Former Soul WR Darius Prince's unordinary path to the Eagles

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The way most players get to the NFL is pretty simple. They play high school football, then play college football and then either get drafted or sign with an NFL team as a free agent. 

Darius Prince has had a more winding road. 

But after four years of hard work, it finally landed him a spot on an NFL roster when the Eagles signed him Saturday to their 90-man roster. 

If you know Prince, you probably know him from watching the Philadelphia Soul. The 28-year-old receiver joined the Soul late in the 2017 season and went on to be named the MVP of ArenaBowl XXX. This past season, his first full year with the Soul, he had 89 catches for 1,024 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was top three in the AFL in all three categories. 

Long before Prince made it in the AFL, he played college basketball at Penn State-Greater Allegheny and Penn State-Beaver. Thanks to a huge growth spurt after high school (Prince is now 6-foot-1 but was just 5-9 as a senior), Prince decided to play basketball instead of football in college. When he graduated in 2013, he tried to find a way to play pro basketball overseas but couldn’t make it happen. 

That’s when he decided to be a pro football player.

Four years later, after never playing a down of college football, he’s in the NFL. 

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Prince said before his first NFL practice, donning the No. 1. “It’s everything I ever worked for. When I made the decision to get back into football, I told myself that if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it at 110 percent. My whole thing was, when I made my decision, I didn’t want to look back at life and wonder, ‘What if?’ When I made my mind up to do it, I gave it 110 percent and I went out there and I did it. But it’s a surreal feeling. It really is.” 

Prince got his break as an arena player when he signed with the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the National Arena League. He played two seasons for the Steelhawks before getting a workout with the Soul. They signed him and in his second AFL game, he was the MVP of the league’s championship. 

After his tremendous 2018 season ended in July, Prince had a workout with the Pittsburgh Steelers but wasn’t signed. He worked out for the Eagles last Sunday, got a call Friday and signed his first NFL contract Saturday. 

On Sunday afternoon, he was getting ready for his first NFL practice. 

“I love Philly,” said Prince, who is a native of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. “It’s a great city. The guys I met so far are amazing. They’re helping me with the playbook. They’re making sure I’m learning. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here.”

The Eagles signed Prince, but his odds of making the 53-man roster are not good. They’re less than not good. Really, they’re miniscule. The Eagles have 13 receivers on their roster and will only keep five or six. Coming into camp this late, you can go ahead and put Prince’s name wayyyy at the bottom of that depth chart. 

He’s not oblivious to that. 

“I want to show them what I showed them in the workout,” Prince said. “Obviously, you have to translate that onto the field with equipment on and someone watching you. I want to show them that even though I didn’t play college football, I can play at a high level like this.”

If all goes to plan, he’ll get that chance over the next few weeks. But at 4:01 p.m. on Sept. 1, Prince will be looking for a new job and a new way to keep his dreams alive. 

Just another bend in the road.

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