Christmas Hope: An Inspirational Holiday Collection

With a microphone in one hand, and a Super Bowl ring on the other, Utecht is living the life he has been looking forward to since his youth. One year removed from his NFL career, he is pursuing his childhood dream: becoming a successful musician.

Utecht grew up in Hastings, Minnesota in a very athletic family, and while he had a knack for sports, he also had a talent with the microphone. With music in his genetic makeup, Utecht was blessed with a commanding voice and began singing publicly while in the fifth grade. Since then, he has performed the National Anthem at a variety of events, including for both President Bush’s, and at the Cincinnati Reds home opener to a capacity crowd in 2010. He has also had the honor of performing with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under the conduction of the legendary Erich Kunzel as well as Gospel music’s most decorated female artist of all time, Sandi Patty, in concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

While Utecht is now focusing on achieving his music career aspirations, he is also using what he learned on the football field and bringing it to the stage.

“What I’ve learned from playing with guys like Peyton Manning is when you put everything you have into your craft, there is no limit to how good you can become,” Utecht explains. “Also, from my Coach Tony Dungy, I learned the importance of faith and believing in something bigger than yourself. This includes everything from God to believing in your teammates and coaches, because when you incorporate that into your framework, it breeds success.”

Utecht is now touring the country and preparing for his Fall Christmas tour with pianist, Jim Brickman.