On Saturdays, ACU redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Obi Udom suits up and takes the field. On Sundays, he gets behind the wheel and takes meals to people in the Abilene community.

Long before he played college football, Udom grew up in Frisco, where something as simple as pizza on a Friday could feel like a reward for his family, especially when money was tight.

“There were times when I knew what it felt like to be at the bottom, and it’s not a very good feeling at all,” Udom said.

Those experiences stayed with him when he transferred from Arkansas State to Abilene Christian in January. He wanted to make an impact on the football field while also finding a way to give back to his community.

On a hot day in June, following a team run, Udom spent his own money on several boxes of Domino’s pizza, variety-pack chips, cookies and cases of water. He divided the food into individual to-go boxes before heading into the community.

About an hour later, he drove through the streets of Abilene in 100-degree heat, offering meals and water to people along the sidewalks and roads.

“Being able to give back to the community here and being fortunate enough to have what I have, giving that back and seeing the light on their faces makes my day,” Udom said.

He then shared his story on social media, where his teammates saw what he was doing and began joining him. The initiative became known as “Drive-by Drop-offs.”

One of those teammates is Jayden Starks, a freshman defensive lineman and Abilene native.

“He became an older role model that I can look up to. When I saw him do it the first time, I knew that was something I wanted to incorporate myself in,” Starks said. “The first time I went with him, I felt like I was making a positive impact instead of watching day by day. It felt good to see other faces light up and give them something they really need.”

Since June, fellow Wildcats defensive linemen Kortlin Rausaw, a graduate student from Wylie, Texas; Okello Okello, a redshirt freshman from Grand Prairie, Texas; Neville Mbah, a junior from Rockwall, Texas; and Starks have joined Udom on trips throughout Abilene to distribute meals and drinks.

Head coach Keith Patterson has followed Udom’s involvement as the mission has grown to include several of his teammates.

“It is a blessing to have young men who think of others and put others first,” Patterson said. “I was extremely proud; I had people reaching out to me, telling me about them taking food to the homeless.”

Patterson described him as a tremendous young man with a big heart.

Udom said the work reflects a lesson his parents taught him growing up: “to give when you have and even when you don’t have, still give.”

Through “Drive by Drop-offs,” Udom hopes he and his team can help people in the Abilene community feel seen, heard, and reminded that they are not alone.

“I hope to inspire other people to see that we live in such a world filled with darkness, and I want to prove that there’s light in the world as well,” Udom said. “I want to prove that the Holy Spirit is real.”

What started with purchasing meals and drinks with his own money has grown to include several members of the ACU football team and others around. Through “Drive-by Drop-offs,” a lesson Udom learned growing up in Frisco now reaches the streets of Abilene.