Douglas travels long road to football success

Rasul Douglas used to dream of hearing his name called in the draft. Just not the one that you’d think.

The East Orange, New Jersey product actually grew up with aspirations to make his name on the baseball diamond. Instead of imitating and idolizing football greats, it was Derek Jeter and he even manned the shortstop position like the New York Yankees legend to boot.

“I wore the No. 2 just like him,” he said.

Douglas played baseball from the time he was seven years old until he was 16, but eventually decided to hang up the cleats. It was another activity altogether that would stand in front of his career in football.

Entering his junior year of high school at Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, Douglas was an accomplished drummer. Yes, a future NFL Draft pick at cornerback was in the band during his sophomore year of high school and was not involved in organized football.

So what happened?

Marion Bell, the then head coach at nearby Orange High School, had watched Douglas play backyard football in the park and realized he was oozing with potential.

So Bell kept pushing for him to give the gridiron a try and after making the decision to leave the band, he embarked on playing football during his junior season. He would make the ten-minute trek back and forth between the two for practice and games, and started his career at safety.

“I got good at it fast,” Douglas said.

But the opportunities after college didn’t. In large part because he struggled in the classroom and had to take the junior college route if he wanted to further his career on the field.

Bell then told Douglas something that he’ll never forget.

“If you go to junior college and show up, you’ll find a name for yourself,” he said. “And I listened to him and am here now.”

Douglas would become an all-American cornerback prospect during his time at Nassau C.C. earning scholarships from a long list of schools including Florida State and Louisville. But it would be West Virginia that would earn the commitment of the junior college standout.

After arriving to campus late during his junior season, Douglas would see limited action as a cornerback in the rotation. But the signs were there even then that a break out could be on the horizon as he started to play well when he saw the field late in the season.

That momentum carried over into this past season when Douglas established himself as one of the best cornerback prospects in the Big 12 Conference and finished with the second best season in school history when it comes to interceptions with eight total. Standing 6-foot-2, 209-pounds with a 4.57 40-yard dash time to his credit, Douglas has developed into an intriguing NFL Draft prospect.

Given his size, Douglas has drawn favorable reviews to former West Virginia cornerback Daryl Worley and has the length and understanding of defensive schemes as well as recognition.

He caught even more attention with his performance at the NFL combine and followed that up by topping his time in the 40-yard dash at the Mountaineers pro day.

Another step in his interesting journey to date and one where he again will have to prove himself.

“Nothing you did before matters. Can you do it again with another team on another level?” he said.

That’s exactly what the former shortstop turned drummer turned cornerback is trying to do.