Nashville, TENN--10-year old Loic Fouonji just didn't want to get tackled.

The now-Vanderbilt receiver, and everyone else around, knew he was big and fast. At that point Fouonji utilized those tools not because of where they could eventually take him, but because of where they would help him avoid; the ground.

“I knew I was big and fast and I didn’t like to get tackled, Fouonji said. “I usually was just running away from everybody and then that pretty much started my career.”

Fouonji didn't know what could come of football at that point. He was still learning the game. He was learning the culture, too.

Fouonji had been in the United States for just two years at that point after his father Alexis brought the family over from Cameroon to take a job as a Senior District Technical Engineer at Weatherford International in Texas.

15 years after the 2009 move that upended his life, Fouonji walks and talks like someone with perspective. Perspective that was inspired by his father's journey through his profession.

"It’s just about hard work and dedication, if you’ve got that you can pretty much do anything in life," Fouonji preaches. "My dad was a mechanical engineer so he kinda instilled in me hard work and dedication and just continuing your education."

Perhaps the first memorable example of that coming to fruition came for Fouonji as an eight year old as his father got visas for his family and brought them to Texas, marking an opportunity for the Cameroon native to grow up quickly.

Fouonji wasn't completely oblivious to the English language after attending a bilingual school that taught French and English as an elementary schooler, but that's where the familiarity ended.

"During that change, it was different," Fouonji said of the move from Cameroon to America. "You’re used to a different culture. But now you have to come in and adjust and pretty much learn english and make new friends and instill your presence. You get a different scenario of life."

The hope for Fouonji and his parents is that any classroom that he steps in has felt his presence, as well. Fouonji graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in Information Technology from Texas Tech, something that he felt led to as a result of his father's career.

"I stepped into that world where I was able to come into something I like to do, I know technology has a big impact in today’s environment," Fouonji said. "My dad was a mechanical engineer so he kinda instilled in me hard work and dedication and just continuing your education so for me I kinda wanted to follow in his footsteps."

That was always easier said than done, though.

“It was hard, honestly," Fouonji said. "A lot of the time you’re taking hard classes but you have to be able to manage and do both."

Fouonji was able to manage, particularly throughout his junior season at Texas Tech in which he caught 27 balls for 351 yards and three touchdowns. It was time for a change after Fouonji charted just six catches for 85 yards in his senior season, though.

That change came with an opportunity at Vanderbilt that Fouonji felt he couldn't turn down.

"It was an opportunity for me to come out and showcase my talents against some of the hardest teams in the conference and show what my God-given ability is."

Fouonji won't be defined by that opportunity, though. He'll be more than that.

He'll be a story of hard work, dedication and an example of his father's principles.