Donte Rumph has struggled since being a late cut out of the Atlanta Falcons’ training camp last year. After getting a bit of screen time on HBO’s Hard Knocks, where he earned the nickname “Cupcake,” the team still could not find room for him on their roster and had to let him go. Afterwards, he was also released by his agent, which left no opportunities for him to sign on with another team.
Rumph is now homeless, but is doing everything in his power to get another shot in the NFL. He is so desperate, in fact, that he’s been camping out in front of the Falcons training facility.
“My name is Donte Rumph, better known as Cupcake,” he said. “I know you’re wondering why I’m camping out in front of the Atlanta Falcons. It gets to be a numbers game for us…I was released last year after camp, went through some hard times. Could not, really focus, I kind of lost myself in the midst of it all.”
This story may end up with a happy ending after all, as Rumph just recently received a phone call from the NY Jets, who are flying him out to one of their tryout camps.
The NFL offers no guarantees, but like Willie Mays Hayes before him, sometimes the first step to becoming a professional athlete is simply showing up to camp uninvited and making things happen on your own.
[via 11Alive]
