2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Deshaun Felder, OT, Arizona Christian University

• Name: Deshaun Felder
• Height: 6’5″
• Weight: 310 lbs
• Position: Offensive Tackle
• College: Arizona Christian University
• Twitter: @baba2reel

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

● I spent most of my childhood in a small town named Maricopa just south of Chandler, Arizona. It was such a small town that we would after to drive out of town to get groceries because the stores we had weren’t promising. I feel like the one thing I love growing up here is all the kids were talented athletes and we all had the same goal to go pro and we built that chemistry playing with them all the way through high school.

List these three in order of importance and why: film study, strength & conditioning and practice.

● My order of importance would be film study, practice than strength & conditioning. I am a firm believer in knowing your opponent inside and out. I feel if you know his move before he does, you already won half the battle. Once you know his moves, you can practice against it. S&C is last on my list cause you can beat your opponent with pure smarts and technique as I’ve learned growing up. Although it does help.

What do you worry about and why?

● I worry most about falling short of my ultimate dream of changing lives through health and wellness because I promised my grandfather that I will make sure that what happened to me won’t happen to anyone else before he passed.

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure.

● I remember when I dropped out of school while I was attending West Virginia State University because I let my ACL injury get to my head. I started getting into drugs and became homeless pretty much for almost 3-4 months without telling my parents I dropped out in the first place. Once I looked myself in the mirror one day I realized I let my family name, my parents and myself down cause that’s not how I was raised. I got my mind right and saved up all the scrap change I can find to get a plane ticket home. Once I got home, within 2 months, I was working 2 jobs, going to school and working with the Maricopa fire department. And never looked back since.

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

● They tend to tell me in the most humble, hardworking and self-motivated teammate they have ever played with.

Who is the best player you have ever played against In college?

● I honestly forget his name. but I do know he was a DE from Shepherd University.

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football?

● In all honesty; id probably is owning my own fitness gym or most likely be in enlisting in the military, I spent 1 year as an ROTC cadet and tore my ACL before I was supposed to be sent to boot camp.

Room, desk or car. Which do you clean first?

● I’d most definitely clean my room first.

If there was a disaster and you could save either 3 strangers or 1 family member, which would you choose and why?

● I would save the 3 strangers. I’m the type of person that will sacrifice one of my loved ones to save more lives.

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

● Invisible women from the fantastic four. So when my girlfriend comes home early and I forget to clean the house cause I slept all day, I can disappear.

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

• I think my biggest adversity would be my freshman season at my JUCO. The coaches played favorites and sat me on the bench because of seniority, I knew I wasn’t going to make it out at that rate so I started training harder and standing out during practice. Eventually, I would earn a full ride scholarship to WVSU on my own just from practice.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

• My most embarrassing moment would definitely be when I fell asleep in my ex-car (girlfriend at the time) while she was driving and woke up with all her makeup on my face and nails.

What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?

• When I caught my first pass as a tight end, my JUCO had converted me into a tackle/TE hybrid and that was the first time my coaches would listen and give me a chance.

What song best describes your work ethic?

• Hall of Fame

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level?

• Class

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

• Micheal Jackson; he had brought together all types of races and walks of life through his music.

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it?

• Clickin’ boots. It will be a country dance club for line dancing and things.

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL?

• Casey Heyward

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

• respected. If you “liked” they most likely like you for your talent at the moment and can change in a snap. But if you’re respected, it’s always gonna be there and they know how hard you worked to get to that spot.

What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?

• I would have to say Johnny Manziel. Only because I feel that a lot of talent wasted and all he need was someone to talk to him and get his head screwed on straight.

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

• Hate to lose

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

● My older sister. She was diagnosed with the auto-immune disease a few months ago, she was going through all these treatments and tests and thought about giving up on life. We ended up talking to her and with her therapy, she’s been doing; she is learning how to walk again.