As NFL Beckons, Joe Tryon Is Never Far From His Family

Joe Tryon hadn't been drafted for more than a few minutes, as a late first-round pick for the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he was asked to join a Zoom call with Florida media members.

Before the conversation was over, and a lot of football questions had been asked of him, the former University of Washington edge rusher spoke passionately about the biggest adversity he had dealt with in his life — losing his uncle Erik Tryon to a fatal dirt bike accident in 2013.

The following day, Tryon agreed to make himself available to a wider group of reporters on another virtual call, and it was there he revealed plans to pay for his sister Julia to attend medical school.

Every step of the way, as his NFL dreams come true, Tryon has showed himself to be a loyal family man, paying homage to those closest to him whenever he could during what was another life-changing time for him.

"It was tough but I bounced back," he said of his uncle's death. "It made me value family a lot more. It brought my family a lot closer. I wouldn't be here without my family. I was definitely sad at that moment, but I'm grateful for my family. I really have love for them."

Erik Tryon was just 41, living in Newcastle, Washington, and a local contractor when he passed away tragically, leaving behind two young sons, a niece and an impressionable nephew named Joe.

Growing up in a single-parent home and raised by his mother, Andrea, the then budding football player considered Erik Tryon his role model, if not a devoted father figure.

It's not hard to see Joe Tryon poised to fill that family role now that he's become a professional athlete with access with more finances than most, namely $11 million over four years in his rookie deal.

Tryon wasn't shy about mentioning how he would monetarily support his older sister's quest to join the medical profession, picking up the tab on her UW School of Medicine bills.

"I was pretty floored," Julia Tryon told ESPN.com. "Medical school is one of the most expensive schools out there. For him to offer that, it like means the world to me, because he knows how hard I've been working for this goal."

ESPN recently did a highly detailed, long-form story on the ex-Husky outside linebacker that can be accessed here.

As Tampa gets to know Tryon, the fan base can't help but like this highly skilled, unselfish football player. He's just the sort of newcomer to keep the franchise momentum going when it would be so easy for everyone to become complacent after winning it all.

The Bucs need someone such as Joe Tryon keep everyone humble and motivated to make more good things happen to this up-and-coming NFL team.

"He's got a great motor, plays with high energy and just his DNA jumps off the tape," Tampa Bay defensive-line coach Larry Foote said. "I loved the way he plays and he's going to fit in with what we're trying to build here with his mentality. He should have no problem fitting in."

The coach was talking football, but just as easily could have been everything else, too.

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