Darius Price ’18 was not thinking about a career in the National Football League when he arrived at Siena Heights University in the fall of 2013 as a lightly recruited football student-athlete out of Saginaw (Mich.) High School. In fact, he wasn’t sure he would ever make it on to the field for the Saints.

“It was definitely a struggle,” said Price, who said the college environment was at first overwhelming both on the playing field and off. “I did not have the skill at the time to even play on the field with my colleagues. It was frustrating.” He said it was equally as frustrating in the classroom, where he had to learn the basic study skills needed to complete college-level coursework.

What Price did have, however, was work ethic and a desire to improve. More than four years later, he made his mark on the football field, in the classroom and with the Siena community. With bachelor’s degree in hand, he is currently attempting to become the first Saint in school history to make a roster of any of the major professional sports. Price has drawn interest from the NFL, and his goal is to earn a roster spot this fall.

“My mindset going forward is just to give it all I’ve got,” he said. “I’ve prepared more than enough, and I’m still preparing.”

Price, a four-time all-conference cornerback who was a first team NAIA All-American and the Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, started garnering NFL attention as a junior. Last fall, a stream of NFL scouts visited the Siena Heights campus to check out Price. During his senior season, he made 41 tackles, had nine pass breakups and recovered two fumbles.

After graduating in December with a business administration degree, he signed with an agent and began training fulltime in the Detroit area in preparation for the NFL Draft.

“It was definitely a grind,” said Price, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound defensive back said of his winter training regimen. “Going into (the draft), (NFL scouts) wanted to see how fast I could run and also see how fluid I was able to move. They had a lot of curiosity about what I could do.”

Focusing on improving his speed, Price sliced nearly 10 pounds off his already chiseled frame. It wasn’t easy.

“Being a defensive back, you think you have the size and you have the weight,” he said. “I had to be a certain weight. … I eat healthy, but I was on the strictest diet possible just to make weight to run faster.”

Although he wasn’t invited to the NFL Draft Combine, he did get an invitation to work out at the University of Michigan’s Pro Day on March 23. With scouts from every NFL team in attendance, the numbers he posted were impressive: 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a 36-inch vertical jump and 21 repetitions at 225 pounds on the bench press. All those measurables would have put him in the top tier of defensive backs at the Combine.

“It was definitely a great moment,” Price said of his Pro Day performance. “I was really impressed with my numbers. All the numbers I saw in my Pro Day I did not see during my training. I was excited and surprised.”

That gave him hope his name would be called in April’s NFL Draft. It wasn’t. But he did get a call – a few of them, actually – soon after the draft finished. Several teams invited him to attend their rookie camp, which was a tryout to earn a spot to a team’s training camp in July. He decided to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he competed from May 10-13. He was not signed to a training camp deal after that camp, but that is not deterring Price from his NFL goals.

“There are other teams,” he said. “And all the film goes to every team after that camp is over with. That’s what I am waiting on. I definitely have a huge opportunity to get the callback.”

While he still awaits his NFL opportunity, he said that was not his main focus during his time at Siena Heights.

“I was willing to put in the work and even stay during the summer months and really devote myself to getting better,” Price said. “My whole focus was not to go to the NFL, but to be the best player I can be. That resulted in an NFL opportunity. I wanted to be an asset to the football team. That was my whole goal and passion and purpose.”

And his impact at Siena Heights extended well beyond the playing field. During his junior year, he began Compel Campus Ministry, an interfaith group of students, faculty and staff that met regularly to express their faith. Because of that role, he quickly became one of the student leaders on campus.

“It all started out of prayer,” said Price, who admitted he had to overcome his shyness to become the group’s prayer leader. “I never saw myself as being a speaker, but I felt the urge to do something. I wanted to see change, not only in myself, but also in the people who are around me.”

That change is now evident in Price, who said Siena Heights was the place he was meant to be.

“I think I wouldn’t be the person I am right now if I did not come here,” he said. “I think that my whole purpose and God’s intention for me was to be here, to discover myself. I really held close to my teachers, my counselors, the advisors, all the things that Siena had to offer for me to be the best student. I really took those tools and applied that to my life. … The educational side helped me become the man I am today.

“My advice to all the young recruits is to know that once you get here to campus, you haven’t arrived here yet. Don’t think that since you are here on campus you are going to have it made. Everything you want to accomplish you’re going to have to earn it and you’re going to have to work for it. Your focus is going to be different than everyone else’s focus.”

Editor’s Note: As of press time, Price was reporting to the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, where he will be working out in hopes of landing a roster spot this fall.