A long journey always has hardships along the road, but for Dayvon Ross, he deals with problems each and every day. Ross has the potential to be drafted to the NFL and is trying to do that no matter what or who tries to stop him.
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Ross was no stranger to seeing gang violence and people using drugs on the street. “It was tough growing up,” Dayvon said after recollecting about his childhood.
However, his mom, who acted as both the mother and the father for Ross, made sure he was off the streets and in school or out playing sports. Ross also had ten siblings, so he played with them to keep off the streets.
When Ross was about seven, he started playing football, and after 15 more years, he still does that.
During his senior year in high school, Ross had 67 receptions, amassing 930 yards and eight touchdowns. This brought the attention of UCLA, as they wanted him to join their football program. However, due to Ross missing some of his English courses, he couldn’t pass the clearing house, making him ineligible to attend UCLA.
At the same time, Ross ended up having a daughter, who he named Drew. When describing her, he says, “She’s the bright of my life. She makes me work harder every time I step on the field. She’s also made me grow as a football player.”
Ross to attend L.A. Southwest College as a freshman, missing out on a division one (D1) college football program. The next year, Ross transferred to East L.A. College to focus more on academics.
Then, the University of Virginia offered Ross a scholarship, and he gladly accepted it. However, another problem came into the picture, trying to keep him away from his dream; the ACC Conference where the University of Virginia is in, informed him that they could not transfer his online classes that he took. This led him to Central State, which is located in Ohio.
Ross has unfortunately missed out on playing at a division one college, currently playing at Central State, which is a division two college.
Now, heading into his second year at Central State, Ross is getting ready to have a great season, hopefully grabbing more attention from NFL scouts.
If Ross had to offer words of encouragement to players who want to be successful, he would say, “Keep focus. In order to be successful, you have to have a vision, a dream to be or to do something. There will always be people that will try to influence you to do the wrong things, but always have your own mind. Also, pray. No man can take away a blessing that God has in store for you.”
Ross is a 6″1 wide receiver with solid speed and great hands. “He’s been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40, but is working on getting that down in the 4.3-range to improve his draft stock. He figures a huge senior season individually will help in that regard, which is why he’s doing so much off-season training.” (wavenewspapers.com)
Ross could be a potential third or fourth round draft pick, but that could be considered a steal, as Ross has huge potential along with talent. If he’s good enough to get interest from colleges with good football programs and are division one, there is no doubt he has a chance to make it to the pros.