Exclusive: From Homelessness to a Potential NFL Draft

Vontae Diggs has the potential to be one of the top examples this decade of living out the American dream in sports.

The University of Connecticut linebacker could be picked in the upcoming NFL draft, held April 26 through April 28 this year — and that’s the case for about 250 other players as well. But Diggs is likely the only one of the group who was homeless for part of his childhood.

“It’s a complete blessing to be at this point,” he told LifeZette in a phone interview about his NFL prospects. “It’s something we’ve been dreaming about since we were kids. To even get this far into the football life is nothing but a blessing.”

When Diggs was young, his father was absent from his life, and his mother had a hard time keeping jobs while raising two children. The family moved often from apartment to apartment until they wound up living in his mom’s Oldsmobile in Downers Grove, Illinois. He even slept on a park bench some nights. Before school on those mornings, Diggs would wash up in a local McDonald’s bathroom.

When he was in high school, his mother had to move to Chicago to work. However, Diggs was doing well in school and enjoyed playing football — and did not want to move back there.

“He broke down and cried and said, ‘If I go back to the city, I’m going to get killed,'” his mother, Robin Jones, told the Hartford Courant in 2016. “I had to let him stay there. It broke my heart, but what was I to do? I didn’t want to feel like I was abandoning him.”

For Diggs, his decision was the right one. It was the opportunity to play football with his friends that made his life bearable growing up.

“It was the one sport that did it for me,” he said. “It took my mind away from everything. Just being at practice with the guys, running around, for whatever reason — it changed my life. It helped me deal with the depression and all that negativity by bringing something positive to my life. That’s why it’s the one sport that’s always stuck with me.”

No longer living with his family during his freshman year of high school, Diggs stayed at the homes of a handful of friends.

After his freshman year, he ended up moving in full-time with his friends, twin brothers Tony and Andrew Zea, thanks to their parents, John and Nancy Zea.

Diggs did not meet the Zea children while playing football. One day before fifth grade, he was walking down the street when one of them kicked a ball toward him, so Diggs kicked it back. Later that summer, he started hanging out with them; they’ve been best friends since.

The hospitality by the Zea family allowed him to stay at Downers Grove North High School, keep playing football, and have enough food to eat and stay out of trouble.

“That right there — they are truly family to me, man,” Diggs said. “They mean so much. I would do anything for the Zeas and their extended family. I treat them as if they were my blood, and they do the same for me. Family is everything to me, and if it wasn’t for them, I don’t think any of this would be possible. I wouldn’t be in this situation or be the man I [am] today if it wasn’t for them.”

“These five members of this household have done so much,” he added. “They’ve helped my maturity and self-growth, and helped me become a better person on a daily basis. I can’t thank them enough. My way to thank them, I guess, is staying on the same track, never detour from it and taking my career as far as I can. That’s not just football — that’s in life. It’s me giving back to someone else because they did that for me, so I can’t stop. I need to give to five, six, or 20 different people.”

Related: With Kendrick Lamar’s Win, Pulitzer Prize Loses Credibility

By focusing on football, Diggs was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Connecticut for his excellence on the field. He ended up excelling there.

The class of 2018 member graduated a semester early and was a starting linebacker for the UConn Huskies as a junior and senior. In both seasons, he finished second on the team in tackles, with 84 and 77 respectively.

“It was a blessing, especially being one of the first people in my family to graduate from a big school,” he said. “I have a whole bunch of little cousins who look up to me and I tell them, ‘If I can do this, y’all can, too.’ They’re smarter than me and more athletic than me. I tell them that this is what it’s about. Not football, not the jerseys, not the games. It’s this piece of paper no one can take away from you.”

After his football career is over, Diggs said he wants to work in a school as a counselor, teacher and/or coach (of football, of course), or a community organizer in the city of Chicago. No matter what, he wants to help people.

In the past month, Diggs worked out at the Chicago Bears Pro-Day for NFL Draft prospects and has spoken with a few NFL teams that see him as either a late-round pick or a top priority for undrafted free-agent signing.

“It’s kind of a waiting game [right now] and I’m not really a patient person when it comes to things like this,” he told LifeZette. “This is my future, my livelihood we’re talking about. This is the worst part of the process. You either: A, see your name drafted, [or] B, get the phone call that you’re drafted and for some of us, it might not work out the first time. If that’s the case, then you have to keep pushing. It’s been a hell of a ride and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it so far.”

“For me to be in the position I’m in, it’s awesome to be able to share my story and tell people, ‘If you keep working hard, something good will come out of it.'”

The NFL is a competitive business, and though he’s smaller than the average linebacker — listed at 221 pounds on UConn’s website — Diggs has overcome adversity before, so he knows what it takes to do it again.

“It’s not just in football that it gives me an edge, it’s in life,” he said of his background. “As a kid, going through things like that and overcoming it is something special.”

“I don’t want anyone to think I went through the worst of times because there are people out there fighting homelessness and who have no meals,” he added. “For them, my heart goes out to them, and I really wish I could help them. For me to be in the position I’m in, it’s awesome to be able to share my story and tell people, ‘If you keep working hard, something good will come out of it.'”

Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, ESPN, and other outlets.