MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU College of Law student Tyler Gordon is now cramming for final exams after winning $100,000 in the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway during the Big 10 championship game in Indianapolis Saturday night.
“We have finals this week and next week and I’m not prepared at all right now,” Gordon said Monday during an appearance on MetroNews “Talkline.” “I’m trying to work on getting caught back up.”
Gordon has spent a lot of time in recent weeks on trying to improve his football passing skills while also keeping up in class.
Congrats to @wvulaw student Tyler Gordon for winning the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway tonight! ??? pic.twitter.com/PuERa4ngyB
— WVU Mountaineers (@WestVirginiaU) December 8, 2019
Gordon signed up in August for the contest. He said he received a call in mid-November that he had been selected to compete with two others for the money. Gordon said he believes his application stood out for a few reasons including his future plans.
“I want to serve West Virginia and fight the opioid epidemic that we currently face,” Gordon said. “I want to do that by working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and hopefully becoming a U.S. Attorney someday.”
Gordon said the rules, ball and can size were given to all participants when the contestant selections were made. His father took the dimensions and built a replica for Gordon to practice on leading up to the competition.
“He built me a replica can out of plywood and two-by-fours and I set it up, got some balls from my local high school,” Gordon said. “I started throwing and threw for about an hour a day for two weeks, if not longer than an hour.”
Tyler Gordon, Beckley native and WVU law school student, talks with @Hoppy Kercheval about winning a $100,000 scholarship from Dr. Pepper. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIAoe1 pic.twitter.com/YTmQDz9hnH
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) December 9, 2019
The practice paid off for Gordon, a native of Raleigh County and Independence High School graduate, as he was able to fight back the nerves and make 20 balls in 30 seconds to get the win and $100,000.
“I’m in my third year of law school at WVU, I have a lot of debt and can’t wait to send a check out to my loan provider,” Gordon said.
Gordon said he’s always been a football fan but he played tennis and golf in high school.
“I grew up throwing the football around some. It wasn’t new to be entirely but the chest pass is something I had to practice and learn,” he said.