Shavon Revel recalls journey from working at Amazon warehouse to NFL Draft 2025

East Carolina Pirates cornerback Shavon Revel has emerged as one of the best cornerbacks in college football after the 2024 season. He has already visited with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

During an interview with ESPN on Thursday, the cornerback talked about his tough journey to the NFL Draft. The cornerback revealed that due to bad grades in high school and injuries, he had taken an Amazon job, unable to pursue his college football dream until he attended a Pirates camp where he impressed the East Carolina coaching staff.

Shavon Revel had a 4.4 40-yard dash combined with a 39-inch vertical leap and an 11-foot broad jump. The cornerback revealed that he worked a 10-hour shift prior to the camp and without any sleep, was driven to the campus by his father, who also worked at the Amazon warehouse.

Former East Carolina defensive coordinator Blake Harrell revealed to ESPN how stunned the Pirates staff was after witnessing Ravel's workout.

"We didn't know much about him, really nothing, but were like, 'Holy smokes!' when we saw him run and work out in some of the position drills," Blake Harrell said. "You just don't see that kind of speed, with his cutting ability, at his size and his length."

The Pirates immediately offered Revel a scholarship and he played with them for three years before he declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Shavon Revel had to improve grades to get an offer

Shavon Revel played both quarterback and wide receiver in high school but did not get Division I offers, due to poor grades, forcing him to play for Louisburg College. Even then, he missed the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and his grades were still poor.

Even after getting the scholarship offer from the East Carolina Pirates, he had to get a 2.5 GPA at Louisburg College to actualize his dream.

"I had terrible grades, and it started during my first couple of years of high school," Shavon Revel said (per ESPN). "It was too much football and not enough of everything else in the classroom. I take responsibility. They took a chance on somebody who had a 2.0. It wasn't like a lot of schools were lining up to offer somebody a scholarship that had a 2.0 in junior college. I never forgot that.

"There's a whole lot more out there that people haven't seen from me, and they're going to."

After word spread about his impressive East Carolina workout, elite teams like the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kentucky Wildcats attempted to recruit him but Revel stayed loyal to the Pirates.

According to ESPN Draft expert Jordan Reid, Shavon Revel is the No. 4 cornerback in the class of 2025, highlighting the arduous journey that he has taken to the top.