He lost his mother. He lost his grandmother and his great-grandmother on the same day. Then Demetrius Rhaney nearly lost his college dream because he lost his high school.

What he still had, though, were the contents of a little sandwich bag. And from that little bag came one of the most inspiring journeys to the doorstep of the NFL.

The offensive lineman's late grandmother, Estella Holmes, was an ebullient woman with an easy manner and a hope for Demetrius: she wanted him to go to college. Rhaney grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and lost his mother to a sudden illness when he was in seventh grade, but not before he promised her he would go somewhere and graduate. The path eventually led him to nearby Academy High in Coral Springs.

Then, before Rhaney had a chance to graduate, the school closed. Rhaney moved to Stranahan High, where he had gone for ninth grade, but when he got a football scholarship offer from Alabama A&M, he was asked for a high school transcript. He could provide one, from Stranahan, but not the other.

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"After I signed," Rhaney said, "I was trying to get through the clearance house. They needed a transcript from the private school. I couldn't get in contact from anyone at the school. I didn't know what was going on."

Rhaney needed help, but his mom had passed, his dad had gotten into some legal trouble, and his grandmother and great-grandmother had died on the same day in 2009. Jamillah Shakir, a neighbor of Rhaney's, decided to start calling, and calling, and calling anyone she could to get a copy of that transcript.

"It was very, very hard to try to find them and get any information," she said. Shakir, who had known Demetrius since birth, would call at the beginning of each workday and remain on hold for hours. She says she never tracked down anyone who could help her. (Efforts to reach a representative from the school were not successful.) Rhaney had seemingly lost his shot at a scholarship.

"I didn't think I was going anywhere after that," he said.

Rhaney did have a former teammate who went to a junior college in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and he recommended giving the coaches at Ellsworth C.C. a call. He did, and he got some positive feedback. The coaches would give him a shot if he showed up in time for the team's first game.

There was just one problem: getting there. Ellsworth C.C. couldn't offer a scholarship or even a plane ticket. So one night, Rhaney's family and friends got together and brainstormed. A flight to Iowa would cost almost $600 one-way. Nobody had that kind of money on hand.

Then the eyes of Rhaney's grandfather's lit up. Ralph Holmes got up from the table and went into another room. He quickly returned with a sandwich bag. Inside was a collection of rings, bracelets and necklaces: his late wife's jewelry. Holmes left the house, went to a nearby pawn shop and returned with nearly enough for the Delta ticket.

"It was important for me to get him through school," Holmes said. "I promised his momma before she died. I promised I'd put him through school."

Shakir started working the phones. Friends started coming over with a dollar, $20, $25. "It was almost like the spirit of his mom and grandmother took over," Shakir said. "Nobody said no. Nobody said, 'We don't have.' Everybody said, 'We're coming right over.' "

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