Cal's Camryn Bynum Sheds Tears, Then Jumps in a Lake After Being Picked by Vikings
Saturday was a wet one for Camryn Bynum.
Tears — “ugly tears,” he called them — after he was chosen in the fourth round with the 125th pick of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Then a jump in Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino national forest with friends and family to celebrate the first day of his life as a professional football player.
Bynum, who started 42 consecutive games at cornerback for Cal, was drafted by the Vikings as a safety. Concerns about his lack of top-end cornerback speed had most teams thinking safety for Bynum, who has good ball skills, tackling ability and feel for the game.
He said he's ready and excited for the challenge of playing a new position in the NFL and learning from veteran Harrison Smith, the Vikings' All-Pro safety.
Camryn Bynum
Courtesy of Cal Athletics
Bynum had a large group of family, friends and ex-teammates — including Jaylinn Hawkins, Elijah Hicks and Traveon Beck — with him at the cabin they rented for the weekend.
The whole gang had just started breakfast when Bynum’s phone rang.
“I didn’t even know who called me. It could have been a crank call for all I know. I didn’t know if it was the coach or not. I’m just thank you, thank you,” Bynum recalled in the video above. “I started crying. Started ugly crying. I was just super excited. I couldn’t hold it in.
“Started thinking of all the work we put in. All my teammates and friends and family being there. It all paid off. The excitement was crazy. Everyone is waiting for me outside the cabin to go jump in the lake. That’s what we’re doing as soon as I’m off this interview.”
Bynum said he would have a drone video camera attached to him as he leaped into the lake, and said a Cal student was on the scene to videotape the weekend's highlights.
Here is the subsequent lake leap (with a twist):
“It’s going to be a movie — a crazy, emotional movie,” Bynum said in the video below, while turning his camera to share where he and friend would be dashing off the beach.
Bynum talked with fondness and appreciation for his teammates and coaches at Cal, and especially the bond he feels with the guys he spent time with in the defensive backs room.
This marks the first time Cal has had three defensive backs taken within the top four rounds in a span of two NFL drafts. Ashtyn Davis was taken in the third round by the New York Jets last year with Hawkins going in the fourth to the Atlanta Falcons.
Cal joins Alabama, Clemson and Utah as the only schools to produce three DBs taken in the first four rounds of the past two NFL drafts.
Bynum said he will travel to Minnesota for the first time in his life a week from now, but will return to working out in the meantime.
The rest of Saturday would be devoted to enjoying the big moment with those closest to him.
“Chill by the lake, be relaxed. I’m not a super-crazy guy so I just want to be able to chill, enjoy the moment, shed a few more tears and soak it all in. Realize that hard work does pay off,” he said in the video below.
Bynum confirmed he had no idea where in the draft he would be selected, and purposefully avoided looking at mock drafts.
He also knows the work is just beginning.
“Still got to make the team at the end of the day. I’m not going to be happy about any type of money I get or anything,” he said in the video below. “Same ol’ Cam, right on the side of the field hour before and after practice, just getting that work in.”
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
