NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- All the workouts and interviews were over. It was NFL draft week and Kevin Byard could finally relax. He'd soon see his dreams come true. Then Byard's week turned sour. He got a call that Monday from his mom, Artina Stanley. She was going to be evicted by the end of the week due to financial struggles.
"She didn't want to worry me. I didn't know what to tell her because I didn't know when I was going to get drafted," said Byard, a playmaking safety out of Middle Tennessee State who wasn't invited to the NFL Combine and thought he'd be a Day 3 selection, if he was even drafted.