity that was going on. But he stood for everything that I believe in.”
Eifert was also honored at the ceremony. K9s For Warriors CEO Rory Diamond presented him the organization’s first-ever Champion For Veterans award, recognizing Eifert for a published letter he wrote explaining why he chose to stand for the National Anthem at the start of each game.
“It’s incredibly awesome to have him here and to share his platform and help promoting K9s For Warriors nationwide,” Diamond said. “He’s got fans in every state, so it’s great.”
The organization is growing. In addition to its Ponte Vedra headquarters, K9s For Warriors has a campus in Gainesville and is building another in San Antonio, Texas.
As for Eifert, he’ll have a new head coach when the Jaguars begins its season this year: Urban Meyer, who coached the Gators from 2005 to 2010.
“It’s exciting,” Eifert said. “I’m sure he’ll bring energy and maybe a new spark to this team. The team’s not far off. We’re really close.”
