After proving himself as one of the most electrifying kick-returners in college football, former Dominion Titan running back, Deandre Reaves, is just steps away from achieving his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.

Reaves capped off his illustrious career at Marshall University with his best season yet, being named to the First-Team Conference USA(C-USA) and winning the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year Award for the second time in his collegiate career.

Reaves also tied Hall of Fame inductee Troy Brown for the Marshall single season touchdown return record with three touchdowns and also broke the records for return yards in a single game, season, and career.

After a successful career at Marshall, Reaves started to turn heads in the NFL. He started working out two to three times a day to prepare for his pro day where he would get a chance to show NFL scouts what he could do both as a return specialist and a wide receiver.

Reaves indeed had an impressive pro-day, drawing interest from eight pro teams including his hometown team, the Washington Redskins. “It would be a dream come true to play in the NFL alone. But I couldn’t put into words how excited and happy I would be to play for the Redskins because that means my whole family could come to the games a lot easier and there’s no better feeling than having your family at the games watching.”

After his private workout with the Redskins, Reaves felt confident, “[I] got a lot of great feedback from the head coach as well as the position coach. He continued, “Hearing stuff like that from the coaching staff builds confidence.”

Reaves said he had to overcome a great deal of adversity during his football career. “In college things didn’t always go my way, there were times where I wanted to give up but I didn’t. [I]continued to work hard and stay the course, next thing you know doors and opportunities started to open up”.

He will have to wait and see what happens on draft day. Reaves will probably be picked toward the end of the draft, but many teams are looking at him as a player that could bring a huge value from a late draft pick due to his tremendous upside as a kick returner and his potential to be a talented receiver in the future. “It’s not going to go my way right away at the next level. Therefore I’m going to have to just work hard and be a student of the game so when my number is called I’m ready!” he said.

Adam Wooten, Reaves’s personal trainer, has high respect for Reaves and feels confident that he would be successful at the next level, “He is humble. He wasn’t a five star or even a four star recruit so he’s always played with a chip on his shoulder.”

Reaves is extremely excited to be in his position as a potential NFL draft pick and offered some advice to aspiring athletes with the same goals, “Never give up on your dreams and NEVER give up when adversity sets in. To me, that’s just God testing you to see how you face and overcome things when it gets tough. Stay the course, and continue to follow your dreams!” said Reaves.