Julian Edelman’s college English teacher apologizes for doubting he could make the NFL
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In 2006, Julian Edelman was a 5'10" quarterback at the College of San Mateo. The NFL was a long way away, and his English teacher told him as much.
Eleven years, $16 million and two Super Bowls later, Edelman posted a photo on Twitter of a letter from the teacher apologizing for scoffing at Edelman’s NFL dreams.
Here is a transcript, in case you can’t read it above.
“I’m not sure you’ll remember me: I was your teacher for your English 100 class at CSM in the spring of 2006. I’ve been wanting to write to you for, oh, what seems like a thousand years, to apologize to you for a flippant comment I made to you that semester. You may not even remember it, but I’ve felt bad about it for years. You made some comment about “going to the league,” and I said something about setting realistic goals, about how few people successfully enter the ranks of the professional athlete, blah, blah, blah. I don’t thing it fazed you, frankly, but whenever I think back on it, I feel terrible, not because you proved me wrong, but because I stupidly voiced an uneducated opinion that implied I had distain [sic] for your passion for the game. I think it was early in the semester, before I knew you, but how I could ever have doubted your tenacity and grit is beyond me! Again, I doubt you’ve even thought about it twice, but even so, I am sorry for wedging my foot so firmly in my mouth that day.”
His teacher wasn’t the only one to doubt Edelman. After three years at Kent State as a dual-threat quarterback, Edelman wasn’t regarded as a pro QB. He didn’t get invited to the NFL combine and wasn’t picked in the draft until middle of the seventh round. He proved everyone wrong, though, and is now one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets.
