"Even more of a circus": When Travis Kelce revealed how college stint left him struggling during NFL Combine prep

Not everyone has a dominant college football career before heading to the NFL and tight end Travis Kelce coming out of Cincinnati displayed that. He had a somewhat difficult collegiate career as he was not very productive in terms of statistics and even was suspended for a full season due to marijuana usage.

Looking back at his NFL Combine interview before the 2013 NFL Draft, you can see Kelce trying to figure things out as he dealt with NFL Combine prep after a rocky college football career.

"Everything has been 100 miles per hour. First, you sign with an agent. Then, you get your combine invites and figure out where you have to train. From that point on, it's been even more of a circus for me where I had to get surgery."

Below is the full video of a young Travis being interviewed at the NFL Combine before being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The surgery that Travis Kelce was referring to in this interview was a sports hernia surgery that he had in late January 2013. It is interesting to see the beginnings of what could be considered the greatest tight end in NFL history.

How Travis Kelce turned things around

Travis Kelce would wind up being drafted 63rd overall in the 2013 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, but the injury bug would follow him for his first few seasons. He suffered a patella fracture that cost him all of his rookie season, followed by a rib injury and an ankle sprain the following year.

However, Kelce never had an injury that kept him out for too much time following the patella injury. As such, the tight end never had a season where he played fewer than 15 games in the next 11 years. While there can be a lot of reasons as to how he avoided any major injuries, some of it simply boils down to being a little bit lucky. However, preparation for what the season would do to his body and recovering well certainly helped as well.

Travis Kelce has since gone on to record 1,004 receptions in the NFL for more than 12,000 yards and 77 touchdowns in the regular season while also winning three Super Bowl Championships.