Over 50 New England Patriots players are younger than Jimmy Jean. But age isn’t all that makes the 26-year-old undrafted free agent a unique one.

The cornerback’s 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame isn’t necessarily it either.

As told by Dave Brousseau of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, it is Jean’s story of trouble and turnaround that has given the rookie an opportunity with the Patriots.

Arrested at age 16 after breaking into Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Fla., and stealing computer equipment, the teenager already on probation would spend his junior year in jail and the following two under house arrest. But by the time he was permitted back, Jean tried out and made the varsity basketball team in 2008, under the condition that he had to receive court approval to attend away games.

Jean developed a late interest in football as well, only he never played during his high school tenure. By early 2011, he was playing for the Pompano Beach Yellowtails, an adult amateur minor league. And by that fall, he was a freshman at Arkansas Baptist College.

Jean would play in five games to pick up 25 tackles as well as a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown that campaign. And as a sophomore with the Buffaloes, he posted 54 tackles, one sack, three interceptions for 59 yards, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries on the way to being named Arkansas Baptist's 2012 College Player of the Year.

His raw abilities, however unpolished in terms of technique, garnered the eyes of UAB.

Jean committed to play for the Blazers in February of 2013, and went on to be the only member of the defense to start all 12 games as a junior transfer. The corner finished the campaign with 32 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups while also returning two kicks for 37 yards and earning a place on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll.

The trend continued for the senior in 2014. Jean played in all 12 games, concluding his collegiate career with a 42-tackle season that netted one interception, six deflections and a forced fumble in what, at the time, appeared to be the final year of the program.

The Blazers would not hold a pro day in result, and Jean, a non-combine invite, headed to nearby Samford to perform in front of scouts on March 11.

He punched in with a 4.58-second 40-yard dash, a 7.34 three-cone, a 35.5-inch vertical and a 117-inch broad jump. But ultimately, Jean did not punch himself a spot among the 256 draft selections less than two months later.

Instead, he signed a three-year, $1.575 million contract with the Patriots shortly thereafter.

Now, Jean finds himself on a depth chart of nine cornerbacks in Foxborough. He’s taller than the rest. He’s also older than the likes of Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Justin Green, Daxton Swanson and seventh-round pick Darryl Roberts.

But Jean will look to make more than his age, his height and his story stand out when the Patriots open camp July 30.

Related: Undrafted in focus: Patriots tight end Jimmay Mundine