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Chris Aiken wasn't even thinking about college when he played his one and only season of high-school football as a senior nine years ago. That came later, after he had served two tours in Iraq as an Army specialist, and after a late growth spurt.
"In high school, I was like 5-8, and the only school that was even looking at me was a Division III school," said Aiken, a defensive tackle at Appalachian State who now stands 6-2 and weighs 300 pounds. "The crazy thing is, my mom is 6-0, and I wasn't taller than her until I was about 21."
Aiken, now 26, lends not only size but also maturity and a wealth of world experience to his ASU teammates. He is the third Iraq war veteran to play for the Mountaineers, after Marine Corps veterans Wayne Norman (2005) and Brian Stokes (2005-06).
He joined the Army as soon as he turned 18, wanting to secure a steady income. He served as a military policeman and spent 2005 and 2006 in Iraq.
Aiken, from Austin, Texas, said he seriously considering reenlisting but had been thinking "what if" he could give football another try.
"My drill sergeant, he played semi-pro in Europe, told me if I really wanted to play football, I should go to a junior college, and, if I was good, a larger school would pick me up," Aiken said. "So that night, right before I had to make a decision, I prayed, went to sleep and when I woke up my lieutenant had clipped an article and put it by my bed. It was about two veterans, one was 23 and one was 30, who walked on at Florida State. I looked at that as a sign, so I turned down the money, turned down the reenlistment and decided to go for it."
He had the support of his mom, Patricia, a high-school principal in Texas, who liked the idea of her son immediately pursuing a college education. She had been through a harrowing experience, being told by a friend of a news report that Chris had been killed in Iraq. The report turned out to be about another Christopher Aiken, also from Austin.
"My brother got in contact with me, and I rushed and got in touch with Mom," Aiken said. "She was crying and I told her, 'Mom, I'm all right and I'm going to come home.'
"I knew I wanted to go ahead and get my education and that I was going to play college football."
Aiken enrolled at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, and tried out for football.
"I was a lot bigger and a lot stronger than I was in high school," Aiken said. "The coaches at Blinn hadn't made any promises, but when I showed up at their combine, they were surprised with how much weight I could lift. They wanted me on the team."
He played two years, helping his team to a national junior- college championship last season. That led to interest from Division I programs, including an offer from Brigham Young, and he settled on Texas-El Paso but an offer didn't come. ASU, with Texas connections on its staff, entered the picture.
"My coaches told me to be patient," Aiken said. "Then Appalachian State called me, and I was like, 'I know who Appalachian State is.' I was fine with that."
So were the Mountaineers, who liked Aiken's size and athleticism as well as his life experience.
"Chris has a big role on our football team," Moore said. "He plays about one-third to one-half the time.. He's a good player for us. He's a real asset."
He's called "Big Brother" by some of his teammates.
"Chris isn't one to talk about what he's done, and he never looks above anyone," defensive end Jabari Fletcher said. "He's always humble.. We all have a lot of trust in him. He's mature, he's older, but he's one of us."
Aiken celebrated his 26th birthday Sept. 18, the day ASU played N.C. Central, and Fletcher said that Aiken found out that his family wouldn't be able to attend.
"He told us he was kind of sad about that," Fletcher said. "But, he said, 'I served two terms in Iraq, and now I'm here and I look to my right and I look to my left and I've got my soldiers next to me, my brothers, when we take the field.'"
Aiken said: "I get asked a lot about me being a leader because I am older, and I do try to be a role model off the field, but I consider myself still young on the field. I'm still learning. Bobby Bozzo (who starts at right tackle ahead of Aiken) is a good role model on the field. I don't mind following. But I can hang with 'em. They know I will work, that I can hit, that I can shed blocks. I'm not over the hill yet."
