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Groceries to gridiron: Two years ago, John Destin was bagging groceries at a Florida store. Friday, he'll take the field for the final time with TU.Nov 26, 2009 (Tulsa World - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- John Destin's college dreamswere nearly swallowed in a Florida grocery store. No football program wanted Destin after his high school graduation. Without an athletic scholarship, college would have been virtually impossible. After 18 months of sacking groceries at his hometown Winn-Dixie and an ill-fated walk-on attempt to play football at Alcorn State, Destin seemed headed toward a hard life of working at the local store. After seeing so many friends "making it," he decided to market himself. He found a spot at a junior college in Illinois for one year, but that only added to his desire to play Division I football. That -- more importantly -- would come with an opportunity for a bachelor's degree. Destin put together a YouTube video and sent it to 119 Division I schools. The grainy video showed plays from his 2006 season at the little-known juco. Only one school offered him a scholarship -- the University of Tulsa. He will spend this Thanksgiving Day with his mother, who will watch her only son in his final college football game on Friday. Six months from now, she'll be back on campus to see Destin pick up his communications degree. "I'm very thankful," Destin said, emotion in his voice. "Very thankful. Not too many people I know have made it out of that situation." Life hasn't been easy for the native of Belle Glade, Fla. His father died when he was 10 years old. The son doesn't know the cause of death. "It's still a mystery to me today," Destin said. "He's Haitian, and one day he flew back to Haiti. My uncle contacted me and said he passed away. That's the last thing I heard from him." It's been John Destin and his mother, Bessie McKenzie, since then. "She's had to be a strong mother figure to me and a father figure," he said, pride flowing with each word. McKenzie is a schoolteacher and has always stayed on top of her son's schoolwork. "She's made sure I've had good grades," Destin said. "Most parents don't ask, but every time we're on the phone, she says 'Why don't you send me those grades' or 'E-mail me your grades.' She's always on me about education." College didn't seem possible after high school. A running back, he didn't put together jaw-dropping numbers in the talent-rich state of Florida. "I had zero offers," Destin said. "I had 500 rushing yards and five touchdowns. That wasn't going to work. "I decided to keep working (at Winn-Dixie). I thought maybe college isn't for me. I had first-year (high-school) coaches that weren't worried about putting players out to college." He tried out for Alcorn State's football team, but returned home after one semester. "I went back to the grocery store," Destin said. "It's what I knew best. I thought maybe it's not so bad. Maybe I can work here for 20 years and move up to a management position." After two years, he decided to give college and football one final try. "It was just seeing other people from my hometown making it," Destin said. "If they can do it, why can't I?" After doing research and with the help of a local recruiter, he enrolled at Rock Valley (Ill.) College in fall 2006. Destin finished with 23 tackles, 10 pass deflections and five interceptions in only six games. He also became familiar with YouTube during his time at Rock Valley. He spliced together game videos and personal workouts in an effort to link with a Division I program. "I went to all 119 Division I schools and sent it off to everybody," Destin said. "Some were like 'Let's see what you do after one more year.' Tulsa jumped right in and offered me right away." The tape was found by coach Jess Loepp, who brought Destin to campus. "John showed up here out of the blue," defensive coordinator Keith Patterson said. "We brought him in and threw him to the wolves early in his career. We put him in some tough situations, some that he probably wasn't prepared for mentally or physically at the time. "But to see his development ... he's developed into a good football player." Destin's 2-year-old YouTube video is still online ( tulsaworld.com/destinvideo ). He will never take it down. "It's motivation to tell anyone that, with hard work, everything can pay off," Destin said. Eric Bailey 581-8391 [email protected] To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Tulsa World, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |