WHO DAT

WHO DAT

Overcoming All Obstacles, The Life of A Professional Football Player 

From playing football on the streets to the turf. The game became his predominant force and he wasn’t one to be reckoned with. “My first sport was baseball. I started off playing baseball in the apartments with the neighbors. I was always the youngest one. All the older dudes was like he’s small but he’s fast but he could be a good football player,” said Pruitt on a sunlit afternoon. 

Jimmy Pruitt precedent professional football player for the New Orleans Saints. Paved the way for those following in his groundbreaking impression.

PRUITT’S PROVIDENCE. Before Pruitt knew what it meant to have potential. His peers became his first scouts. He said, “The older guys always told me, oh, you should play football.” I never wanted to play football, growing up I wanted to play baseball. They were making the most money and it was like non-contact. I wasn’t trying to get hit. Running around getting hit all day?” The decision he made at an early age was not his outcome.

LET’S PLAY BALL.  Pruitt’s step dad was the first to take him to explore his talents. He often studied the game. Pruit added, “My step dad Johnny. He,- he was a big baseball fan. Like he used to take me and my big brother to baseball games and just to watch other kids play baseball. He used to buy us baseball equipment bats, gloves he used to take us to the park and play and I thought it was cool. You know, he used to throw underhand.” Investing time, materials and love into Jimmy Pruitt’s game was the beginning of a curveball that landed him on the out field.

In the early 2000’s Jimmy Pruitt attended Vista La Mesa Elementary.  It wasn’t until the end of grade school when he became a part of his first team. Pruitt said, “The first sport I played was baseball 6th grade year.” From 2006 to 2009 Pruitt attended Lemon Grove Middle-school. “I played basketball in 7th grade and that was probably for like literally like 3 months and then after that I went straight to football,” said Pruitt.

PRUITT’S PURPOSE. When asked, “Why football over any other sport?” Pruitt reflected back to a time when he learned his “why.” He said, “I chose football after my first tailgate to a Chargers game and seeing the massive crowd and how they reacted to the game. I remember my first baseball game. I struck out three times in a row. I was completely embarrassed. My first basketball game I air-balled a wide open lay up on fast break!” He faced many obstacles testing the water with other sports. With a football in hand he dominated. Taking his trials and tribulations into mind he knew what would come next. Football gave him a purpose. 

According to Pruitt, “All in all, football was a way to release built up anger that was locked inside. Everyone always saw me as the golden child, but to myself I knew the truth. I previously failed at two other sports and was not as good of an athlete as everyone thought.” He said, elucidated, “Football was my getaway. I could release built up anger and energy in a way that is professional and entertainment. I fell in love immediately and never looked back since.” Never giving up. Pruitt pushed himself beyond limits as he tackled a variety of sports. Until he landed on his gem, causing him to hit the gym. What started as something seemingly recreational for a kid became his coping mechanism, expression and formally his lifestyle. 

 FROM PPR TO THE BIG SCREEN. The quarterback of a team ranked number one in the state in the division. Jimmy Pruitt led Helix High School’s varsity football team into many victories. According to Pruitt, “High School was by far the best time I've had playing football.” He said, “Due to the simple fact that life was more simple. As we grow older we take on more responsibilities and the NFL was the toughest.”  He reminisces his highschool football experience days in regards to the reality of his work in the NFL. “Everyday we had press conferences, outside meetings (agent, sponsors, charity), online interviews by which were not bad just daining. High school was strictly fun and full of excitement. After that it is strictly business. My senior year our team only lost one game and won the CIF championship at Qualcomm as well as the state championship in Carson CA,” Pruitt said. 

HEAT Jimmy Pruitt went on to attend San Jose State University. His position, the defensive back. It was a newfound sense warming up to the big field. He describes his days to come. He added, “My college experience was amazing but definitely an eye opener.” Augmenting his expectations, he said, “My first college game I started in and was nervous like no other.” Precisely for the majority of his football career Pruitt was front and center but something about this particular field was moving. He added, “I went from hundreds of people in high school to thousands in college. Throughout my collegiate career I received two championship rings and an invite to the national combine.” The NFL,“Scouting,” Combine. . . 

The NFL Draft came around. The day of; Pruitt’s family congregated to support him in his final hours of fate. The call would lead to the moment he imagined the television crew barging into his home in likes, to announce Jimmy Pruitt as a NFL pick. The moment he devoted his football career to withheld doubt. “Draft day was both exciting and depressing at the same time. I remember gathering with the family and watching numerous athletes' names get called. I sat there for three days waiting on a phone call and got nothing,” he said. The next day came. The family did not gather. Yet, Pruitt sat amongst individuals in his family while watching the draft.  The pressure arose and the likeliness of being picked seemingly diminished. In regards Pruitt received a call. He answered the phone, his agent was on the line, “He told me I received two tryout invitations from the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints. After the Texans tryout did not workout my last hope was the Saints. At the end of the three day tryout I knew I left it all out there and as a reward to my hard work I received a three year contract,” he said. Pruitt did not give up.

  The strength of a Highlander and a Spartan combined created a Saint. The final moments leading up to Pruitt’s greatest success were full of hard work, and sweat. Pruitt said, “After our workout we began to get called into head coach Sean Payton's office one by one. The five players that went before me all walked out extremely depressed which left me nervous and wondering, my faith.” Potential players were being eliminated from the try outs. This left Pruitt skeptical. He said, “When I went into the office he had a huge smile on his face and stood up and shook my hand. He told me  “Mr. Pruitt I first want to say I'm surprised you're here right now and did not get drafted. It was amazing to see you workout for us in more depth so our coaches could get a better look at how you move. I have one important question for you… how would you like to be a New Orleans Saint?!” I had a smile on my face the entire four hour plane ride home.” 

He was in the clouds knowing he, “Signed a three year deal with the Saints,” he added.  The NFL wasn’t only fun and games. He said, “At the time it was the best thing that ever happened to me but once I learned the business side of things I was not too fond. No matter how many years your contract is worth the team can terminate it at any time they want. IT IS A BUSINESS.” In the NFL Pruitt worked with major players, “J.J Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, Drew Brees, Roman Harper, Adrian Petterson, Tom Brady, Gronk, and Antonio Brown,” he said.

Jimmy Pruitt persevered in a time that defeated many of his opponents. When asked about his biggest obstacle Pruitt could not recall. He added,“I cannot see if it was my biggest obstacle but the most memorable one was getting injured in our finale preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.” His injury caused him to take the biggest blow to his career, “I was completely torn apart because I felt as if I let my family down. I was barely on the team for three months and knew what was to come,” he added. Pruitt’s family was the base of his career. His family supported him from first base to the end zone. He added, “The NFL is a strict business and if you're not healthy and ready to play then the next man is up. I knew after my injury my time was coming to an end and I was right. I was released from the team shortly after that.” 

Pruitt tore his patella tendon. He went on to have two surgeries in hopes of correcting his tendon. He added, “My first surgery did not go as planned and caused me to sit out two years and have a cable inserted around my knee cap.” When asked in three words what kept him going and motivated. He said, “Family, Faith, Tenacity.”

Pruitt devoted himself to the field. He recalls his most memorable moment as his, “Most intense workout.” Pruitt fumbled on his words.

 Reflecting on his most memorable moments in the NFL! He said it, “would probably have to be our conditioning test in New Orleans because players was paying ten thousand plus dollars to get out of doing it!” 

When asked what he took from the game in particular he said, “Never take anything for granted. I learned a lot while playing the sport and I am forever thankful. The actual sport is bigger than what it is set out to be. A lot of people do it for the money but I learned that the connections you make throughout the way is what's more substantial. Perseverance and longevity is key to success and a lot of players forget that because they are blinded by the spotlight, once that happens tons of players fall off.”

“Knowledge and Faith,” is Pruitt’s gains from the NFL. He used his platform to build connections and stay connected. “I learned so much and met so many people that I feel I'm forever connected in some way. Although, it may not be sports wise but business for sure. This journey has given me an extreme amount of faith. To see where I came from to where I made it is a true blessing, and a story I love to share,” he added.

WHO IS JIMMY PRUITT? “Jimmy Pruitt is a strong minded self motivated individual. By self motivated I don't mean I don't look up to others or need anyone. I’ve just learned to dig deep and overcome adversity through my struggles. When I first started playing football my parents were not too much involved, instead my coaches and close childhood friends were believers. The neighborhood I grew up in shaped me to become a better person inside and out. Pruitt did not become the underdog. His journey destined him to become the man he is today. He said, “The pain and struggle that flooded the streets taught me to never give up. My mom was a great example for that, she was not there for me all the time sports wise but when it came to survival she was intelligent. With her smarts and my sports ability combined I've grown up to be a well respected community leader.”

Pruitt was invited back to the field where it all began. He made it his mission not to forget where he first planted his footprints.  He went back to visit his high-school football team, the stomping grounds. There he was given the chance to share with the youth words of empowerment. Visiting the team during a practice in the season Jimmy Pruitt said, “The biggest lie the devil tells is that you have time.”