Last spring the Eagles decided not to re-sign me, and I was really enjoying the extended off-season, especially the exemption from training camp. The possibility of not playing football in September for the first time since my break from BYU was beginning to look more and more likely, and I'll admit it -- I was almost excited about it.

My family had just moved back to Utah, I had purchased my BYU football season tickets, I had a few business ventures in the works and I was staring into a future that looked like a lot of fun without having to punish my body.

On Sept. 9, the NFL season officially started and I still was not on a team. I had recently received a calling in my LDS Church ward to teach the 14-15 year olds. I was teaching my class for the first time while across the country the Philadelphia Eagles were struggling in the return game, to the tune of two muffed punt returns that eventually cost the team the season opener.

I came home from church to find my cell phone ringing off the hook from friends back east who wanted to know if I had gotten a call from the Eagles. I had not. I didn't want to get my hopes up, even when I got a text on Sunday night from the Eagles player personnel manager, for fear that it was a hoax or a cruel joke.

I had stayed in shape throughout the off-season in case of just this kind of situation, and when it happened, it happened fast. I got a call at 3 p.m. on Monday. I was told that there was a flight to Philadelphia at 7 p.m. and to be on it. So I got on it.

But in all honesty, I was apprehensive to leave Utah. I was excited to be in a ward and have a calling. I was excited about my financial prospects. I was excited to be back in the state where I grew up. I was not that excited about getting my skull knocked around again as an NFL punt returner.

I called my wife Sunny and expressed these concerns to her. I told her I was considering not signing the contract and coming back home instead. I had never mentioned any of this to anyone before, so she was surprised. She encouraged me call my uncle, Vai Sikahema who has been a mentor to me, to get some advice from him before I made any decisions. Vai played at BYU and in the NFL -- with the same Eagles as a kick returner -- and is now a respected TV sportscaster in Philadelphia.

I expressed my views to my Uncle Vai and I could almost see him shaking his head on the other side of the phone as he patiently listened. He talked some sense into me and within the week my family flew out to join me in Philadelphia.

We are glad to be back in Philadelphia. We have some good friends out here and we like our ward. But I still miss Utah. Utah is still "home."

I wanted to answer some questions from readers in this diary, so here goes. We received a question from Walter H. who asked: "Do you ever get any questions - or positive or negative comments - about the Mormon church?"

I actually do get to field a lot of church related questions from staff and teammates. The most common themes are blacks in the priesthood and polygamy. I can generally get a feel for whether the person asking is truly curious or if they are just asking to be hostile and give me a hard time. It's been real cool being able to answer some of the questions about blacks and the priesthood while out here on the east coast because our Stake President, Ahmad Corbit, is a black man as well as a Muslim convert.

Having to answer questions like this has made me study and learn and also remember that people are watching. I was very fortunate to have followed former Eagles players and BYU alumnus like Chad Lewis and Justin Ena who had laid the foundation for what we as members of our church stand for in the NFL.

• Reno Mahe played football at Brighton High, Dixie State and BYU. He finished at BYU in 2003 and signed as a free agent with Philadelphia, where he played for four seasons. He was re-signed by the Eagles in September.