Fortt mentally ready to take on next NFL challenge

Former Stamford High star linebacker Khairi Fortt, right, now a member of the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, drops back to pass while taking part in the Kevin Pierre-Louis YOuth Football Camp in Norwalk on Saturday. less Former Stamford High star linebacker Khairi Fortt, right, now a member of the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, drops back to pass while taking part in the Kevin Pierre-Louis YOuth Football Camp in Norwalk on ... more Photo: John Nash / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: John Nash / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Fortt mentally ready to take on next NFL challenge 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

NORWALK — From the outside looking in, it appeared Khairi Fortt was out of chances.

The sport of football had already taken him from coast-to-coast; from his days playing at Stamford High to a college career that included stops at Penn State and California, all the way to the NFL.

Suddenly, at the end of his whirlwind rookie year in the National Football League, Fortt had already played for three teams, and was suddenly released again for the third time in his young career.

It was a blind-side hit that forced the linebacker to take a long hard look at himself and his future as a professional athlete.

“It’s not that I was close to giving it up, but my mind wasn’t secure,” Fortt said. “I wasn’t at home with myself. I was confused a little. I had to find myself and that’s what I did.”

What Fortt did was take his second season off — a mental health sabbatical, if you will — to regroup, refocus and find his way again.

His latest path brought Fortt back to Fairfield County last weekend where he made an appearance at the Kevin Pierre-Louis Youth Football Clinic at Norwalk High School’s Testa Field on Saturday.

Fortt joined his long-time friend and training partner — not to mention new Seattle Seahawks teammate —in helping coach and oversee more than 130 youth players from Norwalk, Bridgeport and Stamford.

The Seahawks is the latest stop for Fortt, who signed a free agent contract with the team in mid-May.

“I’m forever grateful to get this opportunity,” Fortt said. “It’s going to be great to be out there with a great group of guys and a coach who cares about his players more than the sport itself. That’s really what I love about the team and the environment around it.”

A shot with the Seahawks might very well be Fortt’s last chance at making it as an NFL player.

He left Cal with a year of eligibility remaining and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Before the regular season started, however, Fortt was waived by the Saints.

He was soon picked up by Cincinnati and signed to the team’s practice squad.

From there he was plucked away by Jacksonsville — where he joined the Jaguars in London — before flying home to finish his rookie season, seeing action in four games total.

After getting cut by the Jaguars, though, Fortt began looking at himself and his career in a different light.

Fortt has always been a physical specimen as a football player, whether he was playing for the Black Knights at Boyle Stadium, or as a 6-foot-2, 240-pound NFL linebacker.

“He’s been a specimen since the 8th grade, when I first got to know him,” said Washington Redskins running back Silas Redd, a former teammate of Pierre-Louis and another of Fortt’s training partners.

In taking a full season off and clearing his mind, Fortt said he’s been able to refocus on what he wants out of his career.

“After sitting down and talking with my parents and listening to God, we just came to the conclusion and that I need to wake up every morning with a purpose,” he said.

For now, he added, that purpose includes football.

“I envision myself becoming a Pro Bowler and I have to take the necessary steps to do that,” Fortt said. “One step is getting back on the football field, not feeling sorry for myself and just going out there and putting in the effort to reach those milestones.”

Joining the Seahawks also allows Fortt to play along side Pierre-Louis, his longtime friend who attended King Low Heywood Thomas in Stamford.

The two were oftentimes offseason training partners, as well.

“The whole team and Kevin have done a great job welcoming me to the family,” Fortt said. “It’s been an easy transition. I’ve been bouncing around a lot of places and this place feels like home.”

Pierre-Louis is pulling for his old friend.

“I’m cheering for him,” he said. “When we signed him, the team was going to put him up in a hotel and I just said, ‘He can come stay with me.’ He’s another Connecticut guy. I got take care of my guys.”

During the team’s recent OTAs (organized team activities), Fortt was slowed by some nagging pains.

“I was just having some Achilles and tendonitis stuff,” Fortt explained. “After I got cut from the Jags, to when I started playing football again, there was a long break. I just need to get my body ready again. The team wants me to use this time to get my body ready again and when it really counts, we’ll see what happens during preseason.”

Getting his body ready is a minor thing compared to getting his head back on straight.

But as Fortt heads into the new season he knows he’s in the right place.

“This whole thing — life and football — it’s all mental,” he said. “You can have all the God-given ability, but your head has to be right. I took that time to get ready. The time is now.”

And Khairi Fortt feels like he has found a new home.