Former D-III player tries unique tactic to get Patriots’ attention
At this point, one thing is certain: Abiola Aborishade is persistent.
The former Division III receiver, who set UMass-Dartmouth’s single-season receiving record in 2014 when he had 84 catches, has stood near the New England Patriots’ facility at Gillette Stadium nearly every day for a month, hoping the team will give him a tryout.
He’s made a giant signboard to promote himself: “Talented hardworking athlete hoping for a chance to prove myself” it reads, touting his ability to play slot and wide receiver and special teams. Aborishade also declares that he “won’t disappoint” and is “dream chasing.”
Aborishade told his story to MassLive.com’s Kevin Duffy last Friday, as he did yet another early morning shift on the busy highway just off stadium grounds with his sign (stadium security won’t let him stand on Gillette property).
The 6-foot, 194 pound receiver arrived by 5:45 a.m., and at 6 o’clock on the dot the silver Audi belonging to Bill Belichick rolls past Aborishade. Belichick does not stop.
Aborishade started his daily Gillette shift on April 21, after seeing another receiver, Joe Anderson, standing outside Houston’s NRG Stadium with his own sign. Anderson’s story got attention and he got a brief stint with the New York Jets.
“There are a lot of talented people out there who haven’t been discovered yet, and that’s because they haven’t separated themselves from everyone else,” Aborishade says. “You have to put yourself out there — literally put yourself out there.”
He showed up that first day in a shirt and tie; Aborishade works at Enterprise Rent-A-Car a few miles from the stadium, and spend a little more than an hour with his sign on weekday mornings before heading to work. He returns to his post after his shift ends in the afternoon.
He hasn’t gotten his tryout yet, but players have taken notice; Aborishade says special teams ace Matthew Slater waves as he drives into the facility each day, and Super Bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler stopped to take a picture of Aborishade, posting it to his Facebook page last week with the note, “This reminded me to always be thankful and never take your blessings for granted… On the other hand, this is the attitude you must have if you really want something…….#NEVERGIVEUP”
Aborishade is hoping his persistence pays off at some point.
“I honestly was thinking three things could happen from this. The first thing is that they see me so often that they get sick and tired of me. So they almost give up, give into it, because I’m not giving in. So they give in and they say, ‘OK, let’s see what this kid can do,’ he says. “The second thing is the people who drive around here, who work around here see me so often that they almost say, ‘hey, we want to see what he can do.'”
“And the third thing is they just leave me out here.”
We’re pulling for you, Abiola.
