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FCA In Action > Next Man Up

Next Man Up

Published on February 05, 2026

Joshua Cooley

How do you replace a guy like Mitch Mason — a college football chaplain who has ministered in such a powerful way for 13 years that the public NCAA Division I university he serves at holds an on-field ceremony to honor him during a sold-out midseason game?

It’s not easy — that’s for sure.

This was the challenge facing FCA last year as Mason’s mounting health challenges made it necessary for him to step away from his role as FCA’s Football Chaplain at the University of North Carolina, a position he has not just held, but embodied, since 2012. But God always provides, and in this case, he provided Cedric Peerman, 39, a former NFL player who is finishing his first full year with FCA.

“[Mason’s] ministry has really reached wide and far and been extremely impactful,” Peerman said. “And it’s humbling to be the next man up to try to fill the void that’s there for the time being.”

Peerman’s journey to this place began between the sidelines. After a standout career as a running back at the University of Virginia, he played nine seasons in the NFL (2009-2017), mostly with Cincinnati. But he was consistently stuck on the depth chart behind 1,000-yard rushers such as Cedric Benson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Jeremy Hill. His best season at running back came in 2012 when he rushed 36 times for 258 yards and scored his only NFL touchdown for a Bengals team that went 10-6 and reached the playoffs.

After he retired from the NFL, Peerman and his wife, Dr. Hagar Elgendy, stayed in the Cincinnati area so Elgendy could finish medical school. They moved to Pittsboro, North Carolina, in 2021 so Elgendy could complete a sports medicine residency at UNC, where she is now finishing her fellowship year with the Tar Heels’ athletic program.

Peerman, meanwhile, has mainly been responsible for the couple’s five children at home. In 2025, he and Elgendy started a nonprofit coed youth flag football program, Flag Football Elite, in Chatham and Durham counties (N.C.) under the auspices of the NFL Flag initiative. He also served as an assistant football coach at Northwood High School in Pittsboro in 2024-2025 and has done some speaking at local FCA events.

Peerman first met Mason at Grace Church in Chapel Hill in 2023. At the time, Peerman was considering pursuing a staff role with FCA and wanted to get Mason’s perspective. Peerman came on staff with FCA in the summer of 2025, and when Mason’s health continued to worsen, UNC’s football staff asked Peerman to lead a Bible study for the team during preseason workouts. Impressed by Peerman’s style and ability to connect with the players, the football staff invited Peerman to be the team chaplain for 2025, a role he is planning to continue on an interim basis in 2026, as well.

Initially, Peerman was a bit apprehensive about stepping into Mason’s sizeable shoes. Peerman recalls thinking, “I’m coming in kind of later in the year, and I really don’t know how to do this.”

While the effervescent Mason brought passion and fire into the locker room, Peerman is more reserved. But Peerman’s NFL resume brings plenty of street cred — and experiential wisdom. He was signed and cut by three different teams before he got his first NFL carry, and he never quite got the opportunities at running back he was hoping for. In 2015, though, he was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the Bengals with 17 tackles on special teams. He knows the highs and the lows of football.

“There have been some tough points in my career,” he said. “I’m like, ‘God, can you make this a little bit easier?’ But now as I look back on things, I have so much to share. I feel like I’ve been through just about everything in a sports career that you can go through. I’ve lost loved ones during my playing career. I’ve been injured. I’ve had surgeries. I’ve been cut. I haven’t gotten a contract that I wanted to get. I feel like God allowed all these different types of things to happen in my life for a reason. All that has equipped me to be a chaplain and to minister to the team.”

Peerman also points to a brief but memorable moment he shared with Mason last fall. On October 4, 2025, as UNC honored Mason with an on-field ceremony in front of 50,500 fans during a game against Clemson, Mason noticed Peerman on the sidelines. Flanked by his family and school administrators, Mason stopped his wheelchair. Peerman leaned in close. “Be who you are,” Mason whispered, “and that will be enough.”

“That was so encouraging for me,” Peerman said. “I always questioned, ‘Am I doing it right the right way? Am I honoring Mitch in this?’ So that was very impactful.”

Peerman is doing just fine. In January, a UNC athletic administrator told Meghan Austin, FCA’s Campus Director at UNC, how pleased they were with Peerman’s ministry, saying “He’s great in different ways than Mitch was.”

“Introducing someone new in that role was the challenge,” said FCA Triangle (N.C.) Metro Director Elizabeth Ledford, “but Cedric is obviously the right person to do that, and yet still honor Mitch. Cedric has been very quick to say, ‘I’m not replacing Mitch; nobody can replace Mitch.’ And he’s had conversations with some of the guys who knew Mitch. It’s been sweet to see how God provided for that perfect person in this transition.”

Peerman is enjoying being back in an Atlantic Coast Conference locker room. His love of the game is as strong as ever. But so is his desire to point young athletes to Christ and help them cultivate godly character.

“My joy, my privilege is just being able to teach them God’s Word and see them have a hunger for it and see them grow in how they deal with the Scriptures,” Peerman said. “That’s what’s truly enjoyable for me. And then, because I played football, just being around the guys, being around the game, being able to share, because when I went through my playing career, you never know how you’re going to use that later in life.”

 

 

-FCA-

FCA In Action > Next Man Up

Next Man Up

Published on February 05, 2026

Joshua Cooley

How do you replace a guy like Mitch Mason — a college football chaplain who has ministered in such a powerful way for 13 years that the public NCAA Division I university he serves at holds an on-field ceremony to honor him during a sold-out midseason game?

It’s not easy — that’s for sure.

This was the challenge facing FCA last year as Mason’s mounting health challenges made it necessary for him to step away from his role as FCA’s Football Chaplain at the University of North Carolina, a position he has not just held, but embodied, since 2012. But God always provides, and in this case, he provided Cedric Peerman, 39, a former NFL player who is finishing his first full year with FCA.

“[Mason’s] ministry has really reached wide and far and been extremely impactful,” Peerman said. “And it’s humbling to be the next man up to try to fill the void that’s there for the time being.”

Peerman’s journey to this place began between the sidelines. After a standout career as a running back at the University of Virginia, he played nine seasons in the NFL (2009-2017), mostly with Cincinnati. But he was consistently stuck on the depth chart behind 1,000-yard rushers such as Cedric Benson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Jeremy Hill. His best season at running back came in 2012 when he rushed 36 times for 258 yards and scored his only NFL touchdown for a Bengals team that went 10-6 and reached the playoffs.

After he retired from the NFL, Peerman and his wife, Dr. Hagar Elgendy, stayed in the Cincinnati area so Elgendy could finish medical school. They moved to Pittsboro, North Carolina, in 2021 so Elgendy could complete a sports medicine residency at UNC, where she is now finishing her fellowship year with the Tar Heels’ athletic program.

Peerman, meanwhile, has mainly been responsible for the couple’s five children at home. In 2025, he and Elgendy started a nonprofit coed youth flag football program, Flag Football Elite, in Chatham and Durham counties (N.C.) under the auspices of the NFL Flag initiative. He also served as an assistant football coach at Northwood High School in Pittsboro in 2024-2025 and has done some speaking at local FCA events.

Peerman first met Mason at Grace Church in Chapel Hill in 2023. At the time, Peerman was considering pursuing a staff role with FCA and wanted to get Mason’s perspective. Peerman came on staff with FCA in the summer of 2025, and when Mason’s health continued to worsen, UNC’s football staff asked Peerman to lead a Bible study for the team during preseason workouts. Impressed by Peerman’s style and ability to connect with the players, the football staff invited Peerman to be the team chaplain for 2025, a role he is planning to continue on an interim basis in 2026, as well.

Initially, Peerman was a bit apprehensive about stepping into Mason’s sizeable shoes. Peerman recalls thinking, “I’m coming in kind of later in the year, and I really don’t know how to do this.”

While the effervescent Mason brought passion and fire into the locker room, Peerman is more reserved. But Peerman’s NFL resume brings plenty of street cred — and experiential wisdom. He was signed and cut by three different teams before he got his first NFL carry, and he never quite got the opportunities at running back he was hoping for. In 2015, though, he was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the Bengals with 17 tackles on special teams. He knows the highs and the lows of football.

“There have been some tough points in my career,” he said. “I’m like, ‘God, can you make this a little bit easier?’ But now as I look back on things, I have so much to share. I feel like I’ve been through just about everything in a sports career that you can go through. I’ve lost loved ones during my playing career. I’ve been injured. I’ve had surgeries. I’ve been cut. I haven’t gotten a contract that I wanted to get. I feel like God allowed all these different types of things to happen in my life for a reason. All that has equipped me to be a chaplain and to minister to the team.”

Peerman also points to a brief but memorable moment he shared with Mason last fall. On October 4, 2025, as UNC honored Mason with an on-field ceremony in front of 50,500 fans during a game against Clemson, Mason noticed Peerman on the sidelines. Flanked by his family and school administrators, Mason stopped his wheelchair. Peerman leaned in close. “Be who you are,” Mason whispered, “and that will be enough.”

“That was so encouraging for me,” Peerman said. “I always questioned, ‘Am I doing it right the right way? Am I honoring Mitch in this?’ So that was very impactful.”

Peerman is doing just fine. In January, a UNC athletic administrator told Meghan Austin, FCA’s Campus Director at UNC, how pleased they were with Peerman’s ministry, saying “He’s great in different ways than Mitch was.”

“Introducing someone new in that role was the challenge,” said FCA Triangle (N.C.) Metro Director Elizabeth Ledford, “but Cedric is obviously the right person to do that, and yet still honor Mitch. Cedric has been very quick to say, ‘I’m not replacing Mitch; nobody can replace Mitch.’ And he’s had conversations with some of the guys who knew Mitch. It’s been sweet to see how God provided for that perfect person in this transition.”

Peerman is enjoying being back in an Atlantic Coast Conference locker room. His love of the game is as strong as ever. But so is his desire to point young athletes to Christ and help them cultivate godly character.

“My joy, my privilege is just being able to teach them God’s Word and see them have a hunger for it and see them grow in how they deal with the Scriptures,” Peerman said. “That’s what’s truly enjoyable for me. And then, because I played football, just being around the guys, being around the game, being able to share, because when I went through my playing career, you never know how you’re going to use that later in life.”

 

 

-FCA-

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