Rivals Rewind: Pressleys road to Raleigh

Top-level recruits are usually torn in many different directions, but for many the desire to stay close to home is too great to ignore. That was the situation for former five-star defensive tackle DeMario Pressley of Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley, who decided N.C. State was the right decision for him.

Pressley, who was the No. 11 overall recruit and the No. 1 defensive tackle nationally in the class of 2004, realized that playing his college ball close to home was a priority.

"I had tremendous pressure to stay in-state," said Pressley, who currently lives in Alpharetta, Ga., with his wife and 15-month old daughter. "The entire city of Greensboro knew who I was and wanted me to stay close. Strangers that I did not even know would walk up to me, ask me for an autograph, a picture, or just beg me to stay in North Carolina. I felt as if I needed to be loyal to my state.

"In an area that I grew up in, it was easy to fall into the wrong crowd, get on the streets and easily be persuaded. In fact it did happen to me - I briefly hung around the wrong crowd and was sent home by a gang member that 'had power' and knew who I was. He took me aside and told me that he doesn't want to see me around again. He said that I have a future in football and he wished that he would've stayed with football and maybe he would've ended up in college or something.

"He told me not to be a statistic and to stay away from the streets. He said that he wants to turn on the TV one day and see me playing for the Carolina Panthers."

It happened too, as Pressley spent five years in the NFL, including one with the Panthers.

"I've seen it hundreds of times," said Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell, who followed Pressley's recruitment closely and has been with Rivals.com since the beginning. "There's a peer pressure on many of these kids from so many directions. Some of the kids their age are jealous of their football prowess and try to draw them into the bad crowd and into bad habit and then you have adults - pure strangers - trying to pursue them to attend the college of their choice and stay home. It's a ton of pressure on young kids and it's gotten much worse since 2004. A lot of the fans of recruiting don't realize everything behind the curtain that can be ugly. DeMario went through a lot of this obviously."

Even back in high school, Pressley realized that staying close to home would give him a better opportunity to give back to his community.

"I needed to stay close, not only for my reasons and for my own family, but to be an inspiration to the children that already looked up to me and those that will look up to me in the future," he said. "It was easy for me to come back and visit my high school, recreational center, middle school, because I was only one hour away. I can go back to Greensboro right now and meet a child and that child will know who I am and is excited to meet me. This lets them realize that I came from the exact same city as them, and that I am real and that I care. Making their dreams and aspirations become tangible. That makes staying close to home worth it."

Several other factors also led Pressley to North Carolina State, including being close to "protect" his single mom (he had no siblings), the school's architectural engineering program and the N.C. State coaching staff.

While Pressley remains very comfortable with the final decision he made, there is one specific thing that he would change if he could go back in time.

"What I would change is the number of schools that I actually did not look into more," he said. "I would have inquired and given more interest into more universities. With myself being such a high recruit, I tended to just stay interested in the schools that impressed me out of the gate, rather than looking into every school around and then narrowing it down. Overall it was an experience that I will never forget and to be honest, ultimately I still would've picked N.C. State."

Senior day for the #Pack. Congrats to the seniors and good luck in your future! #BeatWake… http://t.co/8UbuEOQiCw- DeMario Pressley (@dmpressley) November 15, 2014

Not surprisingly, as the No. 11 overall recruit in the nation, Pressley's recruiting process got pretty hectic from time to time.

"The experiences that I remember the most were the big recruiting nights," he said. "Everyone wanted to see and visit me. I remember one night we had a lot of recruiting visits planned. I didn't really understand how popular I was back then. This one particular night we scheduled somewhere around three visits and tried to space them all out to where no coach would see another school coming or leaving. This did not work out at all. Everyone ended up seeing each other. Picture this, Florida State, Oklahoma State and I believe Florida in one night and at the same time!

"Can you believe that? Florida head coach Ron Zook met with us first. The meeting went way over schedule and we had a knock at the door. It was the defensive line coach from Oklahoma State, Karl Dunbar. Thirty minutes after Coach Dunbar arrived I had a phone call from Coach Odell Haggins and Bobby Bowden from FSU saying that they were on the way to my house.

"At one point Coach Zook was on my couch, Coach Dunbar was in my room watching TV and Bobby Bowden & Coach Haggins were waiting outside in the car. It was a crazy experience that gets better the older I get. The funniest part of that night was during my meeting with FSU, Coach Bowden was dozing off on our couch. I didn't blame him though. He traveled a long way just to meet with me and my family and we appreciated everyone's efforts."

Farrell is still amazed at the way families balance so many home visits during the hectic period in December and January.

"People don't realize but it's a lot of work for the player and family," he said. "Hosting coaches, hosting dinner with coaches, trying to plan everything out so that coaches don't arrive and leave at the same time or overlap like what happened with DeMario is nearly impossible because everyone wants their chance to make the recruiting pitch. Heck I know of schools that were dropped off a kid's list who still showed up unexpectedly and threw a monkey wrench into plans claiming they 'never knew' they were off the list. It's a stressful time for a family and most of them handle it with such grace."

Situations like this definitely added to the pressure, but with the help of a couple of people, Pressley believes that he handled the overall process very well.

"My coach at the time, Victor Floyd, told me from the beginning that I had the talent to be the best player on the field at all times and he promised me that he would take me to college," Pressley said. "He soon became a mentor to me and kept me on the right path and showed me how to handle the pressure. He and my mom kept me grounded and always made sure that I was always humble and always hungry.

"The pressure from colleges easily became overwhelming. My mom and I lived in an apartment and every single day the mailbox was full of handwritten letters from college coaches. Sometimes there would be so many that the mailman couldn't fit them in the mailbox and had to just sit a stack of letters beside the door."

Farrell has dealt with Floyd for years and has nothing but glowing things to say.

Camp time baby! #FootballFundamentals52FootballCamp in my hometown Greensboro, North Carolina! Day 1… https://t.co/zzu3PWMNX4- DeMario Pressley (@dmpressley) June 16, 2015

"It's funny when you hear about coaches and it brings to mind some of the dealings you had with them," Farrell said. "With Coach Floyd it was always positive in regards to DeMario and has always been positive. He's back at Chester High School in South Carolina again and that's a great fit for him and as a coach and a teacher he gives so much to his kids. To hear DeMario rave about him is great because I don't think high school coaches get enough credit when it comes to mentoring young men into productive adults."

With the help of his mother and head coach, Pressley navigated the recruiting waters successfully. Now he has some advice for the top-level recruits going through the same process.

"I would tell a recruit to take as much time as they need,' he said. "I would advise them not to rush the process and help them understand that this is a very huge decision. Whatever decision that they choose should not solely rely on their football status. In college you will not only get an education and a degree but you will meet friends, best friends, mentors, wives and build long life-lasting relationships. I would advise them to visit schools more than once so they may find the best campus, people, locker room, professors and coaches that will aid in their success."

After North Carolina State, Pressley spent time in the NFL, which produced many lasting memories.

"From my years in the NFL I learned to cherish life's experiences," he said. "I cherish all the memories that I have, especially my second year in the league when I became a Super Bowl champion with the New Orleans Saints. I bounced around a bit and injuries kind of kept me from finding a home, but I wouldn't change anything. I had the chance to join winning organizations and some that weren't so successful. I always knew that I would someday become a coach or end up in athletics somehow. Now I can take my memories and life lessons and apply them to my life in every aspect."

Now off the football field, Pressley is also proving to be successful as the director of marketing and promotion for StudentConnect, a student safety transportation technology system that monitors bus riders as they get on and off the bus.

"I am also an aspiring author," he said. "I cannot share anything about my first project, but I am a part of One Athletes Agency and a bestseller is in the making."

However, knowing that he wanted to stay involved in football, Pressley is currently able to accomplish that using several different avenues. He is CEO of his "The Press It Forward Foundation" that strives to afford single parents and children in challenging and unique situations achieve success in life.

He also serves as development director for the Greensboro Eagles football program and spends free time hosting football camps around the country.

"I love working with kids," he said. "I am already planning to do my own football camp in Greensboro next year with hopes to do one in Georgia as well. I also recently started a training program in Georgia. I provide one-on-one football and speed and agility lessons to young athletes. Right now I only have one client and he is a future monster."

"… I do see myself migrating to football very soon. I believe that in the next three years I will be on the sideline coaching on the collegiate level. A dream of mine is to one day return to coach for the Pack. That would be a dream come true."

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