Former NFL player shares his journey to the pros with CBU audience

 

Riverside, Calif. (Oct. 27, 2016)—“I just wanted to be in the marching band with my white shoes and my green uniform and marching at halftime,” former NFL player Reggie Doss told a California Baptist University audience. “But God had other plans for me.”

Doss, who played in more than 200 games for the Los Angeles Rams from 1978 – 1988, was invited to speak by the department of mathematical sciences at CBU to help launch their newest major—sports analytics.

Doss grew up in Texas and dreamed of participating in halftime show at NFL games. But when a high school friend noticed his talent in a PE class and encouraged Doss to play football, Doss took his advice and joined the school’s team.

Doss said in high school he was not the best player on his team but had undeveloped talent. After high school, he attended a small NCAA Division II school—Hampton University—to continue playing football and to see if he could develop his talent. It was there that he learned the value of hard work.   

His team would go through a grueling two-week pre-season training regimen, including holding practice four times a day starting at 5 a.m. It was this intense environment that Doss credits to preparing him for a career in the NFL.

“God doesn’t put things in your life just to put them in your life as an obstacle,” he said. “[These experiences] make you stronger.” 

Doss said when he got to his first day of training camp in the NFL, he felt that his college training was harder.  

“When I got into camp I knew what to expect…I had been through one of the toughest camps in the nation,” Doss said. “With all the hard work and wanting to succeed, that is what really made me excel.”

Doss said he was fortunate to play as a defensive lineman in the NFL, but his purpose in life did not end there.

Doss and his wife, Tamara, have adopted three children. After living as a single man for 48 years, he now lives to raise his family.

“God touched my heart and my wife’s heart,” he said. “My life is completely different now than in my single days, and God has a way working His way through me.”