We often find NFL players without a team after the draft day. It happened to Rhamondre Stevenson. The running back found it hard to make a team in the NFL and it captivated him with his struggles off the pitch. Therefore, his journey to become a New England Patriots player was not while he slept on a bed of roses! His parents played a significant role in molding the player into what he is today!

Meet Robert and Juran, who fought hard to fulfill their son’s once-in-a-lifetime dream. So, let’s dive deeper into how the player became a player for the New England Patriots!

The long arduous journey of Rhamondre Stevenson

But the journey to the top was a struggle. Yet poor grades left him academically ineligible to play at the college level. Thus, those dreams of the NFL faded away as he worked in Wal-Mart as a stocker. He recalled having no options to join a team and earned a $10 hourly wage. Yet, like most parents, they believed in Stevenson’s talents.

“My husband and I, we talked about it a lot. If that was us, we probably would have given up. Because he had to do a lot of work. I mean, it was a lot of work,” mentioned Juran according to the Boston Globe.com. Stevenson mentioned how his parents pushed him to work hard and focus on his skillset rather than making money. The dream finally rekindled after that moment!

He enrolled in a junior college along with his friends and looked to improve his academic scores. His parents saw the potential of the player when he was young. He found a mentor later in Ben Arave, Rhamondre Stevenson’s long-time mentor. Despite initial skepticism, his mother believed her son’s story was far from over!

“They would never take him off the field. I used to complain to my husband, ‘He needs to get out.’ I’m like, ‘He’s too tired. He needs a rest. He needs to sit down. He needs to drink some water.’ But he was that good on offense and defense,” mentioned Juran.

Finally, achieving his dreams!

Bells started to ring as Juran thought, “That’s when I started thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, we might really have something here.’ It was just like a natural-born talent for him.” Workouts became his bible and his determination to succeed amped up. His parents struggled a lot to get him into the NFL and money came in hard within the family. Juran mentioned how they made enough money, but managing eight kids became a struggle.

Therefore, after all the struggles, Rhamondre Stevenson finally got drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round. It is a story for the ages as Stevenson’s tale is one to remember.