DETROIT - It's no secret that Hampton Roads has a lot of representation in the National Football League, and in Week 13, that 757 football fraternity gained its newest member when Bobby Price make his NFL debut.
"I'm just blessed to be here because a lot of guys didn’t get this opportunity, guys who went to bigger schools than I did, guys who went to the combine, maybe had a pro day," Norfolk State product Price said. "The only thing I had was a pro day that was recorded and God blessed me with the opportunity to be here."
That place is Detroit, where Price has gone from being signed as an undrafted free agent, to the practice squad, to the Lions' active roster on NFL Sundays.
Prior to this year, all of his football experience took place in Hampton Roads. The Lions defensive back grew up in Virginia Beach, went to Catholic High School, then played collegiality at Norfolk State.
Now, he not only adjusts to a new part of the country, but a whole new level of talent.
"All these guys, grown men, some of these guys have been here seven, eight years," Price said. "Some of them 10-plus [years]. You got guys who have five kids and I'm feeling like a kid myself to some of these guys, so it’s a weird feeling playing with different type of guys, but at the end of the day it’s football."
Price's NFL debut took place two weeks ago when he recorded his first career tackle against the Chicago Bears. The following week he was reunited with Raven Greene, a 757 product he grew up playing football with, when the Lions faced the Green Bay Packers.
Now that he's a part of the NFL's 757 fraternity, he has a message for the Hampton Roads kids following his footsteps and the many others that came before him.
"Just keep grinding, keep going hard," Price said. "Like I always say, if you’re good they’ll find you. It doesn’t matter what school you go to."
