Brian Peavy has his focus on family in Houston

Tyler Coffey/Iowa State Daily
Iowa State defensive back Brian Peavy attempts to tackle West Virginia wide receiver Marcus Simms as he falls into the end zone for a touchdown on Nov. 26 at Jack Trice Stadium. West Virginia led Iowa State 21-16 at halftime.

Brian Mozey
August 31, 2017

The phone rang Aug. 26 and Brian Peavy’s mother picked it up.

On the other end was the voice of coach Matt Campbell.

Her first reaction was that Peavy got in trouble, so she began to be a little nervous until she realized the meaning behind the phone call. Instead of nervousness, it became a sense of happiness and joy.

Campbell was telling her that Peavy was selected as a co-captain for the 2017 football season for Iowa State.

“It was nice to have that kind of news come to her,” Peavy said. “Especially with what’s been going on the past few days.”

Peavy’s hometown is Houston and his parents were right in the middle of Hurricane Harvey’s path of destruction on the evening of Aug. 25.

Fortunately, Peavy’s friends and family are all safe and accounted for, which is the main focus for him. His family is stuck in their house with flooding around their neighborhood. The good news is that the flooding has subsided and they are hoping to get out of their house soon to help others in the city.

The only thing he wishes is that he could be there to help his family.

“That’s one of the hardest things,” Peavy said. “Just knowing you can’t physically help, it’s pretty tough.”

Since he can’t be in Houston at this time, Peavy is trying to do his part through donations. The idea was approved by the university and the athletic department. 

Iowa State University is partnering with Hy-Vee and providing a truck on Saturday for fans to donate non-perishable items, school supplies, clothes and toiletries. The truck will be located on South Fourth Street from 2 to 6:30 p.m.

“We have a handful of players with parents in Texas currently,” Campbell said. “We’ve been keeping in touch and making sure they’re safe and healthy.”

Peavy isn’t the only Texas native on the Cyclones roster, as there are 10 players from the state of Texas. All of them, along with the Iowa State football team in general have been tweeting out their prayers and best wishes to the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Peavy, from Houston, along with redshirt juniors defensive back Darius Lee-Campbell, from Spring, defensive back Vic Holmes, from La Porte, and tight end Cole Anderson, from League City, are around the Houston area and were hit the hardest by the storm.

The hardest part for Peavy is getting through this week. His focus is on school, practice, preparing for the game and, most importantly, keeping in contact with his family.

These four things to juggle is a hard task, but if anyone can do it, Campbell knows Peavy is the man for the job.

“Family is always first,” said defensive coordinator Jon Heacock. “Brian [Peavy] knows that’s the first thing in life is checking on family, but he and I both know he’ll be ready to play on Saturday.”

Now, the goal is to get Peavy’s parents to Ames for the Saturday night kickoff at Jack Trice Stadium. That was the goal before the storm hit and Peavy is hoping that it can happen still.

“Hopefully the airport can clear up from the storm,” Peavy said. “I’d love to see my family in the stands for the first game of the season.”

Whether or not Peavy’s parents are in the stands on Saturday, his mindset is still the same. He’s going out there to win a football game for his school, his family and his city of Houston.

“We still got a game this week,” Peavy said. “I take the task at hand. It’s not just about myself, I’m playing for my teammates as well and my family and friends back home [in Houston].”