It’s been seven years since Gerald Everett was a senior at Columbia High School in DeKalb County, and if the basketball team hadn’t been so good, Everett might not be what he is today – a starting tight end for the Los Angeles Rams and due to play in the Super Bowl in his hometown on Sunday.
In 2011, Everett transferred to Columbia from M.L. King, where he’d played basketball the previous three seasons. He showed up for Columbia’s all-sports workouts that summer proclaiming himself to be a hoopster.
‘’Columbia had a national basketball program at that time, so they had plenty of kids,’’ said Mario Allen, Columbia’s head football coach then. ‘’So the [basketball] coaches were saying, ‘That kid won’t be used that much. You want him for football?’ ’’
Heck yeah, Allen thought.
Everett was 6 feet, 4 inches, 200 pounds, fast and strong with good hands and a work ethic. But he hadn’t played football in three years. He’d dabbled with the sport as a middle schooler at DeKalb’s Gresham Park and then in the ninth grade at M.L. King. Nothing since.
Everett agreed to the switch, and Allen was struck at how hard his new player worked on the fundamentals of being a tight end and wide receiver. Everett caught 13 passes for 224 yards in a run-based offense and got some all-region recognition. Not bad for a varsity rookie.
‘’I thought if we could have another year with him, he could be one of the tops in the nation, so I was begging [college coaches], ‘Look, here’s a kid who’s raw, and you can bring him in, give him a red-shirt year and develop him; he catches on fast,’ ‘’ Allen said.
Columbia had three Division I recruits that year, so some ACC and SEC coaches had been dropping in, but none took a chance on Everett, who signed with Bethune-Cookman, a Division I FCS school in Florida.
Then he decided he’d get more exposure at a junior college and wound up at Hutchinson in Kansas.
Two years down Everett signed with UAB and played a season there with one start before UAB discontinued football.
Still an unknown, Everett transferred to South Alabama. He suddenly blossomed. In two seasons in the Sun Belt Conference, Everett had 90 receptions for 1,292 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Los Angeles Rams picked Everett in the second round, 44th overall, in the 2017 NFL Draft. This season, his second in the league, Everett has 33 receptions for 320 yards. He had two memorable TD receptions in the 54-51 victory over the Chiefs in November.
Allen, who led Banneker High to its first-ever region title last season, has coached 10 future NFL players when you count his 10 seasons as a college assistant at Florida A&M and Alabama A&M. Everett is the first to play in a Super Bowl. The coach and player stay in touch, and Allen planned to watch him practice this week.
If there’s a lesson in Everett’s story, Allen thought of two things.
The first was about keeping doors open.
‘’You have a lot of people whether it be parents or coaches, who gear kids to specialize in one sport,’’ Allen said. “I’ve always been a proponent as a coach to tell my ball players to play in multiple sports. You never know where your opportunity might come from.’’
The other was about perseverance.
‘’Physically, he already looked impressive, but the real difference was that he was mentally tougher than other kids,’’ Allen said. “Other kids would’ve folded. He didn’t want to go to junior college. He had a hamstring issue. He could’ve easily given up. I think he was just mentally tougher to get past those obstacles in his life.’’
Everett talked about those obstacles this week with D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Of course, everybody has had some bumps in the road,” Everett said. “Me, for sure, I feel like I can speak from my own experience, I’ve definitely experienced a couple of bumps in the road. …
“You could pick from not having any offers out of highs school. Going to five different colleges. Getting cut from a JUCO or getting the program shut down (UAB). For all of that to happen, I’m very glad to come to an organization that wants to win just as bad as I do and to be able to work with guys that share the same goals that I do.”
DeKalb County players in the Super Bowl:
Gerald Everett will become only the 13th player from a DeKalb County Schools program to play in the Super Bowl.
Harris Barton, Dunwoody - 1988 49ers (XXIII), 1989 49ers (XXIV), 1994 49ers (XXIX)
Kevin Butler, Redan - 1985 Bears (XX)
Gerald Everett, Columbia - 2018 Rams (LIII)
Chris Gardocki, Redan - 2005 Steelers (XL)
Hason Graham, Southwest DeKalb - 1996 Patriots (XXXI)
Stephen Hill, Miller Grove - 2015 Panthers (50)
Patrick Mannelly, Marist - 2006 Bears (XLI)
Robert Mathis, McNair - 2006 Colts (XLI), 2009 Colts (XLIV)
Terance Mathis, Redan - 1998 Falcons (XXXIII)
John McMakin, Tucker - 1974 Steelers (IX)
Patrick Pass, Tucker - 2001 Patriots (XXXVI), 2003 Patriots (XXXVIII), 2004 Patriots (XXXIX)
Jeff Saturday, Shamrock - 2006 Colts (XLI)
Steve Wallace, Chamblee - 1988 49ers (XXIII), 1989 49ers (XXIV), 1994 49ers (XXIX)
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