Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 5-15-20

Feature
2 Area Players Have Shot At Their Dream In The NFL
With the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft and the first fully virtual sports event, two NFL hopefuls have found themselves new homes.
Growing up in the Tampa/ St. Petersburg area, De- fensive End, Greg Reaves and Running Back, Napoleon Maxwell, have continually been sur- rounded by talent and have battled individual adver- sity to make it to the NFL.
Greg Reaves was born and raised in Bradenton, Florida, before choosing to stay in his hometown area for college. Greg became a walk-on player at the Uni- versity of South Florida and had to grind to earn his position as a starting Defensive player for the Bulls. He continued to put in work and displayed his versatile skillset by playing not only Defensive End, but filling in as a Middle Linebacker.
Going into the 2020 NFL Draft, Greg had multiple calls from teams that were interested in his skillset and athleticism. With the loss of Pro Days, Local Days and personal team meetings, Greg had to do all he could to make teams take notice and once again take on ad- versity. With the assistance of his agent, Chris Mar- tin and OTG Sports Management, Greg put together solid workout film, including staged testing and posi- tional workouts to send out to teams. With the acqui- sition of Greg’s film, one team stood out to have the deepest and most vested interest in Greg - the Los An- geles Rams.
From a walk-on at USF to an NFL player, Greg has been battle-tested and will continue to use his drive and dedication to land himself a spot on the Rams 53- Man Roster this fall.
On the other side of Tampa, in St. Petersburg, Napoleon Maxwell awaited his turn to be signed by the NFL. With multiple calls leading up to the Draft, Napoleon and his agent, Chris Martin, believed he would easily find himself a spot on an NFL Roster, if not during the Draft, very soon after.
Napoleon played his college career at Florida In- ternational University, where he was a leader in rush- ing for the team, as well as a huge contributor on Special Teams. Napoleon ranked in the top two for
GREG REAVES
...Los Angeles Rams Prospect
rushing yards during his final two seasons with the team. However, the first two seasons of Napoleon’s college career didn’t look quite so perfect, as he suf- fered torn ACL’s in 2015 and 2016. Napoleon had to continue to grind and push every day to once again make his dream attainable.
As the NFL Draft hit the 7th Round and Napoleon’s agent sending feedback that teams were worried about Napoleon’s injury history, he became uncertain that his dreams would be met.
After Saturday evening passed without a call to bring him on and Sunday morning slid by, Napoleon continued to cling onto the hope that a team would overlook his injuries in 2015 and 16, focusing on the fact that he completed his career at FIU playing 39 straight games.
NAPOLEON MAXWELL ...Chicago Bears Prospect
On Sunday afternoon, Napoleon got the call from his agent that one NFL team had decided to give him a shot. The Chicago Bears were going to sign him as an Undrafted Free Agent and bring his NFL Dreams to light.
The adversity that Greg and Napoleon dealt with during their college journeys only prepared them for the future. The future that brought with it COVID-19 and the loss of Pro Days, Local Days and Rookie Mini Camps, but still gave them a chance to fulfill childhood dreams. Without being battle-tested in the past, the players never would have had the courage to keep pushing through everything and sign with their respec- tive NFL clubs.
Now with dreams attained, the following quote holds true, “Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won and all the fears you have overcome.”
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020