Decobie Durant didn’t take the traditional path to the NFL. The Rams’ fourth-round pick went through adversity before college and worked hard to make his dream come true by reaching the NFL on Saturday.
Out of high school, Durant had zero offers to play college football. So, he took a job with FedEx and developed some relationships with contractors in that job. After working there for a little while, he reached out to the South Carolina State coach to see if there was an opportunity for him to play there.
Coach Harrison gave him a shot and Durant took full advantage. On NFL Network recently, Durant detailed his path to becoming a draft prospect, from FedEx to SC State.
“Coming out of high school, I had zero offers,” he said. “So it was hard for me. I was undersized. Fresh out of high school, I went to Palmetto Prep in Columbia, South Carolina. That didn’t go as planned and now I’m back at square one. I’m back at home, working at FedEx. I built a good relationship with contractors out there, just working day by day and then I finally reached out to Coach Gerald Harrison. Here at South Carolina State, he recruits my area back at home. He just told me, you can pretty much come in and roll and you will be a grey shirt for the 2017 year, so I sat out that whole year. 2018 rolls around, I told them they won’t regret giving me the opportunity to be part of the team and from that point on, I just kept my foot on the gas pedal.”
I spoke to @RamsNFL 4th-round pick Decobie Durant last week on @nflnetwork.
Undersized, didn’t have test scores, worked at FedEx, walked on at S. Carolina St., ended up with 12 career INT, MEAC DPOY, 4th round pick.
Great story.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) April 30, 2022
Durant put together a great career at SC State after redshirting his freshman year, going on to play four seasons from 2018-2021. He picked off 12 passes, was named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and was a first-team AP FCS All-American.
Now, he’s an NFL cornerback after getting drafted by the Rams 142nd overall in the fourth round.
