Being drafted by Chiefs wasn’t only reason for KeiVarae Russell’s tears

8:27 AM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cornerback KeiVarae Russell was so overcome with emotion after being drafted recently by the Kansas City Chiefs, he was moved to tears.

But make no mistake. They were tears of joy and, even more, fulfillment.

“Just the accomplishment of being drafted and the fact that I haven’t graduated just yet — I have a semester left at the University of Notre Dame,” said Russell, a third-round pick. “But the fact that I will be the first one to graduate from my family, I think that’s where the emotion came from. I’ve accomplished something this big and the fact that no one in my family has graduated even from high school … everybody dropped out of high school.

“To come from the circumstances I came from … I lived in the projects, that same story everybody always talks about, not having a father, all this other stuff. So to come from those circumstances, there wasn’t much around me as far as education I can go to, to look for: ‘How do I be successful?’

“For me to accomplish the NFL, that’s where that emotion came from. We really made it. This is crazy.”

KeiVarae Russell was not sure where his future was headed after he was suspended following his sophomore year at Notre Dame. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Russell is one semester shy of his degree in marketing and nothing is guaranteed with the Chiefs, though they are in need of help at his position and he will be given ample opportunity for playing time as a rookie.

Just to get to this point, with his degree in sight and his name on an NFL roster, represents a huge win for Russell. Both things were put in peril in the summer of 2014 when Russell, two seasons into his collegiate career, was one of five players suspended from school for academic dishonesty. Russell said in his …

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