Hakeem Valles was four seasons into his college career at Monmouth and still looking for his first catch when, early in training camp, he went to the coaching staff and asked for a position change.
A wide receiver his first three years at the school, Valles was stuck behind one of the Hawks’ best players, Neil Sterling, and in no position to overtake him on the depth chart. At tight end, well, it didn’t take long for Valles to impress.
A few days after the position change, during Monmouth’s first scrimmage of the summer, Valles ran a simple leak route that had his coaches nodding in approval.