Every week one of the major media outlets has a feature story about a football player who overcame extreme circumstances as a youngster to make it to the NFL. These stories are a tremendous inspiration for anyone that is going through adversity, but there are also players in the league that came from complete households that included a mother and a father.

Eagles wideout Nelson Agholor is one of them.

As a first-round pick (No. 20 overall) by Philadelphia in the 2015 NFL Draft, Agholor was under a lot of pressure to provide an instant return on the team’s investment. His first two years of his career were difficult, especially the 2016 season when he was deactivated for a game after he lined up in the wrong formation and cost the Eagles a touchdown.

Nearly one year after that gaffe in Seattle, he’s pulled off an improbable turnaround. Just seven games into his third season, Agholor has already set personal bests in receiving touchdowns (five) and yardage (366). He is playing with much more confidence after weathering the storm of 2016.

Agholor’s winding path traces back to his childhood in the Tampa, Fla., area. Growing up in a strict household armed Agholor with the mindset that would carry him through his tumultuous start in Philadelphia.

“At the end of the day, you were prepared to deal with the ups and downs. You have to deal with making sure you lived the right way and did the right things consistently,” Agholor said about his family. “That, my dad’s influence, kept me going in life as an adolescent, through middle school, in high school, and in college.

“It’s very impactful because my dad is a strict disciplinarian and he’s also there. He’s the total package in terms of a father. So, there were times where he was mad at you and you were disciplined and there were times where he had your back and you were rewarded.”

Having both parents in the house provided balance, which in turn helped Agholor understand why things happened the way they did. He said his mother is a great communicator and explained why his father disciplined them. Agholor refers to the authority in the household that he grew up in as a partnership between his mother and father.

“It came with the understanding that you have to focus on every day and control that day. You have to maximize each day,” Agholor explained. “In my household, that’s how it was. You had to make sure you did the right thing and lived the right way. You had to get stuff done.”

The “get stuff done” attitude extended to his approach to playing football at Berkeley Prep High School in Tampa. He knew he had to do homework and get up early to go to school the next day.

Agholor committed to getting better by doing extra sprints and watching a lot of film. It was a daily regimen that culminated with “handling business” on Fridays when they had their football games. Winning games didn’t stop Agholor’s daily grind, it merely reset it.

“Victories were short-lived because Saturday was another day of conditioning and Sunday was a day to get more film to get ready for Monday’s practice,” Agholor said. “It was just like living a life on a regimen so even if things shook up and didn’t go perfectly, you were so prepared that you just focused on playing.”

The statistics piled up for Agholor at Berkeley Prep. He was recruited by plenty of schools, including Alabama, where a receiver coach named Mike Groh coveted him. In a twist of fate, Groh became the Eagles wide receivers coach and has played a major role in Agholor’s resurgence this season.

Agholor’s high school coach, Dominick Ciao, helped Agholor mold the step-by-step approach that guided him through last season.

“The advice from me was to always go a day at a time. Even a play at a time. That’s the approach that he has,” Ciao said in a phone interview. “The success that he has now is great but he has to keep on working and stay humble. The old saying by John Wooten is, ‘Make each day your masterpiece.’ That’s what he tries to do.”

In high school, Agholor never pressed to put up numbers. He let the game come to him naturally and he played at a different speed than others on the field.

“You think about how the process plays into your speed in the game and not hesitating,” Agholor said. “In terms of adversity, you look at it more at this level. You have goals to score touchdowns and make your plays. When you are prepared, you do that.”

The day-by-day approach that he got from Ciao is exactly what has allowed Agholor to process what happens on a bad play and move on from it quickly now that he is in the NFL. By winning each day, Agholor is able to stack them into weeks, and the results are starting to surface.

“That’s the formula that I use this year to approach games. It’s showing great results, and I want to continue to work hard and let that be the case,” said Agholor.

Ciao joked about getting on Agholor for his celebration when he finished a 72-yard touchdown against the Cardinals by falling backward into the end zone. The celebration was a tribute to former Eagles big-play receiver DeSean Jackson.

Ciao reminded him to make sure he stays humble, suggesting he just flip the ball to the official and keeps on moving.

“I got a big kick out of it, but I couldn’t resist making sure I told him to stay humble and hand the ball to the official,” Ciao said as he chuckled. “He always comes back to the ground. Right now everything is going well, and I hope it keeps on going.”

Relationship with Jeffery

When former Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery became a free agent after last season, there were multiple suitors that wanted to acquire his services. In the end, Jeffery chose Philadelphia.

Having Jeffery in the fold has helped Agholor — who refers to Jeffery as his “big brother” — turn things around in his third NFL season.

“It’s been a blessing. He’s like my big brother,” Agholor said. “When I was in college, he would shoot me a text to tell me he saw me balling or that I had to do this or that. I took his word.”

The coaching continues to happen in the NFL, especially now that they are on the same team.

Related Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery will take winning over being among stat leaders

“Even now at this pro game, I mean, I think I run good routes, but he coaches me up,” Agholor said. “He tells me about my pad level, he tells me when I am not focusing at the point of attack.”

Jeffery takes pride in the success that Agholor has achieved this year. He used to prepare for NFL seasons in Tampa and met Agholor when he was a star wideout at USC. Jeffery always knew Agholor had talent.

“I am very proud of him. I always called him ‘little bro.’ We have the same agent and all of that,” Jeffery said during an interview in the Eagles locker room. “He just has to keep working. He’s in here every morning. Now that I am here, I always tell him, ‘Yo, you can’t let the old head beat you in here.’ I always tell him I will be here working. He just has to keep building his confidence and keep grinding.”

For every NFL player, there are many people constantly in their ear trying to offer advice. It’s important to learn how to sort through all of it and identify advice that is actually useful.

For Agholor, any words of wisdom that come from someone he qualifies as family is practical because family usually has your best interest at heart. He views Jeffery as family, so when Agholor gets advice from his new teammate, it has a special meaning.

“When he says something, I believe it. It comes from the fact that I know he’s real,” Agholor said. “He is family to me, and no one can get you straight like family. When family tells you something, you’re like, ‘I know they want me to succeed.’ ”

‘May my name shall never be forgotten.’

Agholor’s middle name is Efamehule. The name was given to him by his dad’s family. For Agholor, it’s kind of like a call to life.

“The significance is the meaning, ‘May my name never be forgotten.’ It speaks to my first name, Nelson. What people know me as and the man that people know me as,” Agholor said. “That is something that will always stick with me. I always want to have a lasting impression on people. I always want to be somebody that people gravitate to.”

When he was ready to go to the NFL, Agholor signed with an agent that had the same gravitating effect on him. His agent, Eugene Parker, was someone that Agholor aspires to be like later in life.

“If I looked at myself 20 to 30 years later, I saw myself being like Eugene Parker, a man that walked into a building and everything stopped,” Agholor said as his eyes lit up. “You will never forget his name or his legacy. People know him not only as an agent, they know of him as a godly man, a wise man. That’s how I want to be known. That’s how I want the legacy of my name to live.”

Although Parker passed away in March 2016 after a battle with cancer, his legacy lives on. Agholor recently played in a game with cleats that had a portrait of Parker on them. The cleats also had Parker’s favorite quote, which is simply, “My guy.”

“It was just a way to honor him with how everything is going this year. I’m truly blessed that I am having a lot of fun and our team is doing well,” Agholor said. “It’s only right that I remember who started this dream and painted this picture. I think he is smiling down at me and happy that I am just having fun.”

This year Agholor has started to really reach out to the community, especially the youth.

Thanks to @nelsonagholor & @acmemarkets, 100 children from @StepStoneSchols were gifted with backpacks filled with school supplies today. pic.twitter.com/TS87Ezv7vd — Anthony Bonagura (@BonaguraEagles) August 25, 2017

Agholor goes to elementary schools on Mondays and reads to kids. He brings a lot of energy and interaction so he can make a connection.

.@nelsonagholor spent his #VictoryMonday morning reading Green Eggs and Ham to a second grade class at Duckrey Elementary School! pic.twitter.com/l0q7QW4IXy — Eagles Care (@EaglesCommunity) October 9, 2017

“I’m telling a story, and I have imagery in my head as I read,” Agholor said. “I’m going to another place just like these kids are. I want them to embrace that. I want them to be dreamers because I think that’s the most important thing.”

When Agholor was in high school, he developed a mindset that he shares with kids. He tells them they have to dream and they have to stay away from dream killers. People tell kids that something isn’t possible, but Agholor implores them to dream big and chase their dreams.

“Who I am is somebody that understood that life has different things to it,” Agholor said. “When I go and read to kids, I try to teach them who they are. To not allow naysayers or negative situations to find them. Through all of that, there are still ways to be special.”

Agholor held a football camp at his high school this past summer. He also trained there during the offseason. That is one of the other ways that he is giving back.

“He is one of those guys that you coached that is special. He had tremendous athletic ability,” Ciao said. “We are proud of his loyalty to his high school, to his friends, his coaches, that’s what is meaningful. He’s special to me, to the program, to the school and the community. He always comes back. I get a phone call from Nelson all the time.”

It is no coincidence that Agholor has experienced a transformation on the field this season. He has weathered the storm, and it has only added to the already great character he formed over the years.

As they say, “Good things happen to good people.”