Disney World
During my time in Jackson, my father, still the only individual in the world who, without a doubt, knew I could play in the NFL, helped me unearth a connection that would be pivotal in my NFL pursuit.
The offensive coordinator for the Barcelona Dragons, an NFL Europe team, was a former FCS head coach who had recruited me in high school. NFL Europe was a spring league that offered players an opportunity as somewhat of a farm system, but was mostly a marketing campaign to gain European interest in American football and the NFL.
While this coach was familiar with me from the recruiting process, I had also played against his team my senior year. I scored a touchdown in our win and he had no doubt watched a lot of my team’s game film. I traveled back to my home state and showed up at his high school quarterbacks’ clinic, where I ran routes for several hours. In hindsight, running routes and catching hundreds of balls not only demonstrated my athleticism, but also showed that I had done the conditioning necessary to run several hours of routes spontaneously. Even more important, my focus was such that I would show up anywhere, anytime to play, even at an unheralded high school quarterback clinic one thousand miles away from my current home. Upon witnessing my development from high school through college, he was curious about my additional year of growth and offered me a workout. He told me to pay attention to the NFL Europe Draft.
The NFL Europe draft is unceremonious compared to its parent league. Unlike the NFL draft, there wasn’t a call from the head coach and owner. In fact, there was no contact from any team official. Instead, the results were posted on a website and you looked them up. After refreshing the website throughout the day, the results were finally posted. I went straight to the Barcelona Dragons’ picks and saw that my name was not listed.
Disappointed, I reviewed the other teams’ picks and was surprised to have been drafted by the Berlin Thunder. My contact and former offensive coordinator for the Barcelona Dragons had been recently promoted by the league to head coach of the Thunder.
Training camp for all teams was in Orlando and preseason scrimmages were at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, where scouts from every NFL team were represented. At this stage in my life, this was truly a magic kingdom.
Through an odd series of events, I ended up not going to Europe but, instead, going to East Rutherford, New Jersey for my second workout with an NFL team. This time, I was offered contract to go to camp with the New York Giants.
Fate favors the prepared and the path is often hidden amid the journey. It is hard to anticipate when or where you will be presented with a unique opportunity. What do you need to do to be ready when it is your turn to do something meaningful with your craft?
