By Ernie Gonzalez
It wasn’t until the early days of August that DeJon Packer proved he fit in the preseason six-man mix after he tried out for the team.
Fast forward nearly 10 months and the local kid who once hated football and now dons a Spartan uniform deserves to be in the conversation for 2018’s No.1 job.
Packer’s football journey began in the fifth grade, but at the time it was far from his passion.
“To be honest, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like football,” Packer said. “I was small and playing with the older kids growing up, so I actually quit.”
Something never abandoned however, was his love of watching the game. Having fewer friends growing up motivated Packer to put the cleats on again.
“Once I started playing again, it kind of was my getaway,” Packer told The Spear. With his father minimally involved in his early years, Packer said he found comfort on the football field. “It was something I could always resort to.”
Out of South San Jose’s Gunderson High School, the 5-foot-11, 220-pound back chose to attend San Jose City College after receiving no Division I offers.
“Back when I was at San Jose City, I knew I had to work my tail off and I knew I couldn’t go in there and slack off at all,” Packer said.
After spending two seasons at SJCC, Packer again was slept on, receiving scholarships only at the Division II level. But that didn’t satisfy him.
“I didn’t want to sell myself short,” Packer said. “I knew that I can compete at this level so I decided to walk-on here.”
At the time, Packer was just trying to get his foot in the door and aiming to get SJSU’s head coach Brent Brennan and the rest of the staff to know his name.
“I didn’t want the coaches to second guess my work ethic,” Packer said. “I’ve always instilled in myself to be first in everything.”
And that’s exactly how it played out last season for Pack.
Reliving the final month of the 2017 season, he raised eyebrows and earned leverage for a possible starting job.
Packer brought life to a dry-spelled SJSU running game to end the season, carrying the ball 18 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns, the first two of his SJSU career, in the team’s final two games.
“It’s trampolined me into now and gave me motivation going into the offseason,” Packer told The Spear. And allow me to say it might be a good idea to reorder Packer’s spot on that running back depth chart.
The soon-to-be senior averaged a convincing 4.9 yards per carry in 2017 and although he only rushed for 290 yards, Packer only lost six yards from his net gained, by far the lowest among SJSU’s ball carriers.
It’s going to be a battle to earn running backs’ coach Alonzo Carters’ trust to start August 30 against UC Davis.
Take no credit away from Tyler Nevens, a true freshman who had a couple of 100 yard games late in the season, but found the rectangle only once — something Packer did twice in back-to-back games.
One thing that should keep Packer motivated during summer camp is the fact that he did not start a game in 2017.
The big back is built similar to Nevens, who carried the weight of the SJSU ground attack on his shoulders with 163 carries for 630 yards in 11 games. But Packer adds experience, something Nevens is still working on.
Pack will be competing with sixth-year senior Brandon Monroe, who has been granted an extra year of eligibility because of injury.
Throw into the mix a promising Nevens, a thing-one-thing-two counter in Zamore Zigler and Malike Roberson as well as newcomers via the 2018 recruiting class Kairee Robinson and Lorenzo Burkes.
Packer already got a chance to meet with the recruits, serving as their hosts when they made their official visits.
Packer told The Spear he and the rest of the running backs get along, but only off the gridiron.
“All the running backs have a good relationship, but we know that when it comes to on the field, we’re going to compete.”
Packers’ story alone, combined with his unique skill set of maturity, mass and swiftness will set him apart from the rest of the running back core next season.
Whether he belongs or not, Packer has figured it out.
“I knew I belonged here, and having that mindset that you belong can really take you a long way,” he said.
Follow Ernie on Twitter @superego1012