College students spend years preparing
for life in “the real world.” While
most students hope to capitalize on
their academic success, many studentathletes
hope to transform their hours
of collegiate practice and play into a
contract with a professional team.
That’s what former VCU basketball
star Jesse Pellot-Rosa set out to do
– but not in the sport he had worked
to refine over the past four years.
Many people were surprised to hear
that Pellot-Rosa, a guard for the VCU
men’s basketball team, was invited
to the New York Jets’ training camp
in June – especially since he had not
played football since high school.
“I got the call during the CAA
tournament,” Pellot-Rosa said. But
with basketball still a priority, he
held off on a decision until the Rams
won the Colonial Athletic Association
championship and completed their run
in the NCAA tournament.
When the time came, Pellot-Rosa
decided to give football a shot.
“I didn’t want to pass up on the
opportunity . and look later down
the road and think, ‘I could’ve had the
chance to play football,'” he said. Besides,
Pellot-Rosa was confident that he could
always return to basketball, if necessary.
But then, a crucial setback occurred.
A hand injury forced Pellot-Rosa
to miss the first five days of the Jets’
training camp – about nine practices
in all. Soon after, he was told that he
was being released.
“They told me that I was a little
inexperienced. I hadn’t played in four
years, and the injury to my hand didn’t
help my case,” Pellot-Rosa said.
For now, he is back on campus to
complete his final semester of work
toward an undergraduate degree in
real estate and land development from
the School of Business.
According to student-athlete adviser
Scott Quarforth, VCU doesn’t have
a lot of athletes leave school early
to pursue professional careers. That
may be due, in part, to the emphasis
that the VCU athletic program puts
on education.
“We want to make sure that if
(students) are going pro and they
haven’t finished their degree, then
we do want them to go as far along
as possible so that they do have the
opportunity to finish that degree when
they settle down,” Quarforth said.
Although training camp did not end
as he hoped, it proved to be a valuable
learning experience that Pellot-Rosa
will not soon forget.
“The biggest thing I learned is that
it’s a business. It’s not college or high
school anymore,” he said. “You’ve got
to take every day, play every practice
– do whatever you need to do and
take that seriously, and play that like
it’s an actual game.”